From Insight to Action: How Agentic AI Will Reshape M&A

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, its role in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dealmaking has moved beyond theoretical potential to become an operational imperative. While generative AI (GenAI) enabled new ways to uncover insights and identify risks, a new frontier is emerging: agentic AI — an AI technology that not only analyzes but also takes action.

This next leap forward offers the potential to automate complex, multi-step workflows, unlocking both new levels of speed and scale for professionals operating in one of the most high-stakes, time-sensitive domains in business.

In this installment of the M&AI blog series, I’ll explore how agentic AI is poised to reshape the M&A process — and why forward-looking dealmakers should pay attention.

What is agentic AI, and how does it differ from GenAI?

Before we explore its applications, it’s important to understand what sets agentic AI apart. While generative AI focuses on uncovering insights and providing recommendations, agentic AI takes things one step further by autonomously executing tasks based on predefined outcomes.

If GenAI is the “brain” generating insights and discoveries, then agentic AI is the “nervous system,” performing the legwork and operationalizing those ideas. For example, GenAI might analyze deal documents and flag risks or opportunities, while agentic AI takes that analysis, decides on the next action and executes it. These task-oriented capabilities have the potential to streamline labor-intensive processes that demand efficiency and precision.

Where can agentic AI fit into the M&A workflow?
 

1. Streamlining data room management

Agentic AI can dramatically reduce the workload associated with setting up and managing deal rooms. Today, junior bankers spend hours manually uploading, tagging and organizing thousands of documents. Emerging systems, however, are being designed to automate this process — intelligently categorizing files and flagging anomalies in real time. The result: faster setup, fewer errors and more time to devote to higher-value tasks.

2. Enhancing due diligence

Agentic AI is emerging as a tool to translate GenAI insights into actionable steps that advance due diligence processes. While GenAI can highlight missing or incomplete information, agentic AI could go a step further — assigning tasks to data room contributors and following up to keep diligence on track.

3. Automating complex tasks

Labor-intensive document reviews and financial analyses are prime examples of agentic AI’s potential to accelerate workflows. By ingesting large volumes of documentation and surfacing findings and red flags for human validation, emerging tools can significantly shorten what has traditionally been a time-consuming process. This doesn’t replace expert judgment — it enhances it by allowing professionals to focus on exceptions rather than routine checks.

These are just a few of the capabilities that underscore agentic AI's promise to move beyond insights and into execution, saving dealmakers even more time and effort while boosting the overall accuracy of their processes.

Building trust in agentic AI

Despite its potential, agentic AI brings with it a key barrier to widespread adoption: trust. Implementing a system that makes autonomous decisions requires users to believe in its reliability and judgment. Building that trust begins with transparency. Users need to understand the rationale behind AI-generated actions.

For example, if an agentic AI system is tasked with organizing a data room, it should show how documents were categorized and why. This level of visibility reassures users by demonstrating that the AI isn’t operating in a black box, but rather mirrors human thinking in a methodical, explainable way.

Trust also depends on proven reliability. Rigorous testing and validation are essential, especially in the early stages. Adoption should begin with routine, low-risk tasks where AI can deliver measurable wins. As these systems demonstrate consistency and value, confidence will grow and dealmakers will be more inclined to expand their use into higher-stakes workflows.

Why dealmakers should take note

Agentic AI is no longer a distant concept — it’s a rapidly emerging tool poised to bring unprecedented speed and scale to deal execution. As M&A timelines compress and the pressure to gain new efficiencies intensifies, the ability to delegate operational workflows to intelligent systems will become an increasingly important competitive advantage.

For dealmakers, the message is clear: Those who adapt early — learning how to pair machine-driven execution with strategic human oversight — will move faster, work smarter and lead the next era of dealmaking.

Innovating with intention

At SS&C Intralinks, we understand that agentic AI represents a major transformation in the M&A process — one we’re not just observing, but actively helping to lead the way. Our development team is already integrating agentic AI capabilities into core workflows by chaining models together to handle complex multi-step processes. Through intentional design, thoughtful implementation and constant feedback from the dealmakers who rely on our tools every day, we’re building intelligent systems that dealmakers can trust to perform in high-leverage situations.

Stay tuned for more future installments in the M&AI series, where I’ll continue exploring the cutting edge of AI in dealmaking. In the meantime, I invite you to discover how you can transform your deal process today by leveraging AI-powered platforms like SS&C Intralinks DealCentre AI.