Abstract Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in the practice, study, and teaching of negotiation, creating the need for a clear conceptual vocabulary for this emerging field. In this article, we propose a spatial and functional framework, identifying four primary roles AI may occupy in negotiation: as agent in front of the negotiator, as coach beside the negotiator, as backtable support behind the negotiator, and as mediator or facilitator between the parties. We also identify three broader domains in which AI is transforming the negotiation field: teaching, research, and real-world implementation. Although these categories are analytically distinct, they often overlap in practice, especially in field settings where multiple AI functions are integrated within the same system. By organizing these roles and domains within a single framework, we seek to clarify how AI is revolutionizing negotiation, and how its various applications relate to one another. The significance of AI in negotiation lies not only in what these systems can do, but in how they are designed and positioned relative to human judgment, institutional context, and the conduct of negotiation itself. Drawing on the contributions in this special issue, we examine how AI is reshaping processes, expanding access to training, reorienting empirical research, and supporting practitioners in complex environments. At the same time, these developments raise enduring questions about delegation, transparency, equity, accountability, and the preservation of human judgment. We argue that the most promising trajectory for AI in negotiation is one of complementarity: systems designed to augment human capabilities, preserve meaningful human involvement, and strengthen negotiation practice rather than displace the human capacities that give it meaning. By clarifying roles and articulating normative principles for design and use, this framework offers both an analytic foundation for the field and guidance for its responsible development.
Curhan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.