LexisNexis today (4 May) announced the launch in beta of Lexis+ AI, which leverages generative AI to transform the way that users of its platform conduct research and draft resulting documents and communication with clients.
Generative document drafting guides customers throughout the legal drafting process, creating a first draft of a legal document or client email, and allowing users to change the language and tone using a prompt.
The platform has the traditional look and feel as Lexis+ but with the additional option to use generative AI, which has been trained on LexisNexis’ repository of legal content.
In a briefing ahead of the release, LexisNexis’ chief product officer Jeff Pfiefer explained that the new solution has been built with an emphasis on privacy by design. All user interactions are unique and Lexis+ AI doesn’t consume front end application prompts as part of its training or refinement. Pfeifer added that Lexis+ AI has been developed in accordance with RELX responsible AI principles – RELX is Lexis’ parent company and those principles can be viewed here.
Lexis is running two customer engagement programs around the beta launch of Lexis+ AI. The first is a group that will have ‘sneak previews’ of product development as well as access to AI webinars and roundtables. The second is a group of Am Law 50 law firms that are working with the beta version and contributing to the product development. Pfeifer explained that those firms, which include Baker McKenzie, Foley & Lardner, and Reed Smith, are ones that have the requisite resources and infrastructure to be able to undertake development and testing.
While Lexis+ AI does not use external citations, Lexis can’t guarantee that it is hallucination free. Pfeifer said that any hallucinations would be limited to Lexis’ content and that if the solution doesn’t understand a prompt, it will respond that it is unable to answer, and ask for additional information. Hallucinations have been an issue with the use of the likes of ChatGPT, which regularly returns entirely incorrect and on occasion fictitious answers.
Lexis+AI helps people to eliminate this with the use of appropriate prompts, and provides pre-loaded prompt questions, which it is exploring with its beta clients.
This launch has been expected – Lexis has worked with extractive AI for years, and Lexis+ already leverages extractive AI. The company has also been under pressure to announce its own generative AI offering after legal research rival Casetext launched GPT4-based legal assistant CoCounsel in March.
Pfeifer said: “LexisNexis celebrated its 50th birthday this year and over the years we have celebrated a number of firsts. This is another important legal milestone. What is most promising about generative AI is that it more closely approximates human legal conversations and allows users to interact with it in the way that they might speak with a fellow colleague, which has been a deficiency for years. We see this as an appropriate next step in the way we provide a guided service. We are confident that it will help organisations see the value of AI and improve on the quality of their legal research and drafting.”
In an announcement out today, David Cunningham, chief innovation officer at Reed Smith, said: “We are supporting the research and development of generative AI across the industry. LexisNexis is a key content provider, so their roadmap will be closely watched and will define many firms’ on-ramp to GPT-based research.”
For more information on Lexis+ AI, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai.