What is an AI Agent?

An AI Agent is a software entity empowered by artificial intelligence to independently perform procurement-related tasks. In contrast to traditional automation or reactive AI tools like chatbots or large language models (LLMs), AI Agents are goal-driven, proactive, and capable of navigating complex environments to deliver outcomes without constant human oversight.

In procurement orchestration, AI Agents are designed to emulate (and often exceed) the functionality of human agents by executing tasks such as risk assessments, contract reviews, and supplier onboarding autonomously. These agents are not static rule-followers. They dynamically ingest data, reason in context, act across systems, and escalate when human input is needed.

From ORO Labs’ perspective, AI Agents represent a pivotal shift from manual, human-driven workflows to an orchestrated collaboration between people and intelligent software that delivers precision, speed, and agility across the procurement lifecycle.

The Current State of AI Agents

Today, most organizations still rely on fragmented workflows, manual interventions, and basic automation. While many tools label themselves “AI-powered,” few deliver true agentic autonomy. According to Gartner and Forrester, Agentic AI goes beyond RPA and LLMs by enabling systems to make independent decisions and take action on behalf of an organization.

ORO Labs leads the industry by embedding Agentic AI directly into its orchestration platform. Through a robust and secure AI Agent Builder, ORO enables procurement teams to design, deploy, and adapt agents using simple prompts. This approach tackles the “hard” parts of Agentic AI, including secure access to data, multi-agent collaboration, and seamless integration across enterprise systems.

Benefits of AI Agents

AI Agents offer transformative benefits to procurement teams:

Automation of Complex Tasks. Agents automate time-consuming, manual activities such as fraud detection, legal clause analysis, or supplier recommendations—freeing up procurement professionals to focus on strategic work.
Faster, More Informed Decisions. By securely integrating with ERP, CLM, and Source-to-Pay systems, AI Agents deliver decisions based on real-time, cross-functional data, therefore reducing process times and improving confidence.
Collaboration with Humans and Other Agents. ORO’s agents escalate exceptions, work in parallel with humans, and chain with other agents to support multi-step processes in ways that allow for hybrid, high-performance procurement teams.
Transparency and Control. Advanced auditability, role-based access, and governance are built into the ORO platform, ensuring organizations remain compliant while scaling intelligent automation.
Customization without Complexity. Through ORO’s no-code Agent Builder, procurement leaders can tailor agents to their unique workflows—dragging, dropping, and chaining agents to reflect real-world procurement needs.

AI Agent Use Cases

ORO Labs supports a growing portfolio of AI Agents purpose-built for procurement:

Risk and Compliance Agents compare documents like tax forms against existing registries to ensure they are correct, review transactions in order to find patterns and identify exceptions, and review various risk profiles in order to assess overall risk and recommend actions. Common situations in which agents are used include:
- Risk Review
- Fraud Detection
- Global Tax Compliance
- Sustainability & Anti-bribery Compliance
- Legal Review
Intake Management Agents function as coaches, helping business users to navigate changing and complex procurement processes and ensuring that the correct information is entered the first time, without the need for training, documentation, or direct assistance from a procurement professional. Common functions performed by intake management agents include:
- Intent Detection
- Category Detection
- Buying Channel Suggestion
- Supplier Recommendation
Supplier Management Agents help automate supplier onboarding, maintenance, and review tasks like:
- Purchase Order (PO) / Purchase Requisition (PR) Creation
- Proposal Reviews
- Consolidating, cleaning, and augmenting supplier records
Knowledge Agents leverage internal documents and information repositories to provide users with a chat experience when trying to understand internal policies, training, and best practices.

These agents can be deployed individually or as part of multi-agent workflows, streamlining end-to-end processes such as supplier onboarding, sourcing approvals, and contract lifecycle management.

‍

That's a Wrap

AI Agents are no longer theoretical—they’re operational and driving value in enterprise procurement. ORO Labs is at the forefront of this shift, embedding secure, adaptive, and intelligent agents within its orchestration platform. By making agent design as simple as writing a prompt, ORO empowers organizations to scale automation responsibly while maintaining transparency, control, and human oversight.