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Choosing contract and legal AI tools — assisting review is not replacing it
AI in legal work makes review faster; it does not do the review. Fail to make that distinction at adoption and accountability blurs.
Assist vs replace Confidentiality Real product list
The short answer
What contract AI genuinely does well is a fixed set: extracting clauses, finding deviations from your standard, pulling out dates and amounts, and searching a large contract set for a specific condition. That alone cuts review time substantially.
The final judgement remains. Whether to accept a clause and how to negotiate it is a commercial decision, and that accountability does not transfer to a tool.
Candidates by use
| Use | What to look at | Real products |
|---|---|---|
| Contract lifecycle management | Migrating existing contracts, approval flows | Sirion · Ironclad |
| Review for a growing legal team | Review speed and template management | SpotDraft |
| Legal research and document review | Case law and literature coverage | CoCounsel |
| Domain-specific document production | Fit with that domain’s forms | EvenUp |
What to check
Adoption order — lowest risk first
Start with contracts already signed: extract expiry dates, auto-renewal clauses and termination notice periods into a table. Almost no risk, and the benefit is immediate.
Second, deviation from standard: list the differences between your template and the counterparty’s redline. The reviewer starts from the difference list instead of reading from page one.
From the third step on it edges toward judgement. Treat clause risk scoring and suggested negotiation language as reference only, and leave the decision and the accountability with people.
Frequently asked questions
Can we review contracts without a lawyer now?
No. The tool reduces review time; it does not replace legal judgement. On material contracts the final review is still expert work — the tool gets that expert to the important part faster.
Can we upload contracts to a foreign tool?
Confidentiality review comes first. Confirm training use and storage location, and consider a domestic storage or on-premise option. Until confirmed, test only on de-identified samples.
How do we check Korean contract accuracy?
Run five of your real contracts through and compare the extraction against a human review. Special terms and annexes are where the differences show most.
How do we measure the benefit?
Review time per contract and contracts reviewed per month. Record both before starting or there is nothing to compare.
Product list
Narrow the candidates
The AI product directory filters contract and legal products by data location and Korean support.