VALUE CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Procurement leaders are crying out for AI Agents to take hold of their contract negotiations, as they face mounting pressure to deliver cost savings while managing increasingly complex supplier relationships.
AI is emerging as a game-changing force in contract management, with leaders seeing it as the tool to support transformation.
Icertis, a leader in AI-powered contract intelligence, published a survey of 1,000 C-suite executives.
• 83 % said AI agents that manage business relationships with customers, suppliers and partners are a top priority among AI use cases.
• 53 % believe agents will negotiate customer or supplier deals on behalf of their business within the next year.
• 34 % anticipate this shift in the next 1-3 years.
Bernadette Bulacan, Chief Evangelist at Icertis, is at the forefront of this transformation. With enterprises managing thousands of supplier agreements containing untapped commercial intelligence, Icertis is pioneering AI-driven solutions that turn static contracts into strategic assets.
Speaking to Procurement Magazine, Bernadette reveals how leading organisations are already achieving eight-figure savings through smarter negotiations.
40 %
of C-suite leaders say they have signed a paper contract within the last year
She also discusses the delicate balance between AI automation and human expertise and shares her vision for a future where AI agents autonomously negotiate deals – but with humans in control.
From uncovering hidden rebate opportunities to predicting supplier risks, contract intelligence is becoming one of AI’ s most proven enterprise use cases.
Q. HOW DOES YOUR PLATFORM SUPPORT SMARTER, DATA-DRIVEN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS?
»“ Commercial agreements, and the critical data they contain, are one of the most valuable assets in the enterprise and a prime resource to drive financial outcomes with AI. Icertis surfaces data-driven insights across thousands of agreements so businesses can discover how suppliers diverge on pricing, evaluate performance against obligations, pinpoint hidden risks and benchmark across portfolios. This includes uncovering opportunities such as volume discounts or rebates, enabling procurement leaders to negotiate more favourable commercial terms backed by reliable intelligence, not guesswork.”
132 December 2025