Tools for Accounting

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Blue J Workflows vs the New CoCounsel: Agentic Tax AI

By the AI Tools for Accounting team ·

The short answer

The two best-known AI tax research tools are both moving from answering questions to producing finished work. On November 10, 2026, Blue J announced a US$176 million Series E to scale Workflows, its agentic AI that reviews returns, drafts IRS notice responses and analyzes agreements [1]. On October 22, 2026, Thomson Reuters released a new, fully agentic version of CoCounsel Tax, Audit & Accounting that writes and runs code for calculations and builds Excel workbooks and memos [2]. For accountants, CPA firms, tax professionals and bookkeepers, the practical difference today is availability and scope: Blue J Workflows is in limited availability for eligible US customers [3], while the new CoCounsel version is available to all US customers [2]. Both vendors say every output still needs professional review [2][3]. For a side-by-side of plans, limits and reviews, see our Blue J vs CoCounsel Tax comparison.

What changed this fall

  • October 22, 2026: Thomson Reuters launched the latest version of CoCounsel Tax, Audit & Accounting, which it describes as a fully agentic platform that plans the work and uses the right tools for the job. It is available now for all customers in the U.S., with more features to come [2].
  • October 28, 2026: Blue J published a help article on getting started with Workflows. During Limited Availability, Workflows are available to eligible customers using Blue J's US database with the file upload feature enabled [3].
  • November 10, 2026: Blue J announced its Series E, led by JMI Equity, valuing the company at more than US$700 million. It says the money will scale Workflows and fund expansion in the United Kingdom and internationally [1][4].

What Blue J Workflows does

Blue J says Workflows builds on a research engine that has answered more than 14 million tax questions, and that tax professionals can hand it the work itself: reviewing returns before filing, preparing IRS notice responses, analyzing partnership, LLC and trust agreements, assessing multistate nexus and drafting client communications [1]. Its product page lists sample Workflows [5]:

  • Tax returns: a 1065 Technical Review. You provide the return and source documents such as K-1s, a trial balance or a partnership agreement; Blue J returns technical review notes, a cited internal memo or a PTP adjustment schedule.
  • Notices: IRS Transcript Review and Account Reconciliation, and Federal and State Notice Review and Response. You provide the notice and supporting documents; Blue J returns a response plan or draft package with key deadlines, a cited IRS response and a client email.

How it works, per Blue J's help center [3]:

  • Each workflow follows practitioner-designed steps and asks for the facts and documents it needs. Deliverables can be a memo, analysis, checklist, response letter, work paper or client communication.
  • Workflows use only what you type or upload into that workflow. They do not automatically use earlier conversation history, Project files or firm data.
  • Direct editing in the document pane and Excel file generation are not supported yet.
  • The 1040 Client Results Email explains a return as filed. It does not check for errors or perform a technical review; Blue J says a 1040 technical review is on its roadmap.
  • Some Workflows are free, and firms with a paid package or approved trial also get paid Workflows. Blue J does not publish Workflows pricing.

Blue J's Series E page calls Workflows "soon-to-be-released" and offers a waitlist [6]. Blue J says more than 6,500 organizations use it, including Big Four firms and Fortune 100 companies [1], and in October it partnered with Legora to bring its tax research into Legora's platform for legal work [1].

What the new CoCounsel does

Thomson Reuters lists these capabilities for the new CoCounsel Tax, Audit & Accounting [2]:

  • Code execution: it writes and runs code for calculations including depreciation, amortization, required minimum distributions, qualified business income, threshold checks and multi-scenario comparisons.
  • Client and firm context: client information, engagement activity and workflow context in one place.
  • Spreadsheets and deliverables: multi-tab Excel workbooks with live formulas and a documented assumptions tab, memos in Word and PDF, and updates to uploaded files that follow a firm's own workpaper templates.
  • MCP support: native Model Context Protocol connectivity, so CoCounsel can work with other applications and pull other systems into its context. Our MCP guide explains what MCP is.
  • Connected systems: integrations with Thomson Reuters products such as UltraTax, Engagement Manager and Guided Assurance.

Thomson Reuters says the platform runs on multiple AI models and stays grounded in Checkpoint, which it says holds more than 12 million primary source and analytical documents [2]. The same report places CoCounsel alongside Ready to Review, an agentic tax workflow application, and Ready to Advise, a tax planning advisory tool [2].

Pricing as published

  • Blue J Individual: $1,498/year per user. Unlimited questions, drafting and file uploads; full US federal and SALT coverage; SOC 2 Type II [7].
  • Blue J Team: contact for pricing. Adds dedicated support, onboarding, usage insights, SSO and access controls [7].
  • Blue J Workflows: pricing not published. Free and paid Workflows during Limited Availability [3].
  • CoCounsel Tax Essentials: $1,300.00/year for 1 user, as listed when we checked on October 18, 2026. Up to 20 citation-backed answers grounded in Checkpoint per user per week; the Tax Research add-on is priced per user [8].

When we rechecked the CoCounsel plans page on November 12, 2026, it described Essentials but did not display a price to us, and its FAQ says Essentials is currently for tax workflows only, with audit and accounting versions not yet available [8]. Thomson Reuters did not publish separate pricing for the October 22 release in the coverage we found [2]. Confirm current pricing with each vendor.

What to check before you pilot either one

  1. Availability on your account. Ask whether your plan includes Blue J's paid Workflows or the new CoCounsel features, and which ones are still on a waitlist [2][3][6].
  2. Which tasks you need. Blue J's published samples center on return review, notices and agreement analysis [5]; CoCounsel's release centers on calculations, workbooks and memos [2].
  3. What context the AI sees. Blue J Workflows only use what you add to each workflow [3]; CoCounsel brings in client and firm context [2]. Decide what client data each tool should hold.
  4. Review steps. Both vendors say outputs need professional review and show sources or steps for checking [2][3]. Build that review into your workpapers.
  5. Security and data terms. Both list SOC 2 Type II [7][8]. Our AI tool security checklist covers retention, training on your data and Section 7216 questions for tax return information.

FAQ

Is Blue J Workflows available to everyone? Not yet. Blue J's help center says Workflows are in Limited Availability for eligible customers using its US database with file upload enabled, and its Series E page offers a waitlist [3][6].

Does the new CoCounsel cost extra? Thomson Reuters did not publish separate pricing for the October 22 release in the sources we found [2]. Ask your account rep how it maps to your current plan.

Can either tool review a 1040 for errors? Blue J says its 1040 Client Results Email does not check for errors and that a 1040 technical review is on its roadmap [3]. Thomson Reuters lists Ready to Review as a separate agentic tax workflow application [2].

Do these replace a reviewer? No. Blue J says practitioners review the work and make the judgment calls [1], and Thomson Reuters says the platform gives professionals visibility so they can validate the work [2].

Related reading: Blue J vs CoCounsel Tax, the Blue J listing, the CoCounsel listing, Can AI Prepare a 1040? and the Income Tax category.

Sources

  1. Blue J, Blue J Announces US$176 Million Series E to Put AI Agents to Work for Tax Professionals (Nov 10, 2026): https://www.bluej.com/blog/blue-j-announces-series-e-funding
  2. CPA Practice Advisor, Thomson Reuters Releases Next Version of CoCounsel for Tax, Audit, and Accounting Pros (Oct 22, 2026): https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/10/22/thomson-reuters-releases-next-version-of-cocounsel-for-tax-audit-and-accounting-pros/192280/
  3. Blue J Help Center, Getting started with Blue J Workflows (updated Oct 28, 2026): https://support.bluej.com/hc/en-us/articles/54751537518356-Getting-started-with-Blue-J-Workflows
  4. LawSites, Tax Research Platform Blue J Raises $176M to Expand Its Agentic AI and Reach New Markets (Nov 10, 2026): https://www.lawnext.com/2026/11/tax-research-platform-blue-j-raises-176m-to-expand-its-agentic-ai-and-reach-new-markets.html
  5. Blue J, Agentic tax workflows built for practitioners (checked 2026-11-12): https://www.bluej.com/agentic-tax-workflows
  6. Blue J, Series E page (checked 2026-11-12): https://www.bluej.com/series-e
  7. Blue J, Pricing (checked 2026-11-12): https://www.bluej.com/pricing
  8. Thomson Reuters, CoCounsel Tax Essentials plans and pricing (price checked 2026-10-18, page rechecked 2026-11-12): https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/products/cocounsel-tax/plans-pricing

Last checked: 2026-11-12

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