Mr. Roboto: How to Navigate the Agentic AI Revolution in Procurement

For decades, procurement professionals have been bogged down by administrative work—scheduling meetings, running reports, chasing stakeholders, and managing paperwork. But what if 80-90% of that work simply disappeared tomorrow? With the release of new agentic browsers like OpenAI’s Atlas, that future is closer than you think, sparking a critical question: what will procurement professionals do with all their newfound free time?

In an impromptu “mini jam session,” hosts Conrad Smith and Zachary Bachir explore how this new wave of AI agents will fundamentally change the future of work in procurement. Their conversation provides a speculative but urgent look at the skills that will become obsolete and those that will become essential for survival.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• The Trust Problem: The hosts discuss the biggest hurdle to AI agent adoption: human trust. They compare the anxiety of letting an AI book a flight to the public’s current hesitation to use self-driving cars like Waymo, concluding that adoption will depend on the level of risk and the reversibility of the agent’s actions.
• Building the “Safety Net” for AI: Conrad draws a parallel to the early days of e-commerce, when credit card companies offered fraud protection as a “safety net” to build consumer trust. He suggests a similar “insurance” model might be needed for users to feel comfortable letting AI agents perform tasks on their behalf.
• The 80% Revolution: The hosts agree that AI agents are perfectly suited to take over low-risk, administrative tasks. Conrad estimates that “80, maybe even 90% of all procurement energy today is focused on this administrative stuff”, including tasks that are “agent worthy” like scheduling meetings and running reports.
• From Operator to Relationship Manager: With administrative work gone, what do you do with the “three or four hours a day you get back?”. The hosts predict a massive shift where procurement will finally evolve into a strategic “relationship manager,” focused on deep engagement with internal stakeholders and key suppliers.
• A Warning: The “Admin Super User” is at Risk: Conrad makes a bold prediction: if you’ve built your career on being a “kick-ass administrative operations guy,” you may be the most at risk of being replaced. As agents become universally good at administrative tasks, the value of that skill set will disappear.

Watch now or read the transcript below.

Transcript: Proc-N-Roll | Mr. Roboto: How to Navigate the Agentic AI Revolution in Procurement

Zach: Welcome to Proc and Roll. In this mini jam session today, I’ve got Conrad with me, and we’re going to have a great conversation about agents. Obviously, OpenAI has now released Atlas, the agentic browser, and Conrad, you’ve been doing some experimentation with your team. Prepare to have your mind blown, folks.

Conrad: I think we’re just unpacking this thing right now, but it’s super cool.

Zach: Do you actually see users using this to run their ops? So instead of them using an application like Graphite, you expect that procurement folk are just going to use the browser and let the browser navigate and do most of the tasks?.

Conrad: I’m not sure there’s a single answer for everybody. Some users want to be hand-held through a process, like a wizard, but power users would look at that and go, “you’re freaking wasting my time”. We’ve heard that this agent mode will book your airfare for you. Have you booked airfare with an agent yet?.

Zach: No, I haven’t. But would I even trust an agent to do it?. These days, I want to double-check everything the AI is doing. I don’t have that deep sense of trust yet. I guess it depends on how high the stakes are. Maybe it’s like a two-layer system: there’s an autopilot mode where the agent can do stuff, and then there’s a “take control” mode for firefighting or something urgent.

Conrad: It’s interesting you say that. I had a similar conversation about Waymo, the self-driving cars. There’s data that they’re safer than humans, with fewer accidents, yet most people are still anxious about getting into a car with no driver. In my opinion, the adoption of AI has to do with the risk and the reversibility. I remember when e-commerce was starting, the credit card companies offered a safety net, saying, “if there’s fraud, we got your back”. Once you have that safety net, people will use it.

Zach: It’s just aided insurance, right? Like literally insurance for agents in your business making decisions. But if adoption happens and people are more comfortable, what happens to the procurement role? What does procurement then focus on if agents are completing questionnaires and risk checks?.

Conrad: If you told me I have an agent that can run alongside me all day, my job looks like I’m not spending time doing low-risk, low-impact things. I’m outsourcing virtually everything that happens in my day that I can put in that box. It just means you’re climbing the ladder of complexity to higher-risk stuff where more human interaction is needed. But if you’ve built your career on being really good at the administrative side of that continuum, watch out.

Zach: I think everyone I know hates admin. If you take all the admin out of the job, then it’s literally just conversations, human conversations left.

Conrad: You know, they’re building this empathy layer into the AI’s response that is obviously counterfeit, but it does strike an emotional chord.

Zach: Social media is a case in point. People read anonymous comments and get angry because the words on the screen are having an effect on you. It’s the same concept.

Conrad: I think it’s going to take some time, but everyone’s going to be comfortable in the beginning with this admin stuff. It will just fall off the bottom, the obvious stuff, and then it will start climbing to the top. I think it’s going to be a while before I personally am ready to sign a contract that was purely thought out by AI that just says, “Conrad, go sign this”.

Zach: It’s all about the change management that goes along with it, and you can’t ignore that. It’s very hard to predict how quickly people will become comfortable with certain things.

Conrad: You’re right. Procurement is usually quite slow with tech adoption, which is why this is a big opportunity to reinvent itself. So let’s say you get three or four hours back a day. What do you do with that extra time?.

Zach: I think after talking to all these procurement teams, 80, maybe even 90% of all procurement energy today is focused on this administrative stuff. We’ve been dreaming of getting to the other stuff, but that stuff goes away now, and now you’re a relationship manager. If I’ve built my entire career on being a kick-ass administrative operations guy and all that goes away, what do you do with your extra four hours a day? I think most people aren’t going to know what to do.

Conrad: Get uncomfortable with the impossible, because the impossible is coming. Thank you to all our listeners and see you next time.

This transcript has been edited for clarity while maintaining all substantive content