Does CLM Even Make Sense Anymore?

The Webinar Prep That Became a Wake-Up Call

This afternoon, I was on a call with one of our oldest customers, preparing for an upcoming webinar on AI in CLM. We were discussing talking points, mapping out the usual suspects – efficiency gains, risk reduction, better compliance. Standard stuff.

But then the conversation took an unexpected turn.

“You know,” they said, “I’ve been thinking about something. With all these AI agents coming online, does CLM as a category even make sense anymore?”

The question hung in the air for a moment. Here was a customer who’d been with us for years, someone who’d lived through multiple CLM implementations, asking the question that keeps every CLM vendor up at night.

And honestly? They were right to ask it.

The Empire Built on Broken Promises

For too long, we’ve accepted that contracts must bend to software. CLM platforms have forced you into their rigid workflows, demanding that you predict and configure every possible scenario into predetermined steps. But enterprise contracting doesn’t work that way.

Think about it: When was the last time your legal team said, “This contract is straightforward – it fits perfectly into our standard workflow”? Never. Because your contracts are living, breathing business instruments – too complex, too dynamic, too nuanced for rigid workflows.

Every regulation change sends you back to your vendor for expensive reconfiguration. Every new market opportunity requires a consultant to rebuild your approval chains. Every business pivot becomes a software project. You’re paying for the privilege of being locked into someone else’s vision of how your business should work.

For nearly 15 years, the CLM empire built their fortunes on this technology gap. They sold us the dream of automation while delivering the reality of digital filing cabinets with fancy routing rules. But the sun is setting on that world – and AI agents are the heralds of what comes next.

The Moment Everything Changed

Back to that call. As we talked, something became crystal clear: my customer wasn’t asking about incremental improvements to CLM. They were questioning the fundamental premise.

“Why do we need workflows at all?” they continued. “My best contract lawyer doesn’t follow a workflow. She reads the contract, understands the business context, applies her experience, and makes intelligent decisions. Why can’t software work the same way?”

That’s when it hit me. The future of contract management isn’t about better workflows – it’s about intelligence that adapts to you.

Meet the New Paradigm

AI agents don’t need workflows because they treat your contracts as data to be understood, not tasks to be routed through predetermined steps. Just like your best contract experts, they consume your business logic, precedents, and institutional knowledge. They apply years of training to each unique situation, continuously adapting to how your business actually works.

Need to check a renewal date? Done. Want to compare SLAs across vendors? Instant. Need to redline a clause based on your company’s latest risk appetite? Consider it handled.

This isn’t search with extra steps. It’s understanding with immediate action. The agent doesn’t just find information – it works for you.

What Dies, What Lives

Here’s what becomes obsolete: rigid approval workflows, predetermined routing rules, expensive reconfiguration projects, and software that demands you adapt to it.

Here’s what emerges: contract intelligence infrastructure that bends to your business, agents that learn your preferences, and systems that handle challenges that don’t exist yet.

The difference isn’t technical – it’s philosophical. Instead of building better CLM workflows, we need to build contract intelligence infrastructure. Rip out the rigid rules and replace them with data and context for an ecosystem of agents to feed on and function.

The Stakes Are Real

Companies that cling to workflow-based CLM aren’t just using outdated technology – they’re accepting strategic disadvantage. While they’re configuring approval chains, their competitors are deploying intelligent systems that adapt in real-time to market changes, regulatory shifts, and business pivots.

The question isn’t whether AI agents will disrupt CLM. It’s whether your organization will lead the transition or be left behind by it.

This Is Just the Start

After that call ended, I sat there thinking about how many similar conversations are happening in boardrooms and legal departments around the world. The writing isn’t just on the wall – it’s in neon letters.

We believe software should disappear into the background and just work for you. The age of workflows is over. The age of contract intelligence has begun.

The future belongs to CLM platforms that understand your contracts as deeply as your best experts do – and act on that understanding instantly, intelligently, and independently.

This is just the start.