Hey everyone

This month, we’re looking at how to take the manual work out of managing agreements, from automating contract tracking with IAM tools to speeding up document prep with AutoPlace.

Let’s get into it

Docusign @ Docusign: Ditching the spreadsheets

If you’re still using spreadsheets to track SLAs, renewals, and supplier obligations, you’re probably missing deadlines, duplicating work, or overpaying vendors. And you’re not alone.

Docusign’s own legal operations and procurement teams felt the same squeeze.

So they ditched the spreadsheets and used two IAM tools, Navigator and Maestro, to get out of reactive mode and into control.

Here’s what they did (feel free to steal the playbook):

• Replaced contract tracking spreadsheets with a smart repository: Legal ops uploaded thousands of existing agreements into Navigator in just a few days. Now, every new supplier agreement signed in Docusign is automatically added.

• Set up automated renewal alerts: Instead of relying on task trackers and email reminders, Navigator flags upcoming renewals so the team can cancel contracts on time (and avoid paying for services they no longer need).

• Answered “Do we have an NDA with them?” in seconds: Procurement can now instantly search for supplier relationships and agreement types, without pinging legal or digging through shared drives.

• Uncovered risks and rights buried in contracts: Navigator uses AI to surface key terms like SLAs, insurance requirements, and performance penalties so the team can enforce obligations and reduce liability.

• Built a supplier NDA process without a developer: Using Maestro, legal ops created a no-code workflow: a supplier completes a simple form, signs an NDA via eSignature, and the signed doc is routed straight to Navigator for storage.

• Turned scattered intake into structured self-service: Procurement used Maestro to create customizable workflows for handling internal requests, whether onboarding a vendor or resolving a performance issue with routing rules that integrate into Workday and other tools.

• Gained real-time visibility into all supplier agreements: From one dashboard, procurement leadership can now zoom out to view the entire agreement landscape or drill into specific SLAs, departments, or contract types.

👉 Get the full scoop on how Docusign’s legal team uses IAM and add your questions or comments.

You’re in control: How to manage AI data sharing in Docusign

As AI becomes a bigger part of how agreements get done, it’s fair to ask about data sharing.

Docusign is giving customers new ways to answer these questions with AI Data Controls that let you choose whether your anonymized agreement data helps improve AI models.

Here’s what to know:

• Data sharing is off by default unless turned on in your settings or contract

• Only anonymized data is ever considered and only with your consent

• You get granular visibility into how your data might be used

• Contributing data can make AI features more accurate, especially in high-volume workflows like procurement or vendor negotiations

Whether you opt in or not, the decision is yours and easy to manage.

👉 Read more on how AI Data Controls work.  What’s your take? Drop your thoughts in the comments or start your own post—how are you balancing AI gains with data governance?

Still manually placing fields in Docusign? There’s a better way

Dragging and dropping signature fields one by one? That’s fine—until you’re managing templates, bulk sends, or multi-page documents. AutoPlace makes that manual slog a thing of the past.

AutoPlace lets you tag your docs with anchor text (like “Client Initials”) so fields land exactly where you want them, every time.

Here’s how to get started fast:

• Add unique anchor text to your documents—think short and specific (like /signature1/)

• Use AutoPlace in templates to save field size and position settings

• Embed invisible tags using white text or matching the background color

• Combine AutoPlace with grouped fields or conditional logic for advanced workflows

• Standardize across your team by sharing custom fields and anchor text

• In integrations, AutoPlace can auto-fill fields from dynamic data (CLM, Salesforce, etc.)

👉 Watch the full AutoPlace training session on-demand. Feel free to add your questions on how to use it in the comments or create a post.  

🌯 That’s a wrap!

That’s it for this month. Jump into the Community any time to ask a question, join a live event, or share what’s working for you.   

- The Docusign Community team

P.S: Chime in on the question of the month: What’s one way you’ve made AI part of your day-to-day work?