DocuSign is repositioning its operations in Brazil as an intelligent agreement management (IAM) platform, moving beyond electronic signatures to use artificial intelligence across the entire contract lifecycle. The shift, led by newly appointed vice president of Sales for Brazil Luciane Dalmolin, aims to turn agreements into active business management tools. "Artificial intelligence is a one-way street. It doesn't represent the future of work; it's already part of the present. Companies that know how to use it will have a very clear competitive advantage over others," Dalmolin said.
Contracts become active business tools
Many organizations still treat contracts as static documents - produced, signed, and archived without ongoing oversight. DocuSign's platform uses AI to monitor contracts continuously, flagging regulatory changes, suggesting clause modifications, highlighting legal risks, and automating new signature rounds when needed. "It's not just a stored contract. It becomes a living document that adapts to changes in the company, legislation, and business processes," Dalmolin said.
The system draws on the client's own contractual history and specialized models developed over years to generate documents that are more consistent and suited to each organization's context. This approach transforms legal agreements from passive liabilities into assets that actively support business decisions.
Tax reform drives urgency for contract review
The gradual implementation of tax reform in Brazil will force thousands of contracts and commercial agreements to be revised over the next few years, Dalmolin said. Companies that fail to update their agreements to reflect new tax rules risk unforeseen financial and legal impacts. "Companies that fail to address this may end up incurring unforeseen costs simply because their contracts have not been updated to comply with the new legislation," she said.
The concept of an agreement extends beyond traditional contracts, Dalmolin said, to include purchase orders, supplier negotiations, and other formal records. Many Brazilian organizations have not yet begun this review in a structured way despite the mounting pressure.
Small businesses still wrestle with paper legacy
Despite the digital acceleration driven by the pandemic, more than half of existing agreements in small and medium-sized enterprises still exist only on paper, Dalmolin said. This means those organizations must digitize legacy documents and then structure them within intelligent management platforms - a two-step challenge that tax reform is likely to accelerate. "The pandemic greatly accelerated the adoption of electronic signatures, but that doesn't mean that all documentary legacy has been digitized," she said.
Specialized AI reduces errors and boosts productivity
Dalmolin drew a distinction between generic AI models and solutions built specifically for contract management. DocuSign's AI was trained on a specialized knowledge base of contracts, using consolidated clause standards, document structures, and anonymized client histories. The result is higher accuracy, fewer errors, and far faster processing of tasks that once required manual work. Legal departments have seen productivity multiply, a shift that aligns with the growing use of AI for Legal tools to handle contract review and risk analysis.
"The goal of technology is not to replace people, but to eliminate repetitive tasks so that professionals can dedicate their time to what truly requires analysis and decision-making," Dalmolin said.
Integrations eliminate system silos
The platform integrates with ERPs, CRMs, and other corporate applications already in use, embedding agreement management into existing workflows. "Our vision is to take the work to where the work happens. It doesn't make sense to create yet another isolated system," Dalmolin said. This integration automates steps across departments, reducing manual intervention and increasing operational efficiency.
Internal training prepares workforce for AI
DocuSign is building an AI Academy to train all employees, with specific tracks for sales, human resources, and legal teams. Dalmolin said that providing tools is not enough; leaders and teams must know how to use them strategically. "I don't believe that artificial intelligence will replace professionals. It will replace those who don't know how to work with it," she said. The company also runs internal forums for sharing best practices and encourages daily use of AI solutions.
Why this matters for Executives and Strategy
Intelligent agreement management moves contracts from a back-office function to a strategic asset. For executives, the ability to continuously monitor and adapt agreements to regulatory changes, such as tax reform, can directly impact the bottom line. As Dalmolin emphasized, AI for Executives & Strategy is no longer a future consideration - it is a present competitive necessity. Companies that fail to digitize and automate their agreement lifecycle risk higher costs, compliance gaps, and slower decision-making.
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