Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept for procurement. It is rapidly reshaping how organizations source, manage suppliers, analyze data, and make strategic decisions. As procurement enters its next phase of evolution, AI is emerging as the catalyst for a new operating model built on intelligence, automation, and faster decision-making. Ardent Partners’ new AI Rising 2026: The State of Procurement AI report, sponsored by ORO Labs and Fairmarkit, examines how 311 Chief Procurement Officers and senior procurement leaders are navigating this transformation, revealing where AI adoption is accelerating, the challenges that remain, and the strategies separating today’s leaders from tomorrow’s laggards.
This report marks the beginning of a special multi-part series exploring the research findings and their implications for procurement organizations worldwide. Over the coming weeks, we will examine the data behind AI adoption, benchmark Best-in-Class procurement performance, explore the evolving role of data, governance, and talent, and highlight the practical steps organizations are taking to build AI-ready procurement operations. Along the way, we will also share expert perspectives on the technologies, operating models, and leadership strategies shaping the future of the function.
This annual report has always aimed to understand where procurement stands currently and where it is heading. This year continues that tradition, while also marking a turning point. Because what is happening now is not simply the next phase of digital transformation. It is the beginning of a new era, one defined by intelligence, autonomy, and decision- making at unprecedented speed and scale. The rules are changing. Expectations are rising. And there is no returning to what procurement once was.
This is AI Rising 2026: The State of Procurement AI
If the title feels like a departure, it is … deliberately so. The signals in the market are too strong and too consequential to frame this moment as incremental progress. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) has moved from experimentation to execution. What was once a topic for some future decade is now being embedded (unevenly, but also undeniably) into the operating fabric of leading procurement organizations.
Access this exclusive research today by downloading the AI Rising 2026: The State of Procurement AI report now.
