Companies boost AI investment to make contract negotiation, authoring and execution more intelligent, new research says

Enterprises are adding AI to contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems as data, analytics and workflow integration become more central to drafting and fulfilling contracts, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The 2026 ISG Contract Lifecycle Management Buyers Guide™ provides the rankings and ratings of 18 software providers and their products for connecting contracting with business operations. It finds that CLM software has grown beyond its roots as a document storage and approval routing tool into a platform for carrying out and managing the whole contract lifecycle. Capabilities such as electronic signatures and configurable workflows allow enterprises to automate many processes. AI is now generating greater intelligence to inform those processes, helping companies speed up contracting while understanding and controlling risks and obligations.

“Organizations are recognizing the importance of AI as the scope and complexity of contract management continue to expand,” said Barika Pace, director of research, Office of Revenue, ISG, and lead author of the report. “By the end of 2028, more than half of new enterprise CLM investment will move from traditional workflow automation to AI-powered contract intelligence.”

Modern CLM software helps companies manage enterprise agreements from initial request through authoring and approval, ongoing obligations and renewal or expiration. Its functions are essential for legal, sales, procurement and operations teams. By capturing and sharing contract terms, parties, dates and obligations as structured data, CLM makes a company’s commitments visible and actionable. To enable companies to carry out agreements, it needs to be tightly integrated with billing, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and other systems.

The core of any CLM system is a shared, consistent data foundation that accurately represents both original agreements and subsequent amendments. Analytics is another key capability, enabling an enterprise to connect company performance with contractual outcomes and spot problems. Portfolio analysis can uncover risky contract terms and clauses that deviate from company standards, and cycle-time analysis can identify delays associated with specific teams or agreement types.

Quality of underlying data will become even more important as enterprises implement AI-powered contract intelligence. When connected to workflows, AI-enabled insights can inform management of reviews, approvals, renewals and ongoing performance. This new phase of automation requires greater emphasis on extracting reliable contract data and identifying risk. Companies should assess the accuracy, explainability and human oversight of AI systems across drafting, review, search and other functions, ISG says.

“AI can streamline contract negotiation, review and execution, but also amplify risks,” Pace said. “Inaccurate dates, amounts or obligations can undermine downstream workflows and reporting. Organizations should make sure CLM platforms support comprehensive governance.”

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Contract Lifecycle Management assesses a total of 18 providers: CobbleStone, Conga, Coupa, Docusign, GEP, Icertis, Ironclad, LawVu, Leah, LinkSquares, Malbek, Oracle, PandaDoc, SAP, Sirion, SpotDraft, Workday and Zoho

ISG rates software providers’ products in five evaluation categories: Overall, Product Experience, Capability, Platform and Customer Experience. Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Those that meet the greatest proportion of our evaluation criteria are named as Overall Leaders.

Conga was named the top Overall Leader, followed by CobbleStone and Oracle. In addition, the following providers were rated as Exemplary or Innovative:

Contract Lifecycle Management: CobbleStone, Conga, Docusign, Ironclad, Leah and Oracle were rated Exemplary. Icertis and Zoho were rated Innovative.

The ISG Contract Lifecycle Management Buyers Guide is the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Contract Lifecycle Management Buyers Guide and read an executive summary of the report. The complete report, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, is available by contacting ISG.

About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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Enterprises are recognizing the importance of AI as contract management becomes more complex. By the end of 2028, more than half of new enterprise CLM investment will move to AI-powered contract intelligence.