Why Procurement Is Getting Agentic AI Wrong, Says Market Dojo CTO

Market Dojo Challenges Procurement's AI Obsession: "Procurement Doesn't Need Replacing. It Needs Empowering."

BRISTOL, England, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Dojo, a leading provider of AI sourcing solutions, CTO Nic Martin argues that the future of procurement belongs to organisations that combine human expertise with Agentic AI, not those seeking to automate it away.

As procurement leaders rush to understand the implications of Agentic AI, Market Dojo is challenging one of the biggest assumptions shaping the conversation: that autonomy should be the ultimate goal.

In a new report, Why Procurement Is Getting Agentic AI Wrong, Market Dojo CTO argues that procurement's biggest challenge is not AI adoption, but enabling people to use AI effectively.

The report comes at a critical time. According to Gartner, only 36% of CPO's are very confident in their ability to redesign procurement around AI, whilst just 14% believe they have the talent required to meet the future needs. At the same time, organisations face increasing pressure to drive greater value, resilience and efficiency with limited resources.

According to Martin, this highlights a growing disconnect between AI ambition and organisational readiness.

"Current conversations focuse on what AI can automate. We believe procurement leaders should be asking a different question: how can AI help people achieve more than ever before?".

Rather than replacing professionals, the report argues that Agentic AI should function as a procurement expertise engine, making best practice, category knowledge and sourcing intelligence accessible at the point of need.

This people-first approach sits at the heart of Market Dojo's Sustainable AI Philosophy. Built around three core principles: People, Pricing and Planet, the philosophy promotes responsible innovation that empowers procurement teams rather than replacing them, delivers transparent and accessible AI value without inflated premiums, and prioritises lean, sustainable AI deployment that maximises sourcing outcomes whilst minimising unnecessary complexity and environmental impact.

The Executive Insight explores how people-first Agentic AI can help organisations:

• Bridge procurement knowledge and capability gaps
• Accelerate sourcing event creation and execution
• Improve governance and compliance consistency
• Increase procurement adoption across the business
• Enable better, faster and more informed decisions

"The future isn't a black-box AI making sourcing decisions on your behalf, the future is Agentic AI that understands context, supports decision-making and helps scale procurement expertise across the organisation."

The report also examines the next evolution of procurement technology, from AI-guided sourcing support and document digestion through to intelligent event creation, supplier discovery and guided decision-making.

At its core, however, the message is simple. Procurement doesn't need replacing. It needs empowering. Organisations that succeed with AI will not be those that remove professionals from the process. They will be the ones that combine human expertise with intelligent technology to create better outcomes, stronger supplier relationships and greater strategic value.

About Market Dojo
The leading AI sourcing software provider, trusted by organisations worldwide.