- 96% say AI has been adopted well in firms and 92% believe AI will shorten deal cycles within two years
- However a lack of trust in AI outputs is creating a review bottleneck for senior staff as 82% believe AI increases the risk of errors reaching clients
- Senior staff are spending more than 11 hours per week reviewing content
A new report by UpSlide reveals major challenges at the heart of AI’s adoption in the M&A sector. Data gathered from hundreds of M&A professionals in the UK and US shows that empowering junior teams with AI hasn’t yet reduced the workload; it has redistributed it from juniors to seniors professionals.
The growing review bottleneck for senior professionals
As junior staff use AI to improve efficiency, spending less time on reviewing and distribution and increasing the rate of output of key M&A documents, an AI paradox has developed. By reducing workload in this area, it has actually increased workload for the senior staff that must review the outputs.
As the use of AI by junior professionals for early stage deal work grows, so does the risk of introducing errors or non-compliant language into client-facing materials. The accountability for these errors ultimately falls to senior reviewers. As a result, 41% of senior professionals spend more than 11 hours per week ensuring the content is on-brand, accurate, and consistent.
AI to shorten deal cycles in the next two years, but only if it is trusted
Despite this growing issue, the industry’s outlook on AI is overwhelmingly positive – at least when it comes to speed. 92% of respondents believe AI will significantly shorten deal cycles within the next two years, reflecting a clear appetite for AI to reduce friction and unlock time across the deal process.
This belief has led to firms adopting AI at scale (96% say it has been adopted well). But a lack of trust in AI’s accuracy means M&A professionals spend extra time checking AI outputs, so the theory of AI accelerating deal cycles is not yet translating into reality.
Among those expecting faster cycles, 82% believe AI increases the chance of errors reaching clients. Fragmented tech-stacks with multiple AI tools can lead to compatibility issues with legacy systems. If AI tools & features don’t integrate smoothly, valuable time is lost reconciling outputs and reformatting deliverables.
As a result 83% say it adds pressure on senior staff to safeguard quality. Firms are confident in AI’s potential, but they’re also wary of its risks, particularly in a sector where accuracy is non-negotiable.
Commenting on the report, UpSlideCEO Julien Villemonteix said:
“The reportreflects the critical themes in our conversations with clients: AI is no longer a future consideration in M&A, it’s a day to day reality. Adoption is high, and optimism about its potential to accelerate deal cycles is widespread. But the benefits are unevenly distributed. AI is helping teams move faster and collaborate more effectively, but it’s not yet delivering the consistency, quality, or integration needed to transform workflows across the board.”
“Instead of reducing workload, AI is redistributing it: it’s shifting the burden downstream to senior professionals who are now tasked with reviewing, validating, and correcting a growing volume of AI-assisted output. This problematic senior bottleneck is especially acute in high-value deals, where the stakes are higher and the margin for error is narrower.”
Deal size amplifies the review burden
In firms handling transactions over $1 billion, AI is overwhelmingly used for reviewing and quality assurance, with more than half of respondents citing it as their primary application. This is a significantly larger proportion (more than double) than in firms managing smaller deals, where AI usage is much more evenly distributed across all tasks.
This clearly reflects the heightened scrutiny and complexity that comes with larger transactions. In these environments, the cost of mistakes rises considerably and quality control becomes not just best practice, but a critical safeguard.
Villemonteix concludes:
“Our reportoutlines how firms can overcome these challenges and unlock AI’s full potential. Successful integration comes from taking a more holistic approach to building AI ecosystems, ensuring that tools work seamlessly with existing platforms and workflows. Technology should also be embedded into structured workflows that mirror how deal teams already operate. Aligning AI outputs with firm-specific templates, approval processes, and branding standards, means it supports consistency and reduces review time, rather than introducing new friction.”
“To tackle the growing issue of a review bottleneck, firms must invest in supporting seniors, not just enabling juniors. Senior professionals need tools that help them review more efficiently, such as AI-driven validation, formatting checks, and compliance prompts, if they are to reclaim their valuable time.”
