Can a Machine Negotiate Better Than You?

By Joana Matos

Negotiation Consultant

Rational Games, Inc.

May 1, 2025

When you picture a negotiation, you might imagine a boardroom. Maybe some coffee. A whiteboard full of numbers. Maybe even some cookies!

What you probably don’t picture is an AI agent calmly analyzing 12,000 data points while you’re still rereading your notes.

But, truth is, that’s where we’re headed, and in many cases, it’s where we already are.

I didn’t think I’d say this… but AI can be a pretty decent negotiator.

I recently hosted a podcast episode about negotiating with AI Agents, where we dove into

how AI is stepping off the sidelines and into the actual arena of negotiation. Not as a research tool, not as a dashboard, but really as a full-on participant.

These agents can now make offers, respond to counteroffers, as the machine negotiate, adapts mid-conversation, and even run complex multi-variable negotiations at scale, they can close deals. And of course, it is impressive! But it’s also raising some big questions, namely, what happens when one side has Superpowers?

If we think of it… AI never gets tired. It also doesn’t get emotional, it doesn’t check out on a Friday afternoon because it’s hungry, or just want to go home. It plays the long game every single time, which raises the necessary question…

What happens when you are across the table from that?

Plenty of organizations already use AI to handle lower-stakes negotiations. In some cases, tail

spend negotiations worth millions are handled from beginning to end by bots. And the person on the other end might not even realize they’re not talking to a human. And when they know, research shows they feel the experience was even better them with humans (no one is getting upset, I guess!).

Maybe you are a bit worried now, but the good news is that even though AI is brilliant at the easy stuff, for complex and reading between the lines, we still shine the brightest.

For empathy, trust, silence that says more than words, knowing when to make a

concession—not because it’s mathematically logical, but because it builds a relationship that matters five deals from now. That’s strategy, and that is human. So if you are human and if you’re a negotiator, you don’t need to panic. But you do need to evolve.

Try to use AI. Learn how it works. Let it strengthen your preparation and broaden your

strategy. But don’t outsource your judgment and critical thinking. And definitely don’t forget

the human stuff, still gives you your edge.

Because the future isn’t man against the machine. It’s man with the machine versus man

without the machine! And we all know who wins that one.

Comments welcomed.