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How AI Is Changing CLM
I get asked all the time how AI is going to impact contract lifecycle management.
It's a great question because this is a new technology that is changing the way people think about delivering software. Start with something simple: how people get information from their CLM.
Let's start with good. Traditionally, you had to understand the application to get to the information inside it. You needed to know where to look, which screens to use, and how to navigate the system.
With AI, you can ask a question in plain language.
"Where are my contracts that fit these parameters?"
"How many contracts have we signed in the last 30 days?"
"Which agreements contain this provision?"
You don't have to understand the entire application. You just have to know what you want to know and where to ask for it. It's like having a virtual general counsel that never sleeps, never takes vacation, and never goes crazy from constantly being asked questions all day.
That makes CLM and your contracts themselves useful to a much broader group of people across the company. Sales can get information about their contracts. Procurement can find what it needs. Finance can access relevant contract information. Marketing can work with the agreements that affect its business. They don't all need to become CLM experts.
That's one of the things that makes today's agentic CLM so much more powerful than what we had before. Natural language makes the information accessible, and that makes it possible to expand CLM to more users and more departments.
But the natural language interface is only the beginning.
Agentic technology changes what CLM can do
What's even better is what we can do with AI agents.
Agentic AI is proactive AI. This is software that works on its own to accomplish the tasks you assign it without needing to be nudged every time a new request, new draft, or new project comes along.
At the core CLM level, we can give customers configurable agents that make it easier to work within their own business workflows. As customers expand their use of the platform, they can go further with customizable agents that work across workflows, smart rules, and contract intelligence. That opens up much more of the information contained in a company's contracts.
You can use agents to better understand your obligations. You can identify risks. You can apply your own business rules. You can build processes around the way your company actually works.
And you can do that yourself. You don't need an IT person every time you want to make a change or get more value from the platform.
That's a major shift in what a CLM can deliver. We think customizable agents can give customers roughly five times more power in the platform than they have today.
The next step is custom agents
Best of all is the longer-term opportunity: custom agents.
These are agents built specifically around the needs of your business. We can build them for you. As customers gain more expertise with the technology, you can build them yourself.
The important thing is that these agents can be tied directly to the way your business operates. That's where the impact of agentic CLM starts to extend beyond Legal.
Think about sales. A contract is part of the process of getting business done. If an agent can help manage the contracting workflow, identify the information sales needs or move work through the right process, you can improve the throughput of contracts and shorten deal cycles significantly.
The same applies to marketing, finance and procurement. Each of these teams works with contracts, but they don't necessarily need Legal involved in every step. Giving those teams the ability to manage their own contract-related work can remove friction while allowing Legal to stay focused on the work that requires legal expertise.
That has a bigger implication for the business.
Contract throughput affects business throughput
Contracts are connected to the work companies are trying to accomplish. When you improve the throughput of contracts, you can improve the throughput of the business. Ultimately, faster contract processes can help a company move faster in whatever it is selling to the market.
That's what I find most exciting about agentic technology.
We are moving toward a CLM that can do much more than help a legal team manage agreements. It can give people across the business access to the information they need and the ability to work with contracts in ways that are specific to their jobs.
Agentic AI is a game-changer for CLM
We're still early in this transition, but the direction is clear.
Natural language makes contract information easier for everyone to access. Configurable agents give businesses more power to build workflows, apply smart rules and work with contract intelligence. Custom agents create the opportunity to connect contracts directly to the processes that drive a company's business.
That is a significant change in what CLM can be. The opportunity ahead is bigger than making contract management easier. It's about helping businesses get more value from their contracts and use that information to move the business forward.
If you'd like to learn more about LinkSquares Agentic AI and how it can help your business move faster and work smarter, schedule a personalized LinkSquares demo today.
Written by: Bill Hewitt Intermin CEO, LinkSquares
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