On 26 August 2023, VAi went live as the UK’s first generative AI co-pilot built specifically for company insolvency. Two years on, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what those conversations reveal – not just about insolvency, but about the way accountants, directors, and practitioners are beginning to use AI.
A Tool Born from Frustration and Vision
VAi was designed to solve a real problem: directors, accountants, and even some insolvency practitioners being given poor or misleading advice. In the chats, we see cases where directors were told they ‘had’ to fund a CVL out of their own pockets, or sign personal guarantees, even when cheaper or free alternatives existed. VAi pushed back, offering clarity, context, and even free template letters to help directors avoid unnecessary risk.
Always On, Always Patient
Across hundreds of queries, VAi’s constant introduction – ‘I’m your digital insolvency practitioner, available 24/7/365. Ask me anything’ – wasn’t just branding. It was lived reality. Directors at breaking point asked if they had to let bailiffs in. Accountants asked about TUPE. Others asked for help drafting professional letters or understanding technical rules like deemed consent in CVLs.
The consistency mattered. In a profession where response times can stretch into days, AI’s ability to give immediate, structured, and accurate first answers offered both reassurance and efficiency.
Trained With Care, Not Just Code
The chats also reveal curiosity about VAi itself. How was it trained? The answer is telling: alongside OpenAI’s base model, it was fine-tuned with a dataset built on UK insolvency law, case practice, and insights from real practitioners. That bespoke training gave VAi its edge – it could explain section 84 of the Insolvency Act as readily as it could talk about the risks of a CVA.
But VAi was also honest about its limits: complex or unusual cases still require a human insolvency practitioner. That safeguard – AI for efficiency, human for judgement – runs like a thread through the last two years.
More Than Insolvency
Interestingly, VAi has also been used as a business growth sounding board, a blog assistant, an AI audit guide, and even a teacher of accountants about ethics and outcomes. It shows that once people trust AI in one area, they quickly test it in others.
What Two Years Have Shown
Two years of VAi has shown three things clearly:
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AI makes professionals faster and clearer. Accountants and directors save hours. Insolvency practitioners get structured drafts and prompts.
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AI doesn’t replace the human in the loop. Every chat reminds users to seek a licensed IP for complex or high-stakes decisions.
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AI changes expectations. When directors know they can get instant answers for free, it challenges the profession to raise its game.
Looking Ahead
VAi at two is still young, but its trajectory is clear. It’s part of a wider shift towards AI-enabled professional services – efficient, accessible, and transparent, but grounded in safeguards.
For accountants and directors, the question isn’t whether AI like VAi will shape the future of insolvency advice. It already has. The real question is whether you’re ready to use it – to save time, avoid mistakes, and stay in control.