Procurement Outsourcing (PO) State of the Market 2025 – Treading the AI Path to Enable Autonomy and Intelligence

Procurement’s role is evolving from a process enabler to a strategic value differentiator, and AI, especially generative and agentic AI, is at the forefront of this transformation. It presents an opportunity to make procurement operations more autonomous and better aligned with evolving business needs. While enterprises recognize this potential, many struggle with limited clarity, readiness gaps, and unclear return on investment, which creates uncertainty around the right AI adoption path.

This report helps address these challenges by providing a comprehensive view of readiness challenges and a rethinking of workflows and governance frameworks. It details the path to agentic AI adoption within procurement, from early pilots to enterprise-scale integration, and outlines how providers are stepping in to bridge this gap, offering domain expertise, proprietary AI agents, and strategic partnerships with leading technology platforms. Additionally, the report analyzes the key market dynamics for 2024-25, with insights into market growth, process-specific demand, buyer adoption trends, and regional dynamics. Procurement leaders can leverage these insights to plan transformation, embrace AI-led solutions, and navigate the shift toward intelligent and autonomous procurement.