Tropic published findings from a recent survey last week, showing that finance and procurement teams are preparing for a massive shift toward artificial intelligence adoption, with 86% planning to implement or scale AI initiatives by 2026.

With 50% reporting they’re at the beginning of their AI transformation, Tropic’s survey of 100 finance leaders revealed that 2026 will be an inflection point, with nearly half of organizations already reallocating budgets from existing software tools to fund AI initiatives.

This survey supports the unveiling of Tropic’s next evolution of Tropic AI: five specialized agents that work together as a unified workforce to transform how teams manage spending, contracts, and supplier relationships.

“Finance leaders aren’t just talking about AI anymore. They’re budgeting for it,” Tropic CFO Russell Lester said in a news release. “Our new research shows that 53% of finance leaders expect AI to influence their 2026 budget and planning priorities and 49% plan to or have already reallocated software and budget towards AI tools.

At Tropic, we’ve been building toward this moment for over a year. What we’re announcing today represents the maturation of our AI platform into a complete workforce that actually delivers the productivity gains teams have been promised,” Lester continued.

The survey found that 66% of finance leaders cite operational efficiency as their primary motivation for AI investment across the business, far outpacing competitive pressure or executive mandates.

However, early results remain mixed. While 73% report AI has somewhat improved their team’s productivity, only 4% cite significant gains.

Among teams using AI today, 42% report faster process cycle times, and 30% cite cost savings. However, 47% of leaders say proven ROI remains the top requirement for scaling AI initiatives.

“There’s a clear gap between AI promise and AI performance,” Lester said. “Teams know they need AI to become more effective and stay competitive, but they’re struggling to implement solutions that deliver real value. We’ve spent the past year building and refining AI tools that actually solve procurement problems. These five agents represent the evolution of that work into a comprehensive AI workforce.”

Additional survey results included:

—AI adoption is about to accelerate: While 50% report they’re at the beginning of their AI journey, only 5% report broad AI deployment today, but 86% plan to implement or scale by 2026.

—Budget realignment is underway: 61% are currently allocating less than 10% of software spend to AI but 86% expect software budgets to grow in 2026 to support AI; 49% are beginning to reallocate funds from existing tools or will in 2026.

—Efficiency is the leading driver: Operational efficiency outranks all other motivations for AI investment, cited by 66% of respondents as their driving force.

—Early use cases are tactical: AI isn’t being deployed for moonshots, it’s showing up in contract review, forecasting, and spend analysis.

—ROI is still a concern: While 73% report AI has somewhat improved their team’s productivity or decision-making, only 4% report significant gains. Given most respondents are still at the beginning of their AI journey, this makes sense and as adoption increases, so will ROI.

—Proof, not hype, is the new requirement: 47% of leaders say proven ROI is the top requirement for scaling AI initiatives.

Tropic’s five AI agents work alongside the company’s broader platform and services, addressing specific procurement challenges through specialized roles:

—Smart Request Assistant can streamline procurement requests, making it effortless for any user to initiate and track purchases

—Compliance Copilot can check requests and contracts against company policies, preventing bottlenecks and out-of-policy spend

—Contract Intelligence Engine can extract key contract details and answers questions about agreements in plain language

—Negotiation Navigator can provide instant access to price benchmarks and supplier intelligence from over $13 billion in spend data

—AI Invoice Match can verify invoices against contracts and requests, protecting against overpayment and fraud

These agents are designed specifically for procurement workflows and integrate seamlessly with existing systems and require no major change management.

‍“We’ve essentially taken everything our procurement experts know and made it available as an always-on workforce,” said Justin Etkin, co-founder and COO at Tropic. “These aren’t generic AI tools. They’re powered by unique human experiences and our $13B+ spend database.”

“We’re not building AI for the sake of having AI,” said Etkin. “Over the past year, we’ve methodically addressed major procurement pain points with tailored solutions. The Smart Request Assistant, for example, evolved from customer feedback on Ask Tropic. Each agent solves a specific problem that wastes hours of our customers’ time every week.”

While Tropic believes AI will help procurement and finance teams get ahead, the company recognizes that most teams are still at the beginning of their AI journey.

To help finance leaders navigate this critical transition, Tropic is hosting a virtual event on June 25, featuring additional survey findings, industry influencers and analysts, practical AI implementation guidance, customer case studies and live product demonstrations.

Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/events/ai-in-procurement for more information and register for sessions.