The Finance Leader’s Guide to AI Trust Scores

In the past few years, AI has evolved at lightning speed, unlocking new levels of efficiency and intelligence across every area of the business. In fact, a recent survey found that 78% of organizations use AI in at least one business function. 

But for accounts payable (AP) teams, AI has proven to be a double-edged sword.

While AI powers automation and insight, it’s also fueling a new wave of fraud. AI-generated invoices and sophisticated vendor scams are easier than ever to create and much harder to detect. It’s no surprise that 79% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payment fraud in 2024. 

Traditional approval workflows aren’t enough to combat this growing problem. Finance leaders need smarter systems that can instantly assess invoice authenticity and flag potential risks – without adding manual work to already-stretched teams. 

More and more, these finance leaders are turning to AI-powered trust scores.

In this post, we’ll explore everything modern finance leaders need to know about AI trust scores, including what they are, why they matter, and how to integrate them into your AP workflows to strengthen controls, boost efficiency, and stay one step ahead of fraud. 

The changing face of invoice risk in 2025

Invoice risk certainly isn’t a new concept. But it’s evolving fast, and many finance teams are struggling to keep up.

Threats can still come from obvious bad actors or vendor mistakes. But in 2025, they’re increasingly sophisticated, automated, and AI-driven. Common examples include: 

• Fake vendors created with stolen or AI-generated business identities.
• Duplicate invoices that slip through when data is slightly altered – a decimal, a data, or a vendor name.
• AI-generated scams that mimic legitimate invoices down to logos, formatting, and language tone.

Manual reviews and spot checks worked when invoice volumes were lower and fraud was more predictable. But today’s AP teams handle thousands of invoices in varying formats, with leaner teams and tighter deadlines. In other words, they’re expected to do more with fewer resources, and even the most diligent reviewers can’t manually catch every discrepancy or red flag.

That’s bad news, as the cost of getting it wrong is high. Even a single fraudulent or duplicate payment can ripple across finance operations, leading to overpayments, write-offs, audit red flags, and vendor distrust. Beyond the immediate financial loss, invoice fraud erodes confidence in internal controls and undermines trust across the business.

One thing is clear: traditional workflows won’t cut it anymore. To stay one step ahead of fraud,  finance leaders need tools that can analyze patterns, detect anomalies, and surface risks in real time to stay one step ahead of fraud. That’s where AI-powered trust scores make a real impact. 

What is an AI trust score?

An AI trust score is a confidence rating that indicates how trustworthy an invoice appears to be. Think of it as a quick, data-driven snapshot of invoice authenticity.

But how is the score determined? Behind the scenes, sophisticated algorithms analyze a number of signals for every invoice that comes through, including:

• Vendor history: Has this vendor been paid before, and are their details consistent with past records? 
• Payment amounts vs. norms: Does this invoice align with typical spend patterns, or does it fall outside the expected range? 
• Source email or domain: Was the invoice sent from a verified, trusted source? 
• AI-generated text markers: Does the language or formatting show signs of being artificially generated? 
• Duplicate detection: Has a similar invoice already been received or paid? 

After analyzing these signals, the system produces a numeric or tiered trust score. For example, invoices in Ottimate are labeled as high, medium, or low trust. This helps AP teams identify which invoices check out and where caution is needed. 

A high trust score indicates that an invoice is legitimate and consistent with established patterns. A low trust score raises a red flag, indicating an invoice should undergo further review.

By providing immediate insights on every invoice, AI trust scores help finance leaders make faster, more informed decisions. With the right tools in place, teams can reduce fraud risk without slowing down the flow of business.

Why trust scores should be on every finance leader’s radar

It’s easy to assume that AI trust scores are just another layer of automation. But that’s not the whole story.

AI trust scores give finance leaders a clear, data-backed view of invoice reliability and risk. When teams have better visibility into which invoices pass muster and which require closer review, they can work faster, smarter, and with greater confidence.

Some of the key benefits of AI trust scores include: 

Fraud prevention

Trust scores flag high-risk invoices before approval. This helps teams catch suspicious activity early and prevent fraudulent payments from slipping through.

Efficiency

Instead of manually reviewing each invoice, AP teams can focus on invoices with lower trust scores that warrant closer inspection.

Cash flow protection

By catching duplicate or fraudulent payments before they’re processed, finance leaders can prevent avoidable losses that erode margins. 

Audit readiness

Documented trust scores provide a transparent record of risk assessment and decision-making. This strengthens compliance and simplifies reporting during audits. 

In short, AI trust scores empower finance leaders to strike the right balance between speed and control. Equipped with full visibility and actionable insights, they can safeguard finances while keeping operations running smoothly. 

Putting AI trust scores to work in AP 

AI trust scores are most impactful when they’re built directly into your existing AP workflows. Here are a few practical, but impactful ways finance teams can put trust scores into action.

Auto-approve high-trust invoices

Invoices with high trust scores can move through the system automatically. This reduces time spent on manual reviews and speeds up approvals for routine, low-risk payments.

Route low-trust invoices to multiple reviewers 

Invoices with low or medium trust scores can be automatically routed to additional approvers. This ensures any red flags are adequately reviewed and addressed by humans.

Prioritize workload during close

Every finance leader knows that month-end can be hectic. Trust scores help teams triage work by risk level so the riskiest invoices get addressed first.

Remember: trust scores don’t replace human judgement. Instead, they make it smarter, faster, and more consistent. 

By integrating AI trust scores into AP workflows, finance leaders can create a safer, smarter approval process that protects cash flow, reduces risk, and frees up valuable time.

The future of invoice risk management

Invoice risk will never completely go away. But it will continue to evolve.

As AI continues to advance, so too will the tools bad actors use to exploit it. In 2025 and beyond, finance teams can expect scams to become more sophisticated, more realistic, and more difficult to detect. 

The future of invoice risk management will depend on AI-powered detection tools that can keep pace with AI-driven threats. AI trust scores are emerging as one of the most effective ways to do that, offering real-time, data-backed insights that surface risks before the damage is done.

In the coming year, trust scores will become a standard AP metric. They’ll serve as a key indicator of reliability, guiding decisions about which invoices to approve and which require further scrutiny.

At the same time, finance leaders will need more than just technology to stay one step ahead of risk. They’ll also need strong policies, controls, and accountability frameworks. The organizations that blend AI-driven tools with sound governance will be best positioned to prevent fraud, maintain compliance, and build trust in the AI era of finance. 

Building trust into every invoice with Ottimate 

Businesses across industries depend on Ottimate to transform their approach to AP. Now, Ottimate is helping finance teams stay one step ahead of risk with AI-powered invoice trust scores. 

Every invoice that enters Ottimate is automatically analyzed using a range of data points, including vendor history, payment patterns, source verification, and duplicate detection. The result is a clear, color-coded trust score that provides instant insight on how reliable an invoice appears to be.

A high trust score signals confidence and consistency with past records, allowing for faster approvals. A lower trust score flags potential issues like irregular amounts or unverified senders. This helps AP teams identify which invoices need extra attention.

In addition to preventing fraud, trust scores also make invoice processing faster, more transparent, and easier to audit. With Ottimate’s trust scoring in place, finance leaders can protect cash flow, maintain compliance, and strengthen vendor relationships.

For example, a hospitality company using Ottimate might use trust scores to flag a suspicious duplicate that has slipped through their ERP. As a result, they catch the fraudulent payment before it is sent.

Ottimate brings automation and intelligence together to create a more secure, transparent AP process. This gives finance leaders the confidence they need to move quickly, reduce risk, and build lasting trust across every transaction.

A smarter, safer future for AP starts with Ottimate 

As AI continues to evolve, payment fraud is becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. All too often, teams don’t identify the risks until the damage has already been done.

Finance leaders need intelligent tools to stay one step ahead of fraud, without adding extra manual work to stretched teams. 

Ottimate’s AI trust scores give leaders an edge, helping prevent fraud, improve efficiency, and boost margins. They bring clarity and confidence to every approval, allowing teams to move faster without sacrificing control.
Ready to see it in action? Schedule a live demo with Ottimate to see how AI-powered trust scores can transform your AP process for the better.