AI in contracting 2026: From experimentation to impact

AI, adaptability and the future of CCM

It’s the fourth year that we have reported on the role and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Commerical and Contract Management (CCM) process. During that time, we have monitored changing attitudes, a shift from optimism to skepticism and now, a growing sense of practicality and realism.

These sentiments are mirrored across boardrooms, as AI moves from experimentation to expectation. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) studies by EY and PwC show senior leaders increasingly viewing AI as central to productivity, resilience, and competitive advantage in an environment of continuing uncertainty – a world defined by volatility, geopolitical disruption, regulatory change and supply chain fragility.

Yet these same studies reveal an unresolved tension which is directly confirmed by this latest report. While executives are pushing for faster, better decisions,many organizations lack the operating models, data foundations, and governance structures required to deliver them. Indeed, the CCM Institute Benchmark report 2025 identified almost 80% of the organizations we surveyed were struggling to develop the adaptabilitythey need to operate effectively in today’s market conditions. Transformation is constrained by execution capability.

CCM sits at the heart of this challenge and represents a critical insight to the dilemma facing business executives. For many, contract management is seen as a standardized activity, a prime candidate for full automation. On one level, they are right – but this is a story of transformation, not elimination. Contracts govern how organizations commit resources, manage risk, respond to change, and realize value.

If AI is to improve decision-making at scale, it must work through a contracting system designed to enable, rather than a compliance model which operates as a bottleneck. Simply moving today’s contract management tasks into AI systems will add to inflexibility and expose process inadequacies.

AI represents an opportunity for fresh thinking and value uplift, an opportunity for broad organizational efficiencies. Indeed, if we summarize the findings of this , we find that when respondents are forced to prioritize value, they consistently rank capability, innovation, and productivity above cost reduction or compliance. This suggests organizations see modern contract management not as an efficiency tool, but as an enabler of better commercial decisions and strategic capacity.