AI In Negotiations: A Game-Changer For Dealmakers – Forbes
Have you ever thought of AI as your partner in negotiations? Negotiation expert Keld Jensen says artificial intelligence like ChatGPT can help people reach better deals more quickly.
Can AI help negotiators reach better agreements faster?
Jensen’s new book, Negotiation Essentials, details a study he conducted with World Commerce and Contracting. The experiment used three different negotiation setups to test AI’s potential in real-world deal-making. ChatGPT was used in this case, but other generative AI tools like Bard, Claude, etc. could be tested to compare performance.
In each phase of negotiation, ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, according to Jensen:
Jensen’s study shows that AI, when used effectively, can enhance negotiation skills and lead to more positive outcomes. It’s not about replacing human negotiators but about augmenting their abilities with structured, data-driven AI insights.
Most of Jensen’s AI advice is intended to help the reader negotiate more effectively. But, the experimental setup that produced the best results was when both sides were using ChatGPT. So, as part of your AI strategy should you suggest the other party use it as well? Would that suggestion be welcomed or treated with suspicion?
One experiment that I’d love to see is joint use of ChatGPT or other generative AI. That is, in a negotiation the AI could act as a mediator, interacting with both parties in a similar way to a human mediator. The role of a mediator is to understand each party’s needs, find common ground, and suggest solutions that move each party closer to their goals.
Like a human mediator, an AI could interact without biases or assumptions about each party. AI can be biased by its training set, but it’s unlikely to assume one side or the other is greedy or unreasonable as human negotiators often do. This role seems worth testing, even with the limitations of current AI tools.
AI can be your negotiation wingman
In business, we are negotiating constantly. Many of these conversations are small enough that we don’t think of them as a negotiation. For example, we may need to speed up delivery on an existing order, ask the boss for a raise, or set a deadline for completing a project. These and many similar discussions are indeed negotiations. How ready are you to incorporate AI into your strategy and elevate your negotiation game?
