The Procurement AI Agent is an AI conversational tool that allows employees to create and manage requests directly in the Payhawk web portal or mobile app, or Slack (MS Teams coming soon) if your Payhawk account has been connected to the communication channel by a Payhawk Administrator at your company. The AI Agent brings key features of Payhawk’s procurement system into your company's daily workflows, so you can handle requests without switching tools.
Employees can submit requests using pre-configured request types, and the AI Agent will guide them through the process to ensure everything is compliant with your company’s workflows. Once submitted, employees will receive real-time updates on the status of their request, including approvals, rejections, comments, or any required actions, thus being able to check the status and history of their requests at any time.
If you are unsure exactly what the Procurement AI Agent can do for you, you can ask it directly.
Common challenges in procurement management
Procurement teams often face difficulties when acquiring the goods and services necessary for business operations. The most common challenges that can disrupt procurement activities and impact business performance are:
Inaccurate data capture due to manual data entry, leading to errors and inefficiencies.
Inefficient manual processes for handling procurement tasks, slowing down operations.
Lack of control and visibility, resulting in unapproved or off-contract purchasing.
Budget limitations and overspending, straining finances and disrupting procurement activities.
The Payhawk Procurement AI Agent addresses these challenges by automating key procurement processes such as request tracking, invoice collection, and approval workflows. This reduces manual work, improves data accuracy, and enhances visibility and control across the entire procurement cycle, empowering teams to operate more efficiently and make informed decisions.
Key functionalities
The Procurement AI Agent helps streamline processes and improve efficiency in various cases.
Functionality | Capability |
Conversational requests and assistance in Slack | Employees can create and submit requests directly within Slack using a guided, conversational interface. The Procurement AI Agent collects all necessary information, such as category, custom fields, or item details, through chat, pasted links, or uploaded images and documents. This allows users to stay within their daily workflow while ensuring all required data is captured before submission. The Procurement AI Agent can also answer common questions related to requests, such as What’s the status of my laptop order? or Who needs to approve this request? This helps employees quickly find information without searching through emails or portals. |
AI data capture | The integrated AI extracts data from images, files, URLs, and the chat conversation itself, eliminating the need for manual data entry and ensuring accuracy by auto-filling request fields. This helps reduce errors and provides a centralized, reliable data source for procurement. |
Process enhancement | Request owners can submit requests, and designated employees can approve, review, comment on, or return requests to their owners directly in Slack without accessing the Payhawk platform. The Procurement AI Agent sends automated follow-ups and status notifications to approvers and request owners, helping prevent delays and ensuring compliance with approval policies. |
Real-time spend visibility and monitoring | By automating workflows and capturing data accurately, the Procurement AI Agent enhances visibility into company spend. This helps detect unauthorized requests, supports budget tracking, and enables better decision-making through real-time insights. |
Budget oversight and spend optimization | The Procurement AI Agent supports budget control by ensuring all procurement requests are properly categorized, approved, and aligned with business priorities. Integration with external and ERP systems allows teams to monitor spending patterns, identify cost-saving opportunities, and adjust sourcing strategies proactively. |
Automated functional parity across Payhawk platforms | The Procurement AI Agent gives you access to all the procurement features found in the Payhawk web portal and can be used in the Payhawk mobile app to deliver complete feature parity across platforms. Utilizing the AI Agent offers an enhanced experience: it guides you step-by-step, lets you chat and interact conversationally, and automatically updates all necessary fields for you, removing the need for manual input. You can manage requests, receive real-time updates, and access request details seamlessly, making the process much easier and more intuitive. |
Smart assistance | While the Procurement AI Agent cannot directly answer everyday how‑to and general questions, it will redirect you to the Payments AI Agent. The Payments Agent will then reply to you directly by using information from the Payhawk help desk. If you request an action handled by another Payhawk AI Agent, the Procurement AI Agent will let you know which AI Agent can assist. That AI Agent will then message you directly so you can complete the task. For example, if you ask the Procurement AI Agent to book a trip to Vienna, it will explain that the Travel AI Agent handles travel bookings. The Travel AI Agent will then message you to continue the conversation and help arrange the trip. |
How the Procurement AI Agent works for Procurement teams
By activating the Procurement AI Agent, procurement teams can streamline purchasing processes while enhancing overall efficiency through:
Real-time updates for both requesters and approvers, ensuring transparency and faster decision-making throughout the procurement cycle.
Automated follow-ups across multiple channels, such as email, comments, push notifications, and chat, to keep requests and approvals moving forward without delays.
Improved workflow oversight, reducing procurement cycle times, minimizing delays in approvals or supplier communication, and ensuring compliance with procurement policies.
Employees can submit requests without onboarding or prior knowledge of the procurement process. They access the Procurement AI Agent, state what they need, and the AI Agent guides them through each step.
How the Procurement AI Agent works for employees
With the Payhawk-Slack integration, employees can seamlessly act on Payhawk smart reminders, submit expenses, and approve requests if they are part of an approval workflow.
To fully utilize the integration, employees must first authenticate, granting Slack access to their expense data. For more information, see the employee guide for setting up the Slack connection.
The Payhawk-Slack connection enables employees to do the following:
Be prompted to review or approve requests when they are assigned as reviewers or approvers.
Submit and approve requests directly in Slack using call-to-action buttons without switching applications.
Enter all required details, such as categories and custom fields, through a conversational chat flow without switching apps.
Activating the Procurement AI Agent
The Procurement AI Agent comes out of the box and is included in both the Payhawk mobile app and web portal.
Employee access to the AI Agent in Slack depends on whether a Payhawk Administrator at your company has enabled the communication channel in the Payhawk web portal from Settings > AI Office.
Processing your data
For more information about how Payhawk processes personal data for the Procurement AI Agent feature, see the following resources:
Global Privacy Policy - Covers personal data for which Payhawk acts as a Controller.
Data Processing Addendum - Covers personal data for which Payhawk acts as a Processor.