Something fundamental has shifted in contract management. For years, AI was discussed as a future possibility, a tool to explore, or even a threat to traditional roles. Today, that conversation is obsolete. AI is no longer theoretical, experimental, or optional. It is actively reshaping how organizations manage contracts, mitigate risk, and govern commercial relationships.
Forward-thinking organizations are not asking whether to adopt AI. They are deciding how quickly and strategically to integrate it into their contracting ecosystem.
Rajesh Raheja, chief engineering officer at Boomi, said in a Forbes article what many business leaders are beginning to grasp: “Organizations are more likely to buy into AI-based approaches when it directly ties to demonstrable customer value.” To help commercial contract teams clarify the path forward and dispel common myths about AI adoption, we’ve compiled some leading AI research from the contract management industry. Use the takeaways to better understand the mindset shift required when integrating AI, an approach that accounts for both AI’s capabilities and its limitations.
World Commerce & Contracting Sets the Stage for AI in Contracting
Here are three of the top research reports from World Commerce & Contracting examining a full spectrum of issues from core benefits and value expectations to workforce disruption, infrastructure dependencies, and more.
- Report: “Humans and AI: Together, Transforming Contract Management” (2025), WorldCC, partnering with Agiloft. Highlighting a practical framework to integrate AI into contract workflows in a strategic, controlled way where AI is a partner to human expertise, not a replacement.
- White Paper: “The AI and the Contract Management Lifecycle (CCM).” Provides insight into the strategic value of AI in the contract lifecycle, explaining how it can shift business capability from transactional and compliance-focused processes to a disciplined, dynamic environment.
- Survey Report: “AI in Contracting: From Untapped Revolution to Emerging Evolution” (2024), in collaboration with Icertis. Weighs in with global contracting practitioners on their enthusiasm for AI’s potential to drive the growing adoption of aspects of their contracting process.
Key Research Takeaways Shaping AI Focus in Commercial Contracting
The data is confirming what many contract professionals are already experiencing firsthand: AI adoption in contracting is no longer theoretical—it is accelerating.
Recent research shows that 42% of organizations now use AI in some capacity within their contracting work, up from 30% just one year ago (Icertis, 2025). At the same time, a noticeable gap exists between a practitioner’s mindset and organizational readiness. While 80% of professionals believe AI should be integrated into contract management, nearly 40% say their organizations are not yet prepared to deploy it effectively at scale. This disconnect is telling. The desire to evolve is present. The infrastructure and planning to support that evolution often are not.
The research also makes clear why AI is gaining traction so quickly. AI-enabled contract tools can significantly accelerate contract creation, review, analysis, and oversight. More importantly, they provide organizations with a practical way to combat one of the most persistent challenges in contracting: contract value erosion. Here are a few of the other main trends and findings identified:
- Hybrid Model Redefining the Role of Contract Manager. The most effective approach is not AI replacing people, but AI and professionals working together. AI handles repetitive, process-oriented tasks, while contract managers take an analytical, system-focused approach to strategic oversight, risk management, value optimization, and leveraging data insights to drive business outcomes (WorldCC).
- Portfolio-Level Visibility Is Becoming Possible. AI enables organizations to analyze contracts across their entire portfolio, identifying systemic risks, compliance gaps, and value leakage that would be nearly impossible to detect manually. This visibility creates new opportunities for renegotiation and performance improvement.
- Contract Management Is Gaining Strategic Recognition. Companies are beginning to see AI as the enabler that shifts contract management from an administrative necessity to a strategic discipline that contributes measurable business value.
- Adoption Gaps Are Real. Despite strong professional support for AI, many organizations lack the planning, governance, and investment required to adopt it effectively.
- Remaining Roadblocks. Data privacy concerns, AI accuracy and trustworthiness, governance frameworks, and integration with existing systems continue to slow broader adoption.
At the same time, industry research continues to highlight longstanding challenges in the profession. Reports indicating that 80% of businesses lack clear accountability for contracting performance (GlobeNewswire) underscore the urgency for better tools, stronger processes, and improved oversight, precisely the areas where AI is proving to make a meaningful impact.
How Ready Is Your Organization?
Understanding the potential of AI in contract management is one thing. Preparing your organization to use it effectively is another. AI-powered CLM platforms and AI-assisted contracting workflows introduce new complexities that go beyond technology. Every function that touches contracts—Sales, Procurement, Legal, Operations—will have legitimate questions about oversight, accountability, and how “human-in-the-loop” roles ensure AI outputs remain reliable, defensible, and compliant.
The real question organizations must ask is not “Should we use AI?” but “Are we culturally, technically, and operationally ready to support it?”
Cultural Readiness
AI changes the nature of contract work. Organizations will need to gradually shift from hiring solely for process-oriented skill sets to analytical, forward-thinking professionals who can interpret AI outputs, identify patterns, and exercise judgment.
For many companies, this evolution will come from within. Upskilling current staff, providing education, and helping teams refocus on higher-value activities like strategy, exception handling, negotiation support, and relationship management will be critical.
Those who adapt will find their roles elevated. Those who resist change may struggle in an environment where AI is part of the daily workflow.
Technical and Operational Readiness
AI cannot deliver value without foundational preparation. Successful adoption requires deliberate work in areas such as:
- Data cleansing and standardization
- Clear governance structures for AI oversight
- Training programs for teams interacting with AI tools
- Pilot programs to test and refine use cases before scaling
Without this groundwork, AI initiatives often stall or fail to produce meaningful results.
Outside Expertise As A Strategic Co-Pilot
Becoming “AI-ready” is rarely a blank-slate exercise. Most organizations are balancing legacy systems, inconsistent data, competing priorities, and leadership pressure to demonstrate return on investment quickly.
This is where experienced contract management partners provide immediate, practical value. They help organizations make informed decisions about where AI should be introduced, when it will create meaningful impact, and how to avoid common adoption pitfalls. Just as importantly, they identify friction points early, such as data readiness, security considerations, integration gaps, and executive alignment, before these issues slow progress.
The role of a seasoned partner is not to position AI as a silver bullet, but as a strategic co-pilot. One that helps teams move beyond experimentation by embedding AI into day-to-day execution. One that clarifies which activities still require human judgment, where automation can safely reduce effort or risk, and how governance must evolve alongside new tools. AI adoption works best when it is deliberate, trusted, and aligned with broader business objectives, not rushed for the sake of speed.
In Summary
The future of contract management is already being shaped by AI-powered CLM platforms and AI-assisted workflows. Organizations that recognize this shift are gaining advantages in speed, accuracy, risk oversight, and portfolio insight. This is no longer simply a cost-reduction or efficiency conversation. It is a strategic one.
AI-enabled contract management allows teams to mitigate risk more effectively, negotiate from a position of insight, strengthen compliance oversight, and unlock value that was previously hidden inside contract portfolios.
You don’t have to navigate this evolution alone. If your organization is ready to explore how AI can strengthen decision-making, optimize contract performance, and create measurable impact, we invite you to contact us for a complimentary consultation to identify immediate opportunities for progress.
Author: Nancy Nelson, President, ABiz Corporation, Contract Management Innovators.