To get some clarity and cross the contract AI chasm, we have partnered with World Commerce & Contracting to conduct the first-ever, comprehensive benchmark study on the benefits, barriers, and usage of AI within contract management. In this part of our series "Crossing the Contract AI Chasm", we dive deep into our fourth trend: Excitement about the potential of AI technology varies by seniority and sector.
Our Findings
Overall, the response to AI is enthusiasm for what it can accomplish and how contract management tasks can be streamlined through its use is positive. 69% of respondents noted that they are excited by AI’s potential and how it can positively impact their job. The main driver of this excitement is a need for efficiency gains. In fact, 90% of respondents believe, to some extent, that AI will have a positive impact on contract efficiency in the next two to three years.
However, this positive outlook on the benefits of AI varies by position and industry. Respondents in leadership roles at the VP level and above are the most enthusiastic about the impacts of AI. This may mean more adoption since the roles most excited are usually the decision-makers and leaders of change management at their organization.
Here is the breakdown of how excited each role is about AI:
The industries with the most positive view of AI are technology, banking, insurance, and financial services. The correlation here may indicate a growing need for contract automation in these sectors. The excitement for AI may be rooted in how automating risk management tasks that remain mostly manual today could particularly benefit these sectors.
The promising benefits of AI aren’t all just seen as potential future gains. Today, 28% of participants are already experiencing the value of working with AI and contract automation. For example, Malbek customer TIBCO used AI to accelerate their M&A transaction timeline and increase efficiency across global teams with seamless post-acquisition contract ingestion.
Key considerations
A promising path forward for AI may be driven by everyday contract management practitioners
Interestingly, our research showed that the folks who are already seeing the greatest benefits of AI are mid-level managers involved in daily contract management tasks. This indicates that AI can produce very practical automation gains for day-to-day contract management tasks. This means that contract managers and other mid-level contributors are in an ideal position to use the insight that AI provides to support organizational KPIs.
Consistent use of AI tools improves its performance over time
An AI engine does not operate in a vacuum. It needs data to learn and improve its analysis over time. So, we can expect to see the percentage of respondents that experience the benefits of working with AI in their everyday jobs to steadily increase as AI adoption grows.
To read the full benchmark report, click here.
To see what an AI-charged solution can do for you, check out our Lifecycle AI page! If one of your top priorities for the next few months is to implement a CLM solution, request a demo!
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