AI may assist with tasks such as suggesting document labels or extracting candidate facts. That is different from deciding what a contract means, whether a transaction complies with law or whether it will close. Evaluate the role of AI at the level of a bounded task.
Extraction, summarization and judgment are different jobs
Extraction proposes a value from a source. Summarization compresses information and may omit exceptions. Judgment determines what action is appropriate. Assign different review requirements to each rather than treating a fluent summary as verified advice.
A plausible answer still needs a source
For every extracted amount or date, ask for the source page and passage. Check qualifiers, amendments and missing pages. A model confidence score is not evidence that the fact is right, and an output without a source should not become an authoritative transaction field.
In a hypothetical file, an AI summary finds a closing date in the initial agreement but misses a later addendum. A reviewer compares the source references and rejects the proposed date. The test records an amendment-handling failure rather than describing the output as accurate because most other fields were correct.
Performance can vary by form, scan quality, language and model version. A small test cannot establish general reliability or fair outcomes. No product capability, measured time saving or legal compliance is asserted here.
Evaluate the assistance and constrain its actions
Compare the assisted workflow with the manual process using the same approved sample. Measure missed facts, incorrect values, unsupported statements and reviewer time. Include downstream corrections. AI is not useful if checking the output takes longer or obscures the original evidence.
Do not let a summary send a notice, revise a material term or authorize a payment. Route uncertainty to a named person and retain the source, proposed output and correction. Review permitted data use and retention before uploading client material.
Questions for deciding whether AI belongs in the task
- Task and excluded decisions written.
- Outputs link to source evidence.
- Amendments and missing pages included in tests.
- Verification effort counted.
- External actions require appropriate human approval.