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Contracts keep business running, but working with them isn’t exactly anyone’s favorite part of the job.
They’re time-consuming, full of back-and-forth, and often leave legal and business teams buried in routine tasks. So why, in an age of smart tech, are we still managing them manually?
That’s where contract copilots come in. These AI-driven assistants are designed to take the pressure off. From drafting to clause checking, they’re changing how we handle contracts, making the process faster, smoother, and more collaborative.
In this article, we take a closer look at how AI is making its way into contract management. We’ll explore what today’s copilots are capable of, real-world use cases, the upsides and trade-offs, who stands to benefit most, and how legal professionals and AI can work side by side. By the end, you might start wondering why you waited so long to bring in a little help.
The Rise of AI Copilots in Contract Work
What is a "Contract Copilot"?
A contract copilot is an AI-powered tool that helps legal and business professionals manage contracts more efficiently. It doesn't replace human expertise, but supports it by automating repetitive tasks, so teams can focus on more complex and high-value work.
The term “copilot,” inspired by tools like GitHub Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot, highlights this collaborative relationship. While the AI manages routine tasks, the human expert remains in control, guiding the overall process.
Why AI is gaining traction in legal and contract teams
In recent years, AI has evolved from a novel concept to a vital tool in contract management, becoming increasingly essential for legal teams. This shift is being fueled by several key factors that are speeding up AI adoption across the legal industry.
- Rising Pressure from Increasing Paperwork
Legal and contract teams are faced with a growing mountain of paperwork, including sales contracts, NDAs, vendor agreements, and more. At the same time, they are under pressure to handle more work with fewer resources. AI presents an effective solution by automating time-consuming tasks, allowing teams to manage their workload more efficiently. - Advancement in AI Technology
AI technology, particularly modern language models, has advanced significantly in recent years. These models now have the capability to read and generate legal text with a level of proficiency that was not possible just a few years ago. This progress has fueled the adoption of AI in real-world legal settings, as it can now perform tasks that were once considered too complex for automation.
In fact, according to a recent survey, the adoption of generative AI in corporate legal departments rose to 44% in 2024, up from 28% in 2023. - Productivity Gains and Client Satisfaction
Legal teams are embracing AI because of the significant productivity gains it offers. Tools such as Microsoft Copilot are helping automate routine tasks, significantly shorten document review times, and improve both attorney productivity and client satisfaction. These tools are proving to be highly effective at streamlining the legal workflow and enhancing the overall experience for both legal professionals and their clients. - Gaining a Competitive Edge
There is also a competitive factor driving the adoption of AI in legal departments. If your legal team is not using AI, there is a strong likelihood that your competitors or opposing counsel are. As more organizations recognize the value of AI, it becomes increasingly important to stay ahead in terms of technology adoption.
What Contract Copilots Can Do Today
AI copilots are already capable of a wide range of tasks related to contracts. Let’s look at some of the key things these contract AI tools can do right now:
- Clause Analysis and Risk Identification
Contract copilots act as intelligent reviewers, scanning contracts to flag deviations from standard terms, missing provisions, or risky clauses. For example, they can identify overly broad indemnification clauses or highlight missing non-compete terms.
Rather than manually combing through each line, AI generates reports highlighting critical issues that require attention. It can also answer specific questions in plain language (e.g., “Can this contract be terminated for convenience?”) and compare drafts against templates to identify discrepancies. This approach speeds up the review process and ensures key risks are identified early. - Generating Contract Drafts Automatically
AI copilots can generate initial drafts or specific clauses based on your requirements. For routine contracts like NDAs, simply input key details, and the AI quickly produces a draft. It can also rephrase sections or add clauses as needed, saving time compared to starting from scratch.
The AI ensures consistency by using standard terms and company-specific language, reducing errors and maintaining uniformity across contracts. - Managing Workflows, Approvals, and Archiving
AI copilots help automate the workflow by routing contracts for approval, sending reminders for pending actions, and tracking deadlines like renewals. Once a contract is signed, it’s automatically archived with metadata and made easily searchable, ensuring efficient document management.
By automating these administrative tasks, AI copilots streamline contract management, improve organization, and reduce the likelihood of errors or missed deadlines.
Real-World Examples of Contract Copilots
These AI copilot capabilities aren’t just theoretical – a number of tools and platforms are already bringing them to life.
Microsoft Copilot in Word (Drafting Support)
Microsoft’s Copilot, integrated into Microsoft 365 (Word, Outlook, Teams, and more), serves as a drafting and editing assistant for contract work.
You can ask Copilot to draft boilerplate sections, summarize agreements, or suggest wording—all within Word.
It connects to emails and meetings, allowing tasks like drafting replies in Outlook or summarizing contract negotiations in Teams. A standout feature is document comparison, where Copilot highlights differences between contract versions.
Copilot can answer questions about contracts (e.g., “What’s the termination clause?”) and help with formatting and proofreading. Since it's integrated into familiar tools, legal teams find it easy to adopt, making it a powerful upgrade to existing software.
Legal tech platforms like top.legal, Contractbook, and Ironclad
Outside of the Microsoft world, there’s a flourishing ecosystem of specialized legal tech platforms offering AI copilots for contracts. A few examples include:
- top.legal – An all-in-one contract management platform that integrates AI to streamline contract workflows. Its AI tools automate document drafting, review terms for compliance, and automatically add clauses to contract templates, eliminating the need for repetitive tasks. By identifying potential risks, suggesting edits, and simplifying negotiations, top.legal helps improve the speed and efficiency of contract processes while ensuring accuracy and compliance.
- Contractbook – A contract management solution that integrates AI to automate contract workflows. Contractbook’s AI helps users draft contracts, analyze terms, and ensure compliance with company policies. It also provides contract insights and identifies risks, all within a user-friendly interface. The platform aims to reduce time spent on routine tasks and enhance collaboration between legal teams and other departments.
- Ironclad – A digital contract management platform that leverages AI to optimize the entire contract lifecycle. Ironclad's AI-driven features include automated contract drafting, real-time collaboration, and intelligent contract analytics. By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows, Ironclad helps businesses accelerate their contract processes, reduce manual errors, and ensure that all contracts meet internal and legal standards.
These are just a few examples—there’s a growing number of legal tech copilots, including tools like Spellbook for Word and enterprise solutions like Conga’s Contract Intelligence with its "Contract Co-Pilot" feature. The trend is clear: companies, from startups to established legal tech providers, are working to integrate AI copilots into contract workflows. While each platform has its own strengths and focus, they all share the goal of automating contract tasks and supporting collaboration.
Opportunities and Challenges of AI-Powered Contract Management
AI copilots in contract management offer transformative benefits but also present some challenges. Here’s a breakdown of the key opportunities:
Opportunities:
AI-powered tools help with contract management in several ways:
- Increased Efficiency and Speed: AI can take over repetitive tasks like drafting, reviewing, and comparing contracts, which saves time. This speeds up contract reviews, leading to faster business transactions and freeing up resources for more important tasks.
- Improved Consistency and Accuracy: AI uses templates and pre-set standards to make sure contracts stay consistent and error-free. This reduces the risk of mistakes, helping ensure contracts are accurate and reliable.
- Better Resource Management: By handling routine work, AI gives legal teams more time to focus on high-value tasks, such as negotiating terms and managing risks. This helps legal teams handle more contracts without being overwhelmed.
- Scalability for Growing Teams: AI helps legal teams grow without needing to hire more people. It automates tasks, allowing smaller teams to manage a larger volume of contracts and provide better support to other departments like sales and procurement.
Challenges:
Even with these benefits, there are some challenges:
- Trust and Reliability: While AI can improve efficiency, it may sometimes make mistakes, like using incorrect legal references or suggesting inappropriate clauses. Legal teams must double-check the AI's work to make sure everything is accurate, as even small errors can have serious consequences.
- Data Privacy and Compliance: AI systems often handle sensitive data, raising concerns about privacy and security. Legal teams are careful to ensure AI tools comply with regulations like GDPR, especially when dealing with confidential or proprietary information.
- Ethical Concerns: AI may sometimes favor company interests over fairness or reflect biases from past contracts. Legal teams must make sure the AI's suggestions align with ethical standards and company values. Industry guidelines are starting to emerge to help legal teams use AI responsibly and understand its limitations.
Who Benefits Most from a Contract Copilot?
Several teams can gain from using an AI-powered contract copilot. Here’s who benefits most:
- Small and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs): For SMBs without in-house legal teams, a contract copilot can be a game changer. It helps create contract drafts, review incoming contracts, and catch common mistakes, all without the need for expensive legal advice. This speeds up contract turnaround and boosts confidence in contract negotiations, particularly for everyday contracts like NDAs, service agreements, and leases.
- In-House Legal Teams at Large Enterprises: Large companies with in-house legal teams can leverage a contract copilot to handle routine contracts quickly, allowing lawyers to focus on more complex matters. AI improves productivity, reduces the need for outside counsel, ensures consistency across contracts, and aids with multilingual contracts. Over time, AI can also identify patterns in contracts and help streamline the contract process.
- Procurement and Legal Operations Teams: Procurement and legal operations teams benefit from self-service contracting capabilities. With AI, non-lawyers can draft contracts based on company standards, speeding up the process and reducing the need for constant legal input. AI also helps manage contract renewals and flags inconsistencies in vendor terms, making the entire process faster and more efficient. For legal operations, AI can automate administrative tasks and quickly answer operational questions, saving valuable time.
Will AI Copilots Transform Contract Work?
With AI advancing rapidly, many wonder: will AI copilots take over contract work, reducing the need for human lawyers and contract managers? While AI will revolutionize the industry, it won’t replace human experts anytime soon. Instead, the future will likely involve close collaboration between humans and AI, transforming the role of legal professionals.
Human + AI Collaboration in Legal Workflows
AI copilots will assist lawyers and contract managers, but humans will remain in control. Think of AI as a copilot: it can draft contracts, check compliance, and suggest changes, but humans will oversee these tasks, making final decisions and handling complex negotiations. In routine contracts, AI might handle most of the work, while humans focus on the tricky parts. AI will support lawyers in real-time, flagging potential issues and enabling quicker decision-making. This partnership allows both AI and humans to perform their best roles.
Key Skills for the AI-Powered Future
- Technology Fluency: Lawyers must be comfortable using AI tools and integrating them into their workflows.
- AI Prompting: Knowing how to instruct AI to produce optimal results will become an important skill.
- Critical Thinking & Review: Lawyers will need strong analytical skills to review AI outputs and ensure they align with legal goals.
- Domain Expertise & Judgment: Expertise in law will remain crucial for making informed decisions.
- Negotiation & Communication: AI can draft contracts, but lawyers will still play a key role in negotiating terms and managing relationships.
- Project Management: Managing AI-enhanced workflows and coordinating tasks will be vital.
- Ethics & Risk Management: Lawyers will need to ensure AI usage complies with ethical standards and regulations.
- Continuous Learning: With AI evolving, ongoing learning will be crucial to stay competitive in the industry.
