Keeping Teams on Track with Project Management Agents

Project management challenges SMBs face

Compared to larger organizations, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) typically have fewer resources, both with respect to budget and talent. These challenges create unique challenges in the project management process, including:

• Overlapping roles and shifting responsibilities. Enterprise-level businesses typically employ individuals or even entire departments dedicated to specific functions, making it easier to map out roles and responsibilities for any given project. However, employees of SMBs often wear many hats, and their specific responsibilities can vary from day to day or project to project. The uncertainty can create confusion around task ownership, especially with cross-functional teams or new project types. For remote or hybrid teams, communication breakdowns in digital or asynchronous conversations can compound this effect, leading to missed tasks or duplicated efforts.
• “Institutional knowledge” and informal processes in place of formal task management. Close-knit teams are more likely to rely on passed-down “institutional knowledge” — the collection and sharing of informal, typically unwritten information from key employees — to manage projects. When teams fail to codify their processes, they risk losing them if an employee moves to another role or organization. Even if the source of institutional knowledge remains within the company, employees can easily miss or misunderstand these informal processes, creating errors and inefficiencies.
• The toll on morale when projects slip or goals are unclear. While mistakes can happen in any organization, the above challenges can increase the likelihood of missed deadlines, goals or parameters; this is especially true when SMBs are tight on both time and personnel. Employees often face frustration, disappointment and even eroded trust in their teams and leaders when project goals are unclear or mismanaged.

Without strong project management processes and the right support systems to carry them out, SMBs may struggle to deliver on projects, maintain positive team dynamics and establish clear processes for future talent.

How virtual agents empower teams

For small teams under time, budget and staffing constraints, AI-powered agents can help streamline processes and improve business outcomes. Much like digital assistants, these virtual agents go beyond being a mere tool that employees have to learn, instead functioning as digital project teammates that act autonomously. They function by streamlining processes and communications at every step, empowering your people to deliver on project outcomes with ease.

From the moment the project begins, the virtual agent immediately helps triage and assign tasks based on priority and team availability. Team members stay informed with automated reminders and progress updates in shared views, ensuring everyone is on the same page about their individual assignments and overall project progress.

As the project progresses and communication intensifies, the virtual agent centralizes conversations, updates and files in a single location. Rather than relying on scattered emails and Slack messages, teams and leaders have complete, visibility into project progress, changes and dependencies. Should any part of the project stall, the agent can flag potential obstacles, ask clarifying questions or prompt for status updates. The built-in safeguard keeps things moving efficiently and fosters a culture of trust and accountability.

Example: Intuit’s Project Management Agent

For small teams looking to simplify project planning and communication, Intuit’s Project Management Agent — part of Intuit Enterprise Suite’s new agentic AI experiences — leverages automation to enhance both efficiency and visibility. Here are some helpful things you and your team can do with the Project Management Agent:

• Assign tasks and set owners. When you start a new project, your agent can help you set everything up. After you upload your project information, the agent can automatically populate project tasks and owners, as well as recommended deadlines and priorities. From there, you’ll have the option to review and make any adjustments before delegating to your team.
• Track project status alongside financial flows. As you’re working, your agent can scan for project progress, profitability and expenses, as well as recommend actions to keep your team and finances on track.
• Generate simple reports for team check-ins or client updates. When your project is complete, the Project Management Agent can create a summary of the project, including insights on performance, profitability and recommended actions for future projects.

Quickstart guide: Building a strong project culture 

If you’re ready to leverage agentic AI to strengthen your project culture, follow these steps to get started:

• Map out recurring team frustrations. First, identify any bottlenecks, points of friction or time-consuming tasks that can stymie project progress. In addition to reviewing past projects, have conversations with your employees and any team or project leads on issues they’ve experienced. Then, map these challenges to areas or tasks where automation can help.
• Activate agent integration with key platforms. Intuit Enterprise Suite is compatible with more than 850 third-party applications and offers deep integrations with project management apps like Knowify and BigTime. Connecting your Project Management Agent with these platforms keeps all your project and business information in one place, ensuring it has the necessary knowledge to make informed recommendations.
• Schedule regular team reviews with agent-generated updates. Throughout the project’s lifespan, have team meetings to discuss project progress and performance. Use your agent’s updates to guide the conversation, but also ensure your employees and team leads can share their insights. [Looking for more ways to keep your team on track to meet business and project goals? Explore our recommendations for goal tracking apps and software.]
• Collect feedback and improve your automations. At the end of each project, gather feedback from your team: Which processes did automation improve? Which processes are still causing frustration? Are there any additional opportunities to explore? Use this feedback to guide your next steps, whether that involves adding new automations or adjusting existing ones.

Strong project management skills and practices help small teams achieve great things on limited resources, and Intuit’s Project Management Agent makes those practices even easier to implement. From automated task assignment and reminders to streamlined communications and reporting, Intuit’s agentic AI assists human teams in the day-to-day of projects — freeing up time and energy to focus on delivering outcomes that support clients and overall business growth.