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“ We see that AI is particularly effective at accelerating preparation, benchmarking and contract review, but it inherently needs to operate within well-defined parameters,” she explains.
When is it time for human intervention? One thing is clear among these executives, that while AI is certainly capable of enhancing and streamlining the negotiation process, it won’ t replace it. AI is transforming procurement faster than the profession is ready for. The Skill Dynamics Skills Report 2026 found that 47 % of organisations cite AI and automation as their single biggest skills gap, yet 83 % believe they’ re prepared for it.
This disconnect matters because an AI-assisted sourcing process is only as effective as the people governing it. The concern isn’ t whether the role becomes obsolete, but that organisations automate around it without building the capability to challenge and validate what the technology produces.“ We don’ t want to remove human judgment from negotiations,” says Steve,“ the aim is to give teams better context before they enter them, so discussions become faster, more informed and more focused on value rather than paperwork.”“ For low-risk, standardised agreements, I think we will see elements of‘ self-negotiating’ contracts become a reality.”
AI is already able to analyse contract language, identify deviations from approved terms, assess previous negotiation patterns and recommend changes based on predefined rules or risk thresholds.
“ For routine renewals, that could remove a lot of unnecessary manual work,” says Steve.
128 July 2026