Conversational ERP: How AI is Transforming the ERP Space4 min read
There’s been a quiet change happening in the ERP world. For a long time, using an ERP system has meant learning how it works and how to navigate it. Entire roles have been built around understanding menus, remembering where things sit, and knowing which path gets you to the answer you need. If you’ve ever counted the clicks it takes to complete something simple, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
In 2026, we’re seeing the early stages of something fundamentally different. Instead of learning how to navigate ERP systems, people are starting to interact with them in a much more natural way.
A Simple Shift That Changes Everything
At its core, conversational ERP is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of navigating your system, you can talk to it.
For example, instead of sifting through pages, filters and reports, you can just ask it to “Show me the last invoice we posted for this customer”. This makes it a much easier system to navigate for users.
Why This is Happening Now
Over the past couple of years, AI has been steadily working its way into platforms like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Early on, it focused on helping users understand what they were looking at or guiding them to the right place. Whilst that was useful, it didn’t change how work actually got done.
What’s different now is the move towards AI that can take action. Not just answering a question, but following through on it. Interpreting intent, working through the steps behind the scenes, and completing tasks in the system itself.
There’s also been progress in how these AI capabilities connect to ERP platforms. Instead of sitting on top, they’re becoming more integrated with the underlying data and processes.
What This Means in Business Central
We’re already seeing the early signs of this in Business Central. The current chat experience is useful for guidance and quick explanations, but the real opportunity lies beyond that. Think about asking your system to create a sales order using previous order details, run through your month-end processes, or highlight potential risks in your cash flow.
ERP systems are becoming increasingly better designed to respond to instructions (as opposed to simple queries). The system shifts from being somewhere you go to do work, to something that actively carries part of that workload for you.
Where 2026 Feels Like a Turning Point
Interacting with ERP through search-style questions is already becoming more natural for many users, and in some cases it is simply quicker than navigating the interface. At the same time, there’s a growing focus on automating the work behind the scenes. This doesn’t mean traditional interfaces disappear, they still have a place, but they’re no longer the only way in.
For partners and developers, this also opens up new possibilities. Building intelligent workflows and extensions becomes less about stitching together complex integrations and more about working with standardised ways to interact with the system.
A Thought Worth Pausing On
It’s tempting to assume that making ERP easier to use solves the problem completely. But there is a trade-off to consider.
We’ve seen something similar before. When technology moved from command-line tools to graphical interfaces, it made systems far more accessible. At the same time, fewer people understood what was happening underneath. Over time, that gap mattered. In some areas, there’s been a move back towards more direct control.
So the question is whether conversational ERP follows a similar path. Does simplifying the experience create distance from the detail? Or does it free people up to focus on what really matters?
So, What Should Businesses Take From This?
This shift isn’t about a single feature or release. It’s about how people expect to work. Systems that once required training and navigation are starting to feel more intuitive.
And while there are still questions to answer, one thing is clear: The way we interact with ERP systems is changing. For businesses, the opportunity now is to understand what that change means and to start shaping how it works for their people.