Docusign announced it is rolling out new AI-powered eSignature capabilities designed to help people understand what they are signing and to reduce the manual work businesses do to prepare agreements, as the company pushes further into its Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform.
The company’s new signer experience aims to address a common friction point in digital agreements: dense, technical language that slows completion and increases uncertainty. Docusign said signers will be able to view an AI-generated plain-language summary of an agreement along with key terms, and ask natural-language questions about provisions—such as cancellation terms or warranty timelines—without searching through pages of contract text.
On the business side, Docusign said the latest eSignature version uses AI to automate several steps typically handled by operations, legal, or sales teams, including identifying agreement types, verifying recipient details, and placing signature and information fields within documents. The company framed the update as a way to speed up turnaround times while reducing formatting errors and rework.
Docusign cited survey results to support the product push, saying nearly three-quarters of contract signers would feel more confident with an AI-powered, plain-English summary, while close to 60% reported agreeing to terms they did not fully understand. The company also said complex contracts trigger negative emotions for nearly half of signers, including frustration and anxiety about missing important details.
Docusign positioned the features as “built for trust” and said its AI capabilities are powered by an engine it calls Iris, which leverages contract-specific data and the IAM platform to deliver agreement insights and automation with enterprise security controls, rather than relying solely on general-purpose large language models.
The signer-focused AI capabilities and agreement type detection are available in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, Docusign said. Automated field placement for agreement creation is expected to become available in the U.S. in the coming weeks.
KEY QUOTE:
“AI is transforming the way people work, but agreements demand an extra level of clarity and trust. Our customers tell us manual agreement preparation is time consuming, and signer confusion causes delays. We’re applying AI to solve both challenges by removing the contract busywork for preparers and using features like AI-powered summaries to eliminate signer hesitation. This directly drives faster completion rates and a more trustworthy process.”
Mangesh Bhandarkar, Group Vice President of Product Management, Docusign
