Why AI Alone Isn’t Enough: The Case for Workflow-Driven, Data-Focused Third-Party Risk Assessments

3 minute read

September 2025

by John Tondreau

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently the headline act in third-party risk management (TPRM). From auto-answering questionnaires to reviewing evidence, AI accelerates efficiency and eliminates manual busywork. But here’s the truth: AI is only as effective as the program workflow that guides it.

When managing assessments in the TPRM space, you need more than an algorithm. You need a foundational workflow tool that ensures accountability, structure, and visibility across every step of the process, maintaining human-empathy and oversight.

That’s where ProcessUnity’s automation-driven platform shines, integrating AI capabilities into a repeatable, auditable framework to ensure no vendor or risk assessment is left unattended.

Automation That Complements AI

Think about it this way: AI is like having the fastest car on the road. It can get you from point A to point B at incredible speed. But if you don’t have lanes, stoplights, and rules of the road, that speed turns into chaos. You need structure to make the ride safe, predictable, and trustworthy.

Third-party risk assessments work the same way. AI can dramatically accelerate specific tasks, but without a workflow engine to govern the process, you risk “AI sprawl”—lots of outputs with no clear ownership, accountability, or audit trail.

That’s why the real power comes when workflow and AI operate together:

  • AI accelerates tasks like auto-answering, evidence analysis, and third-party risk scoring.
  • Workflow enforces structure so that AI-generated results don’t live in a vacuum. They’re reviewed, approved, and carried forward into risk decisions.

This balance ensures speed without sacrificing governance. It creates a system of record that regulators, executives, and stakeholders can trust, and gives your team the confidence that nothing is slipping through the cracks.

Accountability Through Workflow

Looking at the assessment lifecycle, ProcessUnity provides an easy-to-follow framework where both automation and workflow are non-negotiable:

  • Scoping questionnaires and SMEs: Assigning the right due diligence and subject matter experts (SMEs) can’t be left to guesswork. ProcessUnity’s workflow capabilities ensure the right people are pulled in at the right time.
  • Routing assessments and responses: AI can generate answers quickly, but without routing, they can sit idle or slip past the wrong reviewer. Automated workflows guarantee high-priority vendor assessments and responses reach the right SMEs, with traceable accountability at every step.
  • Scoring and evidence review: Our Evidence Evaluator AI capabilities score answers and analyze documents in seconds, and when integrated with ProcessUnity’s Workflow platform, those scores are reviewed, challenged, or escalated appropriately.
  • Follow-ups and remediation: Generating issues and follow-up questions is only one step in the due diligence process; workflow ensures flagged responses are assigned, tracked, and remediated.
  • Final approvals and reporting: Assessment and TPRM approvals mean different things for every organization. Some require a documented trail, summary reports, or integration with broader GRC systems. ProcessUnity’s workflow platform ensures this final accountability loop is closed, and can be set up to meet your organization’s unique needs.

Why Your TPRM Team Should Act Now

Third-party risk isn’t just about speed. Modern TPRM is about reducing risk while staying compliant and competitive. A workflow-driven assessment process ensures:

  • Consistency: Every vendor follows the same structured path, while being assessed at a level that makes sense to your organization’s needs.
  • Transparency: SMEs, third parties, and risk owners all see where things stand, in one unified platform.
  • Auditability: Every action—whether automated or manual—is logged, and easy to summarize for a given stakeholder.
  • Scalability: AI doesn’t replace governance, it fuels it within a framework that can scale across hundreds or thousands of vendors.

Manage Your TPRM Program with ProcessUnity

Everyone is talking about AI, but the organizations that will truly get ahead are those that pair AI with a robust, automated workflow engine.

ProcessUnity’s combined workflow capabilities with AI-powered TPRM technology allow your team to manage third-party risk with the speed of AI, but the intelligence of an internal risk manager familiar with your process needs. In third-party risk management, it’s not just about moving fast, it’s about moving smart, with accountability baked into every step.

To see how ProcessUnity can work for your business, connect with the sales team today.

For more information on how ProcessUnity has implemented AI into our tech stack, watch this webinar recording where we deep-dive into our Evidence Evaluator capability.

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About Us

ProcessUnity is a leading provider of cloud-based applications for risk and compliance management. The company’s software as a service (SaaS) platform gives organizations the control to assess, measure, and mitigate risk and to ensure the optimal performance of key business processes. ProcessUnity’s flagship solution, ProcessUnity Vendor Risk Management, protects companies and their brands by reducing risks from third-party vendors and suppliers. ProcessUnity helps customers effectively and efficiently assess and monitor both new and existing vendors – from initial due diligence and onboarding through termination. Headquartered outside of Boston, Massachusetts, ProcessUnity is used by the world’s leading financial service firms and commercial enterprises. For more information, visit www.processunity.com.