AI in contract management: How artificial intelligence makes contract management more efficient

Contracts are becoming increasingly complex: Ever-changing laws and regulations in certain industries and the need to minimize risk mean that the processes behind contracts are time-consuming and prone to errors. Artificial intelligence (AI) in contract management helps to make processes faster and smarter, providing relief precisely where manual processes reach their limits. This makes AI a strategic lever for efficiency and risk minimisation in contract management.

2025-09-19 – Christian Mennrich-Ketelsen / Patrick Carl

Man signing a contract digitally on a tablet.

AI-supported contract management: What’s behind it?

AI is already established in many companies for contract management, so it’s not just a vision of the future. It automates repetitive manual tasks and enhances traditional document management with intelligent features. These include automatic classification, deadline monitoring and metadata recognition. The range of applications is broad and based on the daily challenges of effective contract management.

Advantages: AI-supported contract management

The following aspects demonstrate the specific added value that AI-based solutions offer in contract management:

Automatic document recognition and classification: AI recognises contract types and automatically classifies the contracts correctly.
Extraction of relevant contract data: Through intelligent document processing with OCR, AI can read and provide information such as terms, amounts, notice periods, contractual partners and clauses as metadata.
Deadline and date monitoring: AI identifies termination or renewal deadlines and triggers reminders or workflows early on.
Risk assessment: AI recognises and flags conspicuous clauses, missing provisions or unusual wording.
Intelligent search and filtering: AI provides context-based results, even for complex queries.
Contract creation: AI suggests suitable text modules or clauses based on existing contract templates.
Language processing: AI can automatically translate content or make legal terms easier to understand, especially in the case of international contracts.

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Contract management with AI: Key advantages

From contract capture to risk analysis: AI optimises contract management and enhances enterprise content management with intelligent automation functions. It saves time by automating repetitive tasks and helps minimise risks by independently analysing and evaluating them. AI can reliably perform its tasks even with a large number of contracts, so it can continue to meet your needs as your contract volume increases. Furthermore, it provides employees with a secure basis for decision-making when reviewing contracts, offering a high level of security through automated deadline management using structured data analysis. This shortens processes, reduces errors and prevents missed deadlines.

More efficiency, less risk: How AI is changing contract management

There is no doubt that using artificial intelligence for contract management noticeably reduces the team’s workload. The following overview shows how traditional and AI-supported contract management differ in practice:

Area	Contract management without AI	Contract management with AI
Contract capture	Manual contract review and filing	Automatic recognition, classification and metadata enrichment
Data collection	Time-consuming, error-prone extraction	Automated extraction of relevant contract information
Deadline management	Manual deadline monitoring, high coordination effort	AI automatically recognises deadlines, manages reminders and follow-up processes
Risk identification and compliance assessment	Only detectable through manual inspection	Automated detection of critical clauses and deviations, compliance with the GDPR
Contract search and evaluation	Limited search function (file name, keyword)	Context-based search (e.g. by content, deadlines or clauses)
Contract Creation	Manual text creation, copy-paste from old documents	AI suggests suitable clauses and checks for completeness
Time savings and automation of repetitive tasks	A lot of manual work, prone to errors	Relief through automatic processing and intelligent support
Reduction of legal risks	Missed deadlines and unclear regulations often go undetected	Early detection of risks, gaps and critical content
Basis for decision-making through data analysis	Contract data often unstructured, difficult to compare	Structured, evaluated data for reliable decisions
Scalability with high contract volumes	Effort increases proportionally with the number of contracts	AI enables consistently efficient processing even with a growing contract portfolio

Various symbols for the use of AI in contract management on a laptop.

Reviewing contracts with AI: AI and Microsoft 365 working together

Shareflex Contract management software and the Shareflex AI Studio add-on can be seamlessly integrated into existing Microsoft 365 processes, expanding them with AI-supported contract management functions. Users can continue working on familiar platforms such as Outlook, Teams and SharePoint while benefiting from automated workflows that include review and reminder functions. AI recognises contract types, understands their content, and takes over document control in the background. This creates an intelligent contract file that significantly reduces administrative effort.

From email to contract file: Shareflex brings AI into play

Typical contract processes start unspectacularly but laboriously: an email arrives and the administrative work begins. Until now, it had to be checked manually, named, filed and forwarded correctly for approval. With Shareflex AI Studio and Microsoft 365, however, this process is now largely automated.

Receipt via Outlook: The contract is received by email. The AI recognises that it is a supplier contract and automatically saves the document in the relevant SharePoint contract file.
Automatic data recognition: Shareflex AI Studio understands the document’s content and extracts important information, such as the start date of the contract, the notice period, and the contractual partners. The AI then assigns this metadata to the correct file.
Document control and approval: Shareflex initiates an appropriate approval workflow via Microsoft Teams. The relevant employees receive automated notifications and can review the contract in the same environment. The review is completed with a digital signature.
Deadline monitoring and compliance: The AI recognises relevant deadlines and sets up timely reminders for the responsible persons. At the same time, it checks that all mandatory clauses and legal requirements have been met.

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Contract Management with SharePoint and Microsoft 365

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✯ Manage all contracts over the entire life cycle
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The user interface of Shareflex® Contract, the contract management software for SharePoint and Microsoft 365.

AI in contract management: Where AI reaches its limits

The use of artificial intelligence in contract management promises significant efficiency gains, but requires structured, high-quality data and a suitable training basis. If the solution is cloud-based, for example as an extension to Microsoft SharePoint, particular attention must be paid to data protection and IT security. Microsoft meets this need with the EU Data Boundary, which ensures that data is processed exclusively within the EU. This is an important step towards GDPR compliance and minimising external access risks. Despite all the automation, humans remain indispensable: for the correct application of the software, legal assessments, compliance with internal compliance requirements and reliable decisions with substantive implications.

Artificial intelligence as the key to efficient contract management

Artificial intelligence is now the standard for scalable processes in contract management. Companies that start using it now not only benefit from a noticeable reduction in workload for their teams, but also secure clear efficiency advantages over other companies. This is because AI is also a central component of digital strategies for the future of companies in contract management.

Any questions? I will be happy to answer them personally!

Patrick Carl
Chief Sales Officer

Email: info[at]portalsystems.de

FAQ

Can AI identify legal risks in contracts?

Yes, AI can identify critical clauses, incorrect content and deviations from standards, thereby highlighting potential risks. However, it cannot replace legal assessment and human expertise.

What data does AI need to function in contract management?

AI needs well-maintained documents, structured metadata and uniform contract templates in order to make the most accurate statements possible and work efficiently.

For which company sizes is AI worthwhile in contract management?

AI in contract management is worthwhile for every company, regardless of size. SMEs and large companies alike benefit from the advantages of AI.

What are the most common application errors when using AI?

The most common misinterpretations of AI arise from documents with poor data quality and a lack of integration. Employees must be adequately trained in the use of AI and continue to check their work to avoid errors.