New AI Assistant Delivers Clear, Instant Insights and Frees Teams to Focus on Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Planful Inc., the pioneer of financial performance management cloud software, today announced the general availability of Planful AI Analyst Assistant, an agentic AI assistant purpose-built for finance. Analyst Assistant redefines how finance teams work by removing the burden of manual analysis and empowering them to focus on strategic decision-making. First previewed at Planful's Perform25 user conference, Analyst Assistant is now available to all customers.

"With the launch of our Analyst Assistant, we're delivering on the promise of AI for finance: practical, explainable, and built on trust," said Steve Welsh, Chief Product Officer at Planful. "Finance professionals cannot afford to spend hours digging through data; they need fast, reliable answers. Planful AI Analyst Assistant turns complexity into clarity with instant insights and drill-downs, giving finance teams more time to focus on what matters most."

Planful AI

 is built into the Planful platform to augment — not replace — the expertise of finance professionals. It's powered by OpenAI and Planful's patented calculation engine to deliver explainable insights tailored to each user's role and security permissions. Grounded in financial IQ, such as fiscal calendars, charts of accounts, and dimensional security, Planful AI delivers accuracy and relevance that teams can trust. The result is less manual effort and more time for impactful decision-making.

Analyst Assistant responds to plain-language conversational prompts such as "What's driving the Q2 OpEx variance in North America?" and delivers explainable visualizations and narratives in seconds. Early adopters reported a reduction of up to 70% in manual analysis and nearly 100% prompt accuracy.

Key benefits of Analyst Assistant include:

Variance Insights: Instantly highlights top drivers by region, cost center, or account to guide next steps and uncover answers hidden in plain sight.

Conversational Analysis: Enables follow-up questions and drill-downs across dimensions — no technical queries required.

Finance-Grade Security: Honors existing role-based access and permissions, encrypts data end-to-end, and never uses customer information for model training.

"With Analyst Assistant, I don't have to dig through reports or build complex queries to get answers," said Brian George, Director of Corporate Finance at West Coast University. "I just ask a question and the insights appear instantly. It's been a game-changer for how quickly I can access the information I need."

Analyst Assistant is the first in a team of assistants to be launched by Planful, with upcoming releases to include:

Planner: Builds forecasts, runs scenarios, and tests assumptions to guide growth strategies.

Controller: Helps with close and financial consolidations, and ensures compliance via comparative insights.

Modeler: Quickly develops and manages custom applications without starting from scratch.

Admin: Manages data loads, access controls, and audit trails to keep governance tight.

Business: Supports everyday business tasks and operations outside of core finance processes.

Analyst Assistant is now generally available to all Planful customers. To learn more, visit planful.com/ai. 

About Planful

Planful is the pioneer of financial performance management cloud software. The Planful platform, which helps businesses drive peak financial performance, is used around the globe to streamline business-wide planning, budgeting, consolidations, reporting, and analytics. Planful's award-winning AI capabilities accelerate decision-making, helping Planful users in over 100 countries to close faster, accelerate cycle times, increase productivity, and improve accuracy. Planful is a private company with more than 1,500 customers, including Bose, Boston Red Sox, Five Guys, Grafton Plc, Gousto, and Specialized, and is backed by Vector Capital, a leading global private equity firm. Learn more at Planful.com.

Additional Resources

Hear from Planful customers.

Learn what Planful can do for finance, marketing, HR, and other teams.

Join the conversation on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/planful-launches-analyst-assistant-to-power-trusted-frictionless-finance-302578454.html

SOURCE Planful, Inc.