Fairmarkit Study: 84% of Procurement Leaders Say a Recession is Here or Imminent by End of 2025, Accelerating the Need for AI

AI Gap Between Procurement Teams and Suppliers Widens as Economic Pressure Mounts and Internal Adoption Barriers Stall Progress

Eighty-four percent of procurement leaders believe a recession is already underway or imminent by the end of 2025, according to the 2025 AI in Procurement Index released today by Fairmarkit, a leading AI-powered autonomous sourcing solutions provider.

The findings, based on responses from over 100 senior procurement and sourcing professionals and decision-makers, paint a clear picture: economic volatility isn’t just squeezing budgets, it’s exposing how far behind procurement teams are in their AI readiness as their suppliers are getting smarter, faster, and more aggressive with their own AI tools.

The report identifies four key pressure points shaping procurement’s future:

• AI Adoption is Outpacing Readiness: The majority (94%) of procurement leaders say their suppliers are already using AI in negotiations. While supplier adoption of AI soars, 43% of procurement leaders worry about relying on inaccurate or incomplete AI-generated data, and 39% fear AI could lock them into unfavorable deals in fast-moving negotiations. These concerns often stem from teams turning to rogue tools, rather than strategically adopting reliable solutions built for procurement.

• Economic Uncertainty is Raising the Stakes: Eighty-four percent of procurement leaders say a recession is already happening or will hit by the end of 2025. As cost pressures intensify and supply chains remain unpredictable, leaders are turning to AI to stay ahead. Managing budgets (45%) and ongoing disruptions (34%) are top obstacles in recession planning, and ones AI can help navigate by improving speed, precision, and visibility across sourcing decisions.

• Culture, Cost, and Skills Gaps Are Slowing Progress: Ninety-one percent of organizations have an executive mandate to adopt AI, but obstacles remain that are slowing progress on AI adoption. The top barriers to AI adoption as cited by procurement leaders are data privacy and security concerns (64%), resistance to change (57%), governance roadblocks (55%), internal policies limiting who can use AI tools (54%), and high implementation costs (56%). Additionally, 52% of procurement leaders say their teams don’t fully understand how to use GenAI tools effectively.

• Talent is Evolving, Not Disappearing: Rather than replacing jobs, AI is reshaping them, and the nature of the work itself. Forty-four percent of procurement leaders expect their teams to grow as a result of GenAI adoption, and only 5% anticipate reductions. Sixty-nine percent of organizations are investing in AI training, and 67% are hiring AI talent to close capability gaps. The most in-demand skills? Data interpretation (82%), strategic decision-making (75%), and cross-functional collaboration (69%).

“Procurement isn’t just behind the curve – it’s being outmaneuvered by the very vendors they’re negotiating with. AI isn’t a ‘future opportunity’ for suppliers anymore. It’s standard practice,” said Kevin Frechette, CEO at Fairmarkit. “As recession fears loom and supplier sophistication rises, procurement can no longer afford to treat AI as a back-burner initiative. Those that act now can seize a competitive edge through faster operations, smarter negotiations, and more strategic decision-making.”

To learn how your organization can take practical actions to help procurement keep up with AI-driven suppliers and stay ahead of a recession fallout, read the complete 2025 AI in Procurement Index here.

About Fairmarkit

Fairmarkit is the premiere AI-powered autonomous sourcing solution for enterprise procurement, empowering teams to manage all types of spend more efficiently from demand to award. Fairmarkit’s award-winning AI product suite delivers unparalleled efficiency to each step of the procurement cycle, equipping teams to source better, faster and cheaper with greater risk mitigation.

Fairmarkit was named to the 2023 BostonInno Fire Awards, Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies list in 2023 and 2022, and currently serves enterprises such as BP, BT, Emirates, Snowflake, ServiceNow, and Boeing. Fairmarkit was recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best Startup Employers 2023, and customers continue to experience 11.5% cost savings on purchases and a 60%+ reduction in manual procurement efforts. For more information, visit Fairmarkit.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250603022081/en/