What you may have missed on Xero: October 2026

October has brought a wave of interest in Xero and the work we’re doing to support small businesses and their advisors. Here’s a look at the stories that put our product, XSBI data and thought leadership in the spotlight across global print, broadcast, podcasts and social feeds.

October highlights

AI

Business Insider | Tech leaders using AI agents at work (paywalled)

CIO.com | AI won’t replace CIOs; it will expose the ones who can’t lead people

IT Digest | Xero Launches Google Gemini Integration, Enabling Natural-Language Financial Analytics for Small Businesses

NZ Herald | AI changes accounting firm hiring with more focus on soft skills (paywalled)

The Telegraph AI and Skills supplement | Human oversight of AI is ‘not optional’ for small businesses

MyBroadband | AI’s next big test: Can it give businesses more control, not less?

CPA Practice Advisor | Turning AI adoption into measurable ROI for accounting practices

Accountants Daily | Xero connects live financial data to Google Gemini

IT Brief Canada | Canadian firms warned of AI risks to financial data

Idealog | The AI step SMEs shouldn’t skip

Singapore Business Review | Firms struggle to turn AI adoption into results

CRO First | Xero Connects Financial Data With Google Gemini to Support Faster, Data-Driven Decisions

SME horizon | Singapore SMEs reclaim capacity with AI, but face challenges scaling

Product launches and features

Business Quarter | Xero automates UK supplier payment reporting

IBS Intelligence | Xero launches supplier payment analytics tool to support fair payments

Small Business Trends | Xero and Bookkeeper360 Launch Groundbreaking Accounting Integration

Acuity (AU) | How Xero is evolving payments in Australia

Acuity (NZ) | How Xero is evolving payments in New Zealand

Small business and accounting and bookkeeping advocacy and insights

CNBC Africa | Africa Side Hustle: Beyond the Hustle: Why knowing your numbers matter

Small Business Stories podcast | Why higher sales aren’t fixing your cash flow

Lifestyle & Tech | From survival mode to strategy: How automation is giving South African businesses room to grow

South Africa Today | The competitive advantage that actually matters: Why small businesses need financial visibility before they scale

Elite Business | The £868 billion small business economy that is being critically overlooked

Business Explainer | From financial firefighting to financial confidence

Irish Tech News | The next pressure on Irish SMEs is the decision window

Wider business and economic news

Australian Financial Review | Ex-cyber spy chief says offshoring increases hacking risk (paywalled)

ABC News | Businesses find workarounds to recoup surcharge fees banned by RBA

The Post | If I was PM: Make NZ world’s smartest place to do business (paywalled)

CFOtech NZ | Xero wins Canstar small business award for eighth year

Canadian Business | CB Playbook: How TaxCycle is tackling seasonal burnout

Dynamic Business | Inside the fight over Australia’s climate disclosure rules

AccountingWeb | Xero looks for lift-off with fixes not fanfare