Agentic AI & Conversational Contracts: Why Businesses Must Act Now
The way organizations handle contracts is undergoing a profound transformation. For years, traditional CLM systems have relied on rigid interfaces, manual workflows, and fragmented processes. But that’s changing and we’re now witnessing the dawn of a new era—one where Agentic AI is revolutionizing how we interact with contracts through natural, conversational interfaces. This paradigm shift isn’t just incremental improvement; it’s a complete reimagining of contract management.
AI is evolving rapidly, and we’re now entering what industry leaders, including Salesforce, are calling the Third Wave of AI—an era defined by intelligent, autonomous agents that go beyond static automation or copilots. While the first wave focused on predictive analytics and the second wave introduced AI copilots for enhanced decision-making, the third wave brings agentic AI—a shift toward AI-driven systems that don’t just assist but actively orchestrate, execute, and optimize workflows.
Before diving into how this technology is making its way into CLM software, let’s clarify some key terms that are often used interchangeably but represent distinct concepts.
- AI Agents: Specialized software entities designed to perform specific tasks autonomously, such as contract intake or key term extraction. An AI agent perceives its environment through inputs, makes decisions based on its programming and available data, and takes actions to achieve defined goals.
- Agentic AI: Multiple AI agents working together, adapting dynamically to changing conditions rather than simply executing predefined tasks. Agentic AI systems can handle complex workflows that span multiple domains and tasks, maintaining context and continuity throughout processes.
- UI-less Functionality: Eliminates the need for clicking through interfaces or filling out forms by enabling users to interact via text or voice. The system handles the technical details behind the scenes, translating user intent into appropriate actions without requiring navigation through a traditional interface.
The Third Wave of AI: A New Era of Intelligent Agents
Think of traditional AI as individual players on a team, each performing their role in isolation. Agentic AI, on the other hand, functions like a well-coached team—coordinating plays, adapting agent strategies, and ensuring every move supports the ultimate goal.
Agentic AI Applications in CLM
- Traditional AI in CLM: Focused on specific, isolated tasks—perhaps automating data extraction from contracts or generating basic analytics or re-writing clauses during a negotiation.
- AI Agents in CLM: Operate semi-autonomously within their domain of expertise. A contract review agent, for example, might scan agreements for non-standard clauses and flag potential issues without human prompting. However, each agent usually works independently within its silo.
- Agentic AI in CLM: Multiple specialized agents collaborate within an integrated, orchestrated system. These agents communicate with each other, share context, and work together to navigate complex processes from end to end. Rather than simply executing individual tasks, an agentic system understands the broader goals and can orchestrate the appropriate sequence of actions across different functions, adapting as circumstances change.
Current CLM Market Landscape
The CLM market is undergoing rapid transformation. Many enterprises that adopted CLM between 2019-2022 are now upgrading, while mid-market organizations are accelerating adoption across departments.
AI is now a top priority, with contract review emerging as the most in-demand AI use case. Digitization is table stakes, and 71% of AI initiatives are being driven by executives or dedicated committees. Businesses see AI’s potential, with 68% believing its benefits—like productivity gains, risk mitigation, and cost savings—outweigh the risks.
While the traditional CLM market has focused on incremental improvements to existing paradigms, the introduction of Agentic AI and conversational interfaces represents a step-change in how organizations can approach contract lifecycle management.
Malbek’s Conversational Contracts: A New CLM Paradigm
Malbek’s announcement of Conversational Contracts, reinforces the Third Wave of AI — leveraging Agentic AI and UI-less technology to take on increasingly sophisticated roles, handling tasks without requiring direct user intervention, autonomously driving outcomes. This groundbreaking technology transforms the entire contract lifecycle from pre- to post-signature, enabling truly unified CLM execution. The traditional approach to CLM typically involves significant data entry, navigating complex interfaces, and managing workflows through multiple screens and systems. Malbek’s conversational approach eliminates these friction points by allowing users to engage with contracts using natural language, with a copilot that can respond to voice prompts. The result is a dramatically accelerated contract workflow across the entire contract continuum.
Sample Transformative Use Cases using Conversational Contracts
1. Mass Amendment Deployment with Targeted Distribution
A global enterprise needs to update terms across thousands of distributor agreements in response to regulatory changes, requiring personalized amendments for different tiers of partners.
What previously required weeks of legal and sales operations time is completed in hours, ensuring 100% compliance while maintaining personalized partner relationships. The system reduces amendment deployment time by 90% and ensures consistent execution across global markets.
2. Pharmaceutical Market Share Incentive Program Implementation
A pharmaceutical company needs to implement a complex market share agreement program across its distribution network which can span to 100’s to 1,000’s, with tiered incentives based on product placement and sales performance.
The legal team starts a conversation with the agent initiating a contract request, then the agent autonomously performs the bulk amendment process, routing it through a workflow which then increases product visibility by 40% through optimized incentive structures while reducing program administration costs by as much as 90%.
3. Manufacturing Regulatory Compliance Update Campaign
A manufacturing procurement team must update all supplier agreements to reflect new environmental and safety regulations, requiring confirmation of receipt and compliance from hundreds of global suppliers.
The company achieves 100% regulatory compliance documentation in record time, mitigating legal exposure and avoiding potential penalties. The automated process reduces the procurement team’s compliance administration burden by 85% while providing executives with real-time compliance reporting dashboards.
4. SaaS Subscription Revenue Optimization
A growing SaaS company struggles with inconsistent renewal processes, resulting in revenue leakage and missed upsell opportunities across their customer base.
The company increases renewal rates by 15% and expands average contract value by 22% through data-driven recommendations. The sales team shifts focus from administrative renewal tasks to high-value customer conversations, while finance gains accurate revenue forecasting capabilities.
5. Professional Services Scope Management and Change Control
A professional services firm faces scope creep and challenging client conversations about out-of-scope work, impacting project profitability and resource planning.
The firm increases project profitability by 18% through systematic scope management, while improving client satisfaction by providing transparent, consistent change control processes. Contract managers can focus on delivery excellence rather than administrative contract management, with full visibility into the financial impact of scope decisions.
Multi-Agent Collaboration Through Integrated Systems
The true power of Agentic AI becomes apparent when these specialized agents collaborate not just within the CLM system but across the broader enterprise technology ecosystem. Agentic integration enables seamless workflows that span multiple systems and departments, creating a cohesive experience for users regardless of where they initiate a contract-related process.
Cross-Platform Integration Use Cases
Slack Integration: Imagine being in the middle of a conversation with your team on Slack when a question arises about the status of a contract with a key supplier. Rather than switching to your CLM system, logging in, and searching for the information, you can simply type a command like “/contract-status Acme Corp renewal” directly in Slack. The integrated Contract Agent immediately retrieves and displays the current status, key dates, and pending actions within your Slack conversation. This seamless interaction eliminates context switching and keeps the team aligned without disrupting their workflow.
Salesforce Integration through Agentforce: For sales teams working primarily in Salesforce, contract processes have traditionally required switching to separate systems, causing friction and delays in closing deals. With an Agentforce app integration, sales representatives can initiate contract requests directly from an opportunity record in Salesforce using natural language commands. The system intelligently pulls relevant details from the opportunity—customer information, product specifications, pricing, and terms—and drafts an appropriate agreement without the sales rep ever leaving their CRM environment.
The Agentforce concept is particularly compelling for Salesforce customers, as it transforms the CRM from a mere record-keeping system into an active participant in the contract process. Sales representatives can ask questions like “What approvals are needed for this deal?” or “Can we offer a multi-year discount to this customer?” and receive immediate, contextually relevant guidance based on the organization’s contracting policies and the specific customer relationship.
The Power of Contextual Awareness
What makes these integrations truly transformative is their ability to maintain context across systems. When a user initiates a contract action from Slack or Salesforce, Agentic AI understands:
- Who is making the request (role, permissions)
- What the broader business process entails
- Which compliance rules, entities, and past interactions are relevant
Unlike traditional integrations that simply pass data, this contextual intelligence enables more relevant, sophisticated responses.
Real-World Benefits of Integrated Agent Systems
Organizations adopting these systems see tangible results:
- Faster cycle times – Eliminates system switching and manual handoffs
- Higher adoption – Contract tools meet users where they work
- Stronger compliance – AI actively monitors and guides users
- Better visibility – Key contract data surfaces in decision-making workflows
- Greater agility – Teams can initiate and track contracts from anywhere
This shift moves contract management from isolated document handling to embedded, intelligent processes within everyday business workflows.
Governance & Oversight: Responsible AI Implementation
As Malbek’s CEO Hemanth Puttaswamy puts it, “With great power comes great responsibility.” While Agentic AI enhances efficiency, organizations must maintain human oversight and governance:
- Delegation rules – Define which decisions AI can automate vs. require human approval
- Audit trails – Maintain records of AI actions and interventions
- Performance monitoring – Regularly assess accuracy and improvements
- Exception handling – Establish protocols for AI limitations
- Continuous learning – Use human feedback to refine AI over time
With structured governance, businesses can unlock the power of AI without sacrificing control over contractual commitments.
The Future of CLM: Beyond Traditional Interfaces
Looking ahead, multi-agent AI systems will handle complex contracts with minimal intervention while maintaining oversight. Key trends shaping this future include:
- Pervasive AI – Intelligent automation across the entire contract lifecycle
- Seamless data integration – Contracts directly connected to enterprise processes
- Embedded analytics – Insights delivered at decision points
- Conversational interfaces – Natural language replacing traditional UIs
This evolution transforms contracts from static documents into dynamic business assets, where AI agents handle administrative details, freeing humans to focus on strategic decisions.
Conclusion: The Transformative Impact of Agentic AI
The rise of Agentic AI and Conversational Contracts marks a major leap forward for CLM. By shifting from manual processes to intelligent, collaborative AI-driven systems, businesses can streamline workflows, enhance compliance, and unlock new strategic value.
This is not just a technological evolution—it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses create, negotiate, and manage agreements. Companies that embrace this AI-driven transformation will gain a competitive edge in efficiency, compliance, and contract strategy.
The future of contracts is conversational, collaborative, and context-aware. The time to explore Agentic AI is now.
