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5 Contracting Trends in 2025: Insights from Industry Leaders

May 8, 2025 • Legal • 10 minutes
Written by Ben Thomas

The evolving landscape of contract management

As we move further into 2025, the contract management landscape continues its rapid transformation, with contract trends evolving every month. Organizations that adapt to these emerging trends gain significant competitive advantages in efficiency, risk mitigation, and strategic value creation.

According to recent research from Gartner, by 2027, 50% of procurement contract management will be AI-enabled—a clear indication of where the industry is heading. This shift represents not just technological evolution but a fundamental reimagining of how contracts deliver strategic value.

Matt Miller, VP of Strategic Solutions at Litera, emphasizes this transformation: “There is a huge wave in AI development, and 2025 is bringing an influx of AI agents and AI-driven workflows.”

Let’s explore the five most significant contracting trends reshaping how organizations manage their agreement processes in 2025.

1. AI-powered contract intelligence moves beyond basic automation

While AI in contract management isn’t new, 2025 marks a decisive shift from basic automation to sophisticated contract analytics driven by advanced intelligence.

From task automation to strategic insights

Today’s AI-powered contract management software offers capabilities that were science fiction just a few years ago:

  • Contract risk assessment that identifies potential issues before they become problems
  • Negotiation intelligence that suggests optimal terms based on historical data
  • Obligation monitoring that ensures compliance across thousands of agreements
  • Performance analytics that identify opportunities for improved terms

“AI-based contract analytics solutions will reduce the manual effort needed for contract review by 50%,” according to a recent analysis by Gartner. The emphasis is no longer just on saving time but on unlocking strategic insights that directly impact business outcomes.

The rise of AI agents in contract workflows

Perhaps the most transformative development is the emergence of AI agents that can independently execute complex contract-related tasks.

Krysta Johnson, Senior Legal Operations Evangelist at DocuSign, notes: “Agentic AI has the ability to leverage predictive analytics to anticipate contract outcomes, optimize renewal processes, and suggest improvements to existing language and contract templates based on historical data.”

These AI agents don’t just assist human workers—they work alongside them as digital colleagues, managing routine aspects of the contract lifecycle while escalating complex issues that require human judgment.

Implementation strategy

For legal operations teams looking to implement AI-powered contract intelligence:

  1. Start with clearly defined use cases where AI can deliver immediate value
  2. Ensure your contract repository is organized and accessible for AI analysis
  3. Build trust in AI recommendations through careful validation
  4. Develop metrics to track both efficiency gains and strategic impact

2. Embedded contracting experiences transform user adoption

The days of standalone contract lifecycle management systems are giving way to embedded contracting experiences that meet users where they already work.

The shift to workflow-integrated contracting

“In 2025, customers expect the benefits of CLM to meet them on the platforms they use every day,” explains a recent DocuSign report. This shift means contract functionality becoming available directly within the tools teams already use:

  • Sales teams accessing contracts directly in CRM systems
  • Procurement professionals managing agreements within P2P platforms
  • HR teams handling employment contracts within HRIS solutions
  • Finance departments reviewing revenue contracts in ERP systems

This trend addresses one of the most persistent challenges in contract management: user adoption. By embedding contracting capabilities within existing workflows, organizations eliminate the friction that has historically limited the effectiveness of standalone systems.

Mobile-first contract experiences

The acceleration of remote and flexible work has made mobile contract capabilities essential rather than optional.

“As the pace of business accelerates, we increasingly need to work on the go. To stay competitive, technology solutions need to be equally mobile,” notes the DocuSign report.

Mobile-friendly contract management software enables professionals to:

  • Review and approve contracts from anywhere
  • Access contract data during in-person negotiations
  • Receive time-sensitive contract alerts
  • Execute agreements without being tethered to a desk

Implementation strategy

To successfully implement embedded contracting experiences:

  1. Map your organization’s existing workflows to identify natural integration points
  2. Prioritize integration with the systems most frequently used by contract stakeholders
  3. Ensure mobile experiences are truly optimized, not just scaled-down desktop versions
  4. Measure adoption rates to validate the effectiveness of embedded approaches

3. Contract standardization accelerates through modular design

The trend toward contract standardization is gaining momentum in 2025, with organizations increasingly adopting modular contract design to balance standardization with flexibility.

The value of standardized agreements

According to research from fynk, “84% of legal professionals foresee globally standardized contract templates becoming the norm.” This standardization delivers multiple benefits:

  • Faster contract creation through pre-approved language
  • Reduced negotiation cycles by using market-standard terms
  • Lower risk by eliminating non-standard provisions
  • Improved analytics through consistent data structures

“By 2025, we may see a complete migration to technology platforms that enable faster communication, better collaboration, and access to real-time market data,” predicts ContractPodAi.

Modular contract design emerges as best practice

Rather than creating rigid, one-size-fits-all templates, leading organizations are adopting modular approaches to contract design. This modular architecture allows for:

  • Reusable clause libraries that maintain consistency while enabling customization
  • Dynamic templates that adjust based on transaction variables
  • Pre-approved fallback positions that accelerate negotiations
  • Conditional logic that ensures appropriate terms based on jurisdiction

A modular approach strikes the critical balance between standardization and flexibility, enabling faster execution without sacrificing the ability to adapt to unique requirements.

Implementation strategy

For legal operations teams looking to implement modular contract design:

  1. Conduct a thorough analysis of your contract portfolio to identify patterns and variations
  2. Develop a structured clause library with clearly defined usage guidelines
  3. Implement contract automation tools that support modular contract creation
  4. Track metrics on negotiation time and exception requests to measure effectiveness

4. Data integration transforms contract value beyond risk management

In 2025, contracts are evolving from risk management documents to strategic data assets through deeper integration with enterprise data ecosystems.

Connected contract data drives strategic insights

“Integration of CLM platforms with broader enterprise ecosystems is becoming a non-negotiable requirement,” states Aavenir’s 2025 trends report. This integration enables contract data to inform key business decisions:

  • Revenue forecasting based on contract renewal data
  • Spend analysis enriched with supplier contract terms
  • Compliance monitoring that correlates contract obligations with actual performance
  • Predictive analytics that identify optimization opportunities

The most forward-thinking organizations are treating contracts not as isolated legal documents but as critical components of their data strategy.

Cross-functional visibility becomes the norm

As contract data becomes more integrated, visibility expands beyond the legal department to all stakeholders who can benefit from contract insights.

“By 2025, every organization will have adopted contract lifecycle management as their central source of truth for all contracts,” predicts ContractPodAi. This centralized approach enables:

  • Finance teams accessing payment terms and obligations
  • Sales teams leveraging contract data for renewal strategies
  • Procurement teams analyzing supplier performance against commitments
  • Risk teams monitoring compliance across the contract portfolio

Implementation strategy

To capitalize on the value of integrated contract data:

  1. Identify the key systems that would benefit from contract data integration
  2. Define the specific contract data points that deliver value to each stakeholder group
  3. Implement two-way data flows between your CLM system and other enterprise platforms
  4. Develop cross-functional dashboards that deliver contract insights to all stakeholders

5. ESG and sustainability requirements transform contract management

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are increasingly embedded in contracting processes as organizations face mounting pressure to demonstrate sustainable practices.

Sustainability clauses become standard

“Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance is no longer optional—it is a business imperative,” according to Aavenir’s report. This shift is reflected in contracting practices through:

  • Standardized sustainability clauses in supplier agreements
  • Emissions and waste reduction commitments
  • Human rights and labor practice requirements
  • Environmental impact reporting obligations

Organizations using modern contract management solutions can systematically implement and track these requirements across their entire contract portfolio.

Compliance monitoring extends to ESG commitments

Beyond including ESG provisions in contracts, organizations are implementing robust mechanisms to monitor compliance with these commitments.

Advanced contract compliance management tools enable:

  • Automated tracking of sustainability obligations
  • Supplier scorecards that include ESG performance metrics
  • Risk assessments based on ESG compliance
  • Data collection for corporate sustainability reporting

Implementation strategy

For organizations looking to integrate ESG factors into their contracting processes:

  1. Develop standardized ESG clauses appropriate for different contract types
  2. Implement tracking mechanisms for ESG compliance
  3. Create reporting capabilities that connect contract ESG provisions to corporate sustainability goals
  4. Establish governance processes for managing ESG non-compliance

The path forward: implementing 2025’s contracting trends

For legal operations professionals looking to capitalize on these trends, a methodical approach is essential.

Assessing your current capabilities

Begin by evaluating your organization’s current contract management maturity against each of these trends:

TrendBasicIntermediateAdvanced
AI-powered intelligenceLimited automationAdvanced automationStrategic AI insights
Embedded experiencesStandalone systemLimited integrationFully embedded in workflows
Contract standardizationAd-hoc templatesTemplate libraryModular contract design
Data integrationContract repositoryBasic integrationFull data ecosystem
ESG integrationLimited clausesSystematic inclusionComprehensive monitoring

Prioritizing initiatives based on business impact

Not all trends will deliver equal value to your organization. Consider these factors when prioritizing:

  • Current pain points in your contracting process
  • Strategic priorities of the broader organization
  • Resource constraints and implementation complexity
  • Potential ROI based on contract volume and complexity

Building your implementation roadmap

Based on your assessment and priorities, develop a phased implementation plan:

  1. Near-term (3-6 months): Focus on quick wins that deliver immediate value
  2. Mid-term (6-12 months): Implement foundational capabilities for longer-term strategies
  3. Long-term (12+ months): Deploy advanced features that require greater organizational change

Conclusion

The contracting trends of 2025 represent a significant evolution in how organizations create, manage, and derive value from their agreements. By embracing AI-powered intelligence, embedded experiences, standardized yet flexible agreements, integrated data ecosystems, and ESG considerations, legal operations teams can transform contracts from administrative burdens into strategic assets.

Organizations that successfully implement these trends will realize substantial benefits in efficiency, risk management, and strategic value creation. Those that fail to adapt risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive business environment where contract excellence is a differentiator.

As you evaluate your contract management strategy for 2025 and beyond, consider how these trends align with your organizational priorities and how modern solutions like Concord can accelerate your journey toward contract excellence.

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