Tom is a trusted advisor on procurement and third-party management to organizations across the United States. Having worked with over 120 organizations over his 30-year career, he has a unique ability to bring creativity and discipline to finding solutions for even the most complex challenges his clients face.AI has finally arrived in vendor management. After years of speculation, 2025 is proving to be a turning point as teams move beyond talk and start deploying AI in meaningful, practical ways.
If you’re exploring how to take your first steps, you’re not alone. Many organizations are learning how to integrate AI into their procurement, contracting and risk management workflows, focusing on targeted initiatives that provide real value.
This post highlights where AI is gaining traction, how vendor management teams are using it today, and what to consider as you move forward.
Where AI Is Gaining Traction in Vendor Management
The general theme is that AI isn’t replacing vendor management professionals—it’s enabling them and freeing up time for higher-value work.
Here are several high-impact areas where early adopters are starting to see value:
- Policy and procedure guidance: AI assistants like Copilot can search across policies, procedures, FAQs, and other internal documentation to provide instant, context-specific answers to stakeholders — speeding up support and reducing the volume of inquiries.
- Invoice and payment automation: Accounts payable automation platforms are using AI to match invoices with POs and contracts, reducing manual reconciliation and flagging anomalies before payments are made.
- Vendor risk assessments: Third party risk management platforms are using AI to automate tasks and analyze information. For example, some platforms can analyze SOC reports to summarize findings, flag potential issues and suggest remediation activities.
- Spend analysis and forecasting: Procurement platforms are using AI to analyze spend data, uncover spend patterns, and identify savings opportunities.
- Contract management: Contract management platforms are using AI to extract key clauses, compare contract versions, and flag discrepancies for review.
These use cases are being deployed across industries, particularly in organizations that are investing in procurement and vendor management transformation.
The Primary AI Tools Being Used in Vendor Management
AI is currently showing up in vendor management in two primary ways:
- Integrated into major vendor management platforms where AI enhances processes like sourcing, document reviews, risk assessments and contract management.
- Through AI productivity tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Workspace AI that support research, document reviews and creation, and guidance.
I’m especially excited about Copilot because it’s already integrated into many of the tools people use every day—like SharePoint, Excel, Word, and Teams.
One of the most practical and high-impact use cases for Copilot is integrating it with SharePoint, where it acts as an intelligent assistant layered across SharePoint pages and document libraries. It can also help to automate tasks.
In real-world vendor management workflows, that looks like:
- Conversational search: Ask natural-language questions like “Do we have a contract with Acme Company?” or “How many quotes do I need to get for a procurement that should cost between $50,000 – $60,000?” — and get filtered answers from structured and unstructured SharePoint content.
- Document summarization: Summarize lengthy vendor contracts, policies and financial reports—freeing up time for analysis.
- Task automation: Create purpose-built apps with Microsoft Power Platform to automate manual forms and processes, improving efficiency and creating proper audit trails.
- Alerts and risk flags: Use Copilot agents to scan for compliance issues such as flagging contracts missing required clauses or surfacing vendor files missing updated W-9s.
Remember though — data governance is critical for AI to be its most effective. The more your information is centralized, well-structured, and up to date, the better your results — and the more value you’ll get from AI.
Where to Start with AI in Vendor Management
Many vendor management professionals are already using AI productivity tools like ChatGPT and Copilot—making them the best place to start. These tools are being used to draft and edit documents, summarize long reports, generate ideas for RFPs and answer routine questions by pulling from policy and procedure documents. They’re simple to try, require minimal setup, and can provide immediate value with very little risk.
Some organizations are taking things a step further by strategically integrating AI into their intranets and workflows. For example, layering Copilot onto a SharePoint knowledge base filled with vendor management policies, procedures, templates, FAQs, and best practices can turn that static library into an interactive experience. In this environment, Copilot becomes a force multiplier—helping employees find information faster, receive real-time guidance, and make better-informed decisions.
On the vendor management platform side, AI capabilities are evolving rapidly. Most providers already offer some form of AI—whether it’s automating document reviews, analyzing risk data, or improving search functionality—and are actively building more advanced features. That said, development timelines and the quality of functionality can vary widely.
That’s why it’s important to start engaging with your software providers now. Ask what AI features are available today and what’s coming next. Find out how new capabilities are being rolled out, what other customers are adopting successfully, and how your organization can prepare. By understanding your provider’s roadmap, you can plan ahead, identify high-impact use cases, and be ready to take advantage of new features as they become available.
Final Thoughts: Start Small, Learn Fast
You don’t need a grand AI strategy to get started. Just a little curiosity and a willingness to experiment. Start small—with a single task, a pilot use case, or an everyday tool already at your fingertips. Learn what works. Share it. Build momentum.
Every organization has different policies, systems, and risk tolerances. The key is to explore AI within your unique environment—thoughtfully, responsibly, and with a clear purpose. Whether it’s using AI to navigate a policy library or automating a manual form, transformation doesn’t need to happen all at once. Take it one step at a time.
So be open. Try new things. Learn as you go. The future of vendor management is being shaped by those who are willing to ask, “What if?” and take the first step toward answering it.
Make that you!
