I've been experimenting with using AI to help extract data from utility bills and flag anomalies. Feeding bill images into Claude and asking it to identify the rate schedule, demand charges, and any unusual line items. It's surprisingly accurate for structured bills but struggles with handwritten meter reads and some of the older municipal utility formats. Anyone else playing with this?
Using AI tools to speed up bill analysis - anyone tried this?
I've tried something similar. It's great for the initial data entry - pulling numbers off bills into a spreadsheet. Saves me probably 2 hours per client on the front end. But I wouldn't trust it for the actual analysis. It doesn't understand tariff nuances well enough to catch the subtle errors that matter.
Interesting discussion. AI tools can definitely help with the tedious parts of our work but the expertise is in knowing what to look for and why. The analysis and the client relationship - that's where our value is. Use the tools to work faster but don't outsource your judgment.