The current state of contract review software is marked by a significant shift towards automation and artificial intelligence (“AI”) to enhance the the use case, efficiency and accuracy of contract review processes.
No longer is contract review software simply a tool to scrape documents for keywords as a part of a company's due diligence transaction process.
Rather, in 2023, with the advancements of AI APIs, modern contract review software is now your own personal "Legal Analyst" (but still not your lawyer), with multiple abilities, including analyzing your contract for common issues, red flags, accuracy and enforceability.
What was once seen as impossible is now a reality.
Contract reviews were traditionally conducted with a manual examination, by a layperson or a lawyer, of each clause in the contract one-by-one to ensure the terms were amenable for the party, in compliance with local laws, and to avoid costly errors.
About fifteen years ago, contract review software was invented that generally could scan documents for liabilities. Still, it was a major step forward for making transactional due diligence more efficient for large companies and large law firms. However, the software was limited. It would almost only simply look for keywords and highlight every clause containing those keywords.
Then, in 2023, Open AI launched ChatGPT-4, and with it, the advancement and adoption of automated AI contract review tools grew immensely.
For example, our contract review software, invented in 2023 to utilize GPT-4, called goHeather AI Contract Review, uses AI plus custom training by lawyers to extract data from any kind of contract to identify potential problems in the contract in one minute or less in any jurisdiction in the world.
The contract review software industry is changing rapidly. And its not just AI. Any Lawyer says modern contract review software tools can conduct all the following contract review tasks now:
Change Tracking: Essential for identifying contract modifications and ensuring version control for accuracy.
Data Extraction: Automates the extraction of critical data points like dates and deadlines, reducing time spent on manual reviews.
Workflow Management: Facilitates task assignment, deadline setting, and progress monitoring, thus reducing errors and improving transparency.
Legal Analysis: Ensures that each clause meets all applicable laws and regulations, crucial for international contracts.
Legislation News Tracking: Keeps users updated on legislative changes to ensure contract compliance.
NLP for Automated Clause Detection: Utilizes sophisticated algorithms for quickly identifying clauses and potential discrepancies, enhancing review efficiency.
Templates and Forms: Helps ensure compliance and accuracy, reducing the time required for contract creation and, thus, internal contract reviews. By the way, goHeather automates contracts from templates.
Integration with Document Management Systems: Ensures streamlined processes and access to the latest contract versions for all parties involved.
In summary, the current state of contract review software is characterized by vastly increased automation through AI integration and a suite of non-AI features designed to enhance the use case, speed and efficiency of the contract review process.
One such example of modern contract review software, goHeather, can review your contract for informational red flag issue spotting, no matter the type of contract or where you are in the world, for free, in about one minute or less using AI. And it works if you are either the offeror or offeree. Try it today.
goHeather is an AI, not a lawyer. goHeather provides legal information, not legal advice. Our AI can have errors and omissions. Use goHeather as a starting point and always consider retaining a lawyer.
Jeff is a lawyer in Toronto and he is a co-founder of goHeather. Jeff is a frequent lecturer on commercial and employment law and AI for law firms, and is the author of a commercial law textbook and various trade journal articles. Jeff is interested in business, technology and law.
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Our AI sifts through each clause, identifying potential risks. This enables us to provide quick yet comprehensive contract reviews, equipping you with the legal information you need to make informed decisions.
goHeather enables you to quickly create local employment contracts using lawyer-made templates. Our contracts include a free e-signature feature and provide access to a dashboard for managing all your employee contracts and key details.
