TLDR: Avalara has launched Avi, a pioneering lead AI agent that orchestrates a new network of intelligent AI agents. This ‘Agentic Tax and Compliance™’ platform is designed to automate complex, end-to-end tax and compliance processes, combining the precision of artificial intelligence with essential human oversight. The system ensures secure, auditable, and transparent automation across various critical compliance functions, with a global rollout commencing in Q4 2025.
DURHAM, N.C. – November 3, 2025 – Avalara, Inc., a recognized leader in tax and compliance solutions, today announced the launch of Avi and its innovative network of intelligent AI agents. This groundbreaking development introduces what the company describes as the ‘world’s first AI-powered workforce for tax and compliance automation.’ The new platform, dubbed ‘Agentic Tax and Compliance™,’ is engineered to execute essential processes with AI precision while maintaining robust human judgment and supervision, ensuring complete control and transparency for enterprises.
Scott McFarlane, CEO and Co-Founder of Avalara, emphasized the strategic importance of this launch, stating, “Avalara’s increasing agentic capabilities bring intelligence and autonomy to the next level, without compromising control or security. Our customers have trusted us to protect their data and compliance processes for decades, and Avalara’s new AI agents operate within that same secure and auditable framework.” This highlights Avalara’s commitment to leveraging advanced technology within a trusted and established operational paradigm.
Human Control by Design
A core tenet of Avalara’s Agentic Tax and Compliance™ platform is that “automation should never mean loss of control.” To uphold this principle, every Avalara AI agent is designed with built-in checkpoints for human review and approval. This ensures that enterprises retain full command over every compliance action, from routine tax filings to complex registrations, with comprehensive audit-ready visibility at every step.
Enterprise-Grade Security
Security is paramount, and Avalara’s AI agents operate within the company’s established security perimeter. They leverage the same rigorous authentication, encryption, and data governance frameworks that underpin Avalara’s existing platform, including SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications.
Introducing Avi and the Network of AI Compliance Agents
At the heart of this new offering is Avi, Avalara’s lead AI agent. Avi functions as the orchestrator, supervising and coordinating the actions of a specialized network of AI compliance agents. These agents are equipped to handle a wide array of core compliance functions, each incorporating built-in checkpoints for human review. Key functions include:
Global Tax Determination, Tax Return Filing, and Reconciliation: Avi can securely ingest transaction data, identify tax jurisdictions, calculate rates, apply rules, validate exemptions, and generate tax returns. Upon human approval, it can then autonomously log into portals, file returns, verify confirmations, and reconcile accounting records.
Exemption Certificate Validation: Specialized Exemption AI agents scan new customer-uploaded exemption certificates, cross-verify data with authoritative registries, and update records, minimizing human intervention while ensuring compliance.
Cross-Border Classification, Tariffs, and Trade Restrictions: Cross-border AI agents classify products using Harmonized System (HS) or tariff codes, determine applicable duties, and screen against trade restriction lists.
Business and License Registration: Registration AI agents prepare necessary documents, file with local authorities, and manage the receipt and storage of business and license registrations.
Property Tax: Property AI agents acquire fixed asset data, classify it for location and tax depreciation, and prepare and file personal property tax returns.
Audit-Ready Reporting and Transaction-Level Insights: Reporting AI agents continuously generate reconciled, easy-to-understand, auditor-ready reports. They also provide AI-powered deep insights, linking every number to its source transaction to enhance audit readiness and reduce costs.
Tax Content Research with Authoritative Citations: Research AI agents efficiently scan and summarize primary tax sources, including laws, rates, rules, and regulatory updates, presenting Avalara’s content in an AI-powered, easy-to-access format with verifiable citations.
E-invoicing and Live Reporting (ELR): ELR AI agents assist businesses in meeting real-time tax mandates globally by connecting directly to government-certified endpoints, ensuring invoice validation and compliance before dispatch.
Notice Management: Notice management AI agents automate the handling of tax authority notices, using AI to classify, route, and track notices through to resolution, leading to faster responses and reduced penalties.
Agentic Execution with Human Oversight: A Collaborative Workflow
When a task is assigned, Avi meticulously breaks it down into individual steps, delegates these to the appropriate specialized AI agents, and then coordinates their actions. This process provides complete visibility throughout. For instance, when preparing a tax return, Avi retrieves and validates data, applies country-specific rules, generates the returns, and then submits it for human approval. The filing only proceeds once explicit authorization is given. This four-step process includes: Analysis, Preparation, Human Review, and Filing & Confirmation, ensuring no action is taken without approval.
Built for the Agent Economy: “Have Your Agent Call Our Agent™”
Avalara’s Avi is designed for seamless interoperability with both human users and other AI systems. Any third-party AI agent supporting the Google A2A protocol can securely collaborate with Avalara’s AI agents, embodying the “Have Your Agent Call Our Agent™” philosophy.
Availability and Integration
Avi is accessible to tax professionals through various interfaces:
Avi Browser Agent: Automates ERP configuration and setup with Avalara, and facilitates task assignment to Avi.
Avi for Microsoft Outlook: Digitizes inbound invoices and applies tax rules in real-time.
Avi for NetSuite: Avalara is among the first recipients of NetSuite’s AI Elite Badge, enabling one-click configuration and task assignment.
Avi for Gemini Enterprise: Available in third-party marketplaces like Google’s Gemini Enterprise, leveraging A2A technology for interaction with Avalara’s agent network.
Developers can also integrate directly via Avalara’s MCP servers, accessible at developer.avalara.com.
Powered by ALFA: The Brain Behind Secure, Agentic Compliance
The foundation of this platform is ALFA, the Avalara LLM Framework for Agentic Applications. ALFA ensures a security-first architecture for every AI agent, incorporating:
Enterprise LLMs with data isolation from leading providers such as Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Proprietary Small Language Models (SLMs) meticulously tuned on billions of compliance data points.
Extensive prompt libraries, guardrails, reasoning capabilities, actions, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) databases, third-party agentic frameworks, APIs, and SDKs.
ALFA guarantees that all Avalara AI agents meet stringent enterprise-grade standards for performance, reliability, and data protection.
Global Rollout
Also Read:
- Swepety AI Unveils Agentic Platform to Revolutionize Enterprise Automation
- Agentic AI ERP Emerges, Challenging the Future of Traditional Enterprise Resource Planning
The global rollout of Avi and its network of secure compliance agents is scheduled to begin in Q4 2025, with early access programs already underway with select enterprise partners. Avalara, with over two decades of expertise and supporting more than 43,000 businesses across 75+ countries, continues to expand its expansive library of tax content and integrations, now enhanced by purpose-built AI agents for end-to-end compliance automation.
