Workflow Automation

Franklin, N.C. – November 06, 2026 -- Drake Software will sell its AI-driven Drake SmartExtract tool from December at $5 per return, with package pricing as low as $1.50 per return for 100 or more returns. The launch is part of a broader AI rollout across software used by more than 70,000 tax professionals.

Drake is adding three AI capabilities for the coming season: SmartExtract (currently in beta), a redesigned Drake Portals client experience, and an AI Assistant embedded in Drake Tax and Drake Tax Online. Drake says it developed them with its customers. Pricing is subject to change.

SmartExtract maps client documents to return fields

SmartExtract, available in beta for Drake Tax and Drake Tax Online, pulls data from supported documents and maps it to the matching return fields. Preparers review and adjust the extracted data before it enters the return, which cuts manual rekeying.

CHICAGO – November 06, 2026 -- Merge, part of Merative, is launching Merge Imaging, a cloud-native platform that unifies radiology, cardiology and clinical imaging workflows. It debuts at RSNA 2026 with AssignIQ, a new study-assignment tool, and new lung nodule and lesion tracking modules. The company says the package helps imaging teams scale reading capacity with their existing workforce.

AssignIQ matches studies to radiologists by subspecialty, credentials, workload and priority

AssignIQ extends MergeIQ, the platform's AI workflow orchestration layer, from prior-report intelligence into active study assignment. It builds on Merge Workflow Orchestrator and routes each case to an available radiologist based on subspecialty, credentials, workload and case priority. Merge says practices can use it to balance assignments and make better use of existing capacity.

Singapore – November 03, 2026 -- Airbrush has upgraded its web-based AI Image Enhancer with output resolutions of up to 16K and batch processing of up to 50 images in a single session.

Browser tool now outputs images at up to 16K resolution

Users can select output options of up to 16K when enhancing images. The tool improves clarity, detail and colour while raising resolution. Airbrush targets product photography, marketing materials and social media content, as well as other high-resolution visuals.

Batch mode replaces file-by-file processing with 50-image sessions

Users can upload and enhance up to 50 images at once instead of handling files individually. Airbrush says this cuts repetitive steps for e-commerce teams preparing product catalogues, photographers managing large collections, social media teams building campaign assets and creators editing several images before publishing.

SAN FRANCISCO – October 30, 2026 -- Reducto has released Reducto Office, a free plugin that lets AI agents edit existing DOCX, PPTX and XLSX files inside ChatGPT and Codex. The plugin is available now, with usage limits.

Users install the plugin, connect a Reducto account and bring their own files into an AI conversation. Agents apply targeted changes, which appear in a live editor where users can review and refine them.

Headless document engine lets agents edit structured files directly

Office runs on a document engine that agents operate headlessly, rather than through a graphical interface built for people. Reducto says reliable editing has to preserve structure: nested tables, reviewer comments and tracked changes in contracts, and slide layouts, fonts and charts in presentations. Output stays in standard Word, PowerPoint and Excel formats that users can keep editing and share.

Parsippany-Troy Hills – October 29, 2026 -- OLI has released Version 12.7 of its chemistry simulation software with Microsoft Excel import and export, removing the manual data entry that engineers previously needed to move spreadsheet data into OLI Studio.

Excel link lets engineers build and update analyses from spreadsheets

Users can create new analyses in OLI Studio directly from Excel, or update existing projects as new sample data arrives. Calculated results can be returned to Excel, where teams compare cases and feed findings into existing reporting workflows. OLI says the change cuts manual data handling and the risk of transcription errors.

The functionality initially covers selected objects in OLI Studio: Stream Analyzer and OLI Studio: ScaleChem. Supported analysis types are water, brine, gas and oil.

Florham Park – October 29, 2026 -- The New York Jets have signed a multi-year agreement with Xerox to deploy document management, printing infrastructure and internal workflow technology across the team's training facility and front office.

Xerox embeds its technology in Jets football and business operations

Xerox solutions are being implemented throughout the organization, covering document management, printing infrastructure and internal workflows. The company will work with the Jets' IT team to show how its tools can raise productivity and streamline workflows in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. A custom content feature will highlight how the solutions are applied in professional sports.

Xerox Chief Marketing Officer Darren Cassidy said integrating document management and workflow automation across the training facility and front office helps the organization "eliminate friction and focus on winning."

Global – October 27, 2026 -- Poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million a year, according to Gartner estimates cited in an Alteryx analysis that frames recurring, multi-source reporting as the point where Excel stops being the right tool.

Repeatability, not row capacity, is where Excel breaks

Excel holds more than a million rows per sheet and rarely reaches that limit. The failure comes when source data changes shape, such as a renamed column, a new region added mid-quarter or an extra week in a date range. The manual process then gets rebuilt from memory instead of re-run.

Industry studies cited in the analysis found that 90% of spreadsheets with more than 150 rows contain at least one major mistake. The analysis attributes this to the format, which has no built-in error control, rather than to analyst skill.

Global – October 27, 2026 -- A Monday inventory consolidation that took 90 minutes of manual cleanup and cross-checking now runs unattended overnight, after its logic was moved out of one analyst's head and into documented workflow steps.

The case illustrates a point Alteryx makes in guidance for spreadsheet users: slow, error-prone reporting is rarely caused by wrong logic. It is caused by logic that exists only in formulas, tab names and one person's habits. The recommended fix is to capture the steps first and choose the tool afterward.

Key-person dependency, not formula errors, is the main failure point

Typical breakages include a renamed column that disrupts a position-based formula, a data set that outgrows a row limit, and two people editing one file so that one set of changes is lost. When the analyst who built the process changes teams or leaves, the successor must reverse-engineer each tab, often at report deadline.

Berlin – October 16, 2026 -- Aignostics has launched HETA Clinical, a family of pan-cancer AI products aimed at the 10% to 20% of molecular tests that pathologists estimate fail because tissue contains too little tumor.

The first four products analyze whole slide H&E images across the pathology workflow, from intake and evaluation through to molecular testing. The company says the suite helps labs prioritize cases, cut turnaround time and confirm sufficient tumor content before molecular testing begins.

Four products target slide quality, tumor presence, mitoses and cellularity

HETA Quality Control measures slide quality before analysis and identifies a range of quality issues. HETA Tumor Detect annotates tumor regions and flags cases likely to contain tumor at scanning, so those cases are read first and additional stains can be ordered at intake.

NEW YORK – October 15, 2026 -- More than 100 specialty practices running ModMed EMA now use Medsender to manage incoming referrals, 16 months after the fax and referral management platform launched its EMA integration.

Referral leakage costs practices up to 10% of revenue

Specialists receive more than 100 million referral requests a year in the United States, yet only half are completed, according to Medsender. The company says mismanaged referrals can cost practices up to 10% of their revenue, and that most practices cannot measure the loss until a system tracks it.