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Conversational ERP: Why 2026 is the year we stop clicking and start talking to our ERP

Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Reading time: 7 minutes

This article was initially published on Berny During, Microsoft MVP and Companial Partner Technology Strategies, personal LinkedIn account. We’re publishing it here for our partners without any change. 

Over the last year, I’ve noticed a new term quietly slipping into conversations across the ERP industry – Conversational ERP. And honestly? It’s about time.

For decades, ERP systems have relied on one core assumption: Users must learn the system. Learn the menus. Learn the pages. Learn the paths. Learn the 47 clicks it takes to do something that should take three seconds.

But 2026 is shaping up to be the year that flips completely on its head.

Let’s talk about why.

What is "Conversational ERP" anyway?

In its simplest form, Conversational ERP describes an ERP interaction model where the user no longer navigates the system… they talk to it.

Not metaphorically. Not in marketing hype. Literally talk to the ERP – through natural language.

Instead of searching through pages and filters, you just type (or say):

“Show me the last invoice we posted for Customer X.”

And the ERP just… does it. No navigation. No guessing. No breadcrumbs. Just an answer. This may sound futuristic, but it’s already happening.

Why this shift is happening right now?

Here’s what’s pushing this forward at an insane pace:

  1. AI embedded directly inside ERP
    Every ERP vendor – Microsoft included – has gone allin on AI. But 2024 and 2025 were mostly about assistants that answer questions.
    2025 was the year we moved from assistants to agents.

  2. Agentic AI + MultiAgent Systems
    We’re no longer just prompting LLMs. We’re orchestrating agents that can:
    • Understand intent
    • Break down multi-step tasks
    • Execute actions
    • Validate results
    • And repeat the process autonomously

This is the key shift taking ERP from “system of record” → “system that gets things done.”

  1. The Rise of the MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server
    This is the biggest accelerator of all.
    The MCP server gives AI agents a clean, governed, standardized way to:
    • Access Business Central data
    • Understand the ERP’s structure
    • Trigger actions
    • Execute business processes

This is no longer about a chatbot floating above your ERP. This is direct connection to the ERP’s operational core.

Where Business Central fits into all this?

During my recent January 2026 update webcast to Companial Partners, I said something that really stuck with people:

“Business Central already supports conversational interactions…   but the magic comes when the AI can perform actions, not just answer questions.”

Right now, the chat inside BC is powered by an LLM. That means:

  • It can explain
  • It can guide
  • It can reference
  • It can link

But what it cannot do (yet) is execute multi-step business tasks on your behalf. That’s where the MCP server changes everything. With MCP-connected agents, we’ll soon see things like:

“Create a sales order for 20 units of item 1896-S for Adatum, same delivery details as last time.”

or

“Run our month-end close tasks and show me anything unusual.”

or even

“Forecast cash flow for the next 90 days and alert me to risks.”

This is where conversational ERP moves from theory → reality, and it’s here, we’re seeing it happening.

The 2026 outlook: what’s actually coming?

Let’s call it what it is: 2026 is the tipping point.

  • We will see conversational queries go mainstream
    Asking your ERP questions will become normal, expected, and faster than clicking.
  • Agentic ERP becomes the new battleground
    Vendors are racing to deliver AI agents that do the work.
  • The interface becomes optional
    Not gone – just optional.
    Graphical UI becomes something we use when we want to… Not because we have to.
  • MCP server accelerates partner innovation

Partners will build their own: 

  • Agents
  • Workflows
  • Scenarios
  • Extensions

…using standardized ERP operations instead of custom APIs.
This is huge for Business Central developers and ISVs. We are standing on the edge of this new frontier, so time will reveal the details, but there is no question about whether it’s coming or not? It’s already here.

In one sentence
Conversational ERP is the shift from navigating ERP systems… to simply talking to intelligent agentic AI that understands, retrieves, and executes tasks across the entire ERP landscape. And whether the industry is ready or not – this is where we’re heading.

Final thought:

You’ve heard me say it before: ERP complexity has always been the barrier. People don’t struggle because ERP is hard – They struggle because the interface is hard. Conversational ERP removes that barrier.

Or is that true??? When we moved from using the command line to using GUI’s and Wizards for everything in Windows NT and Windows 2000 on the server-side, I saw the next generation learn the wizards and GUI without understanding what is happening in the background… Maybe that is why we went BACK to the command line, and MOST things server side is done on the command line again today as opposed to GUI’s and Wizards??? Will this be the same??? Only time will tell 😉

We’re not 100% there yet, but the trend is real, the signals are everywhere, and 2026 is the year it becomes part of everyday reality for many organizations. Only time will tell how mainstream this will become, what do you think?

Watch this space… this is only the beginning.

Berny Düring
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