Tax & AccountingApril 11, 2025

Enhancing tax research with AI

By: CCH AnswerConnect Editorial
In the ever-evolving world of tax research, leveraging advanced tools like CCH® AnswerConnect can significantly streamline your workflow and improve the accuracy of your findings. This blog post will walk you through the practical application of
CCH® AnswerConnect, highlighting its AI capabilities and demonstrating how to make the most of this powerful platform.

Narrowing your focus for effective research

When conducting tax research, it's crucial to narrow your focus to your specific practice area. CCH AnswerConnect allows you to filter your searches by federal, state, international, accounting, and audit practice areas. For this demonstration, we'll focus on state tax.

Traditional search vs. AI-enhanced search

  • Traditional Search: Historically, accountants and attorneys have relied on keyword searches to find relevant documents. This method involves manually filtering through search results to pinpoint the most promising documents.
  • AI-Enhanced Search: By providing more context and details in your search query, the AI can generate tailored responses and point directly to relevant sources within CCH AnswerConnect. This approach saves time and reduces manual effort.

Conversational AI for in-depth research

CCH AnswerConnect's AI capabilities allow for a conversational experience. You can start with a high-level question and follow up with more specific queries to refine your search. For example, asking "What's the Arkansas Homestead Property Tax Credit Amount for 2024?" provides a direct answer. Follow-up questions like "Who qualifies for this credit?" and "What Arkansas laws support these answers?" further refine the search and provide comprehensive information.
 

Documentation and citations

 One of the standout features of CCH AnswerConnect is its ability to generate summaries and memos with inline citations. This functionality is invaluable for documenting research and providing references for review purposes. You can easily save these summaries to client files or draft communications based on the AI-generated content.
 

SmartChart functionality for multi-jurisdictional research

For research involving multiple jurisdictions, the SmartChart functionality is recommended. This tool handles a large number of jurisdictions more effectively than a generative AI search, providing direct access to citations and explanations without extensive manual searching.
 

Practical tips for using CCH® AnswerConnect

  • Treat the AI like a knowledgeable colleague: Provide detailed context and ask follow-up questions to refine your search.
  • Use the thumbs up or thumbs down feature: Provide feedback to improve the accuracy and relevance of the AI responses.
  • Leverage formatting capabilities: Ask the AI to format responses as tables, bullet lists, or client letters to suit your needs. 
By understanding how to effectively use CCH ® AnswerConnect and its AI capabilities, you can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of your tax research. Whether you're dealing with state tax issues, nexus thresholds, or multi-jurisdictional research, this platform offers powerful tools to streamline your workflow and provide comprehensive, reliable information.
CCH AnswerConnect Editorial

Comprising of industry’s most trusted experts, the Wolters Kluwer CCH AnswerConnect Editorial Staff are knowledgeable and highly qualified to analyze and offer guidance on the latest, important tax topics. They ensure every topic is thoroughly researched and meticulously broken down so you receive the most up to date and accurate information available. Read more of their insights on CCH AnswerConnect.

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