Ever since Artificial Intelligence (AI) made its grand entrance into the legal scene, there’s been so much talk about what it can do, its potential to replace lawyers, accuracy, ethics, and more.

Though still in its nascent stages, AI has been touted as faster than humans, more accurate, and capable of “revolutionizing” the legal industry.

But in SpotDraft’s 2025 report, lawyers have spoken in detail about their actual experiences. 

Has AI really lived up to the hype? Is it disrupting the industry? Or is it still largely a work in progress?

TLDR:

• There is a sizeable AI adoption gap between legal teams: 65% have shown interest in the technology, yet only 13% use it every day.
• Lawyers are selective about where they use AI, focusing more on high-volume, routine tasks, where risks are relatively lower. This includes subprocesses in legal research, contract management, and knowledge management.
• While AI has shown a lot of promise in terms of enhanced productivity, time savings, and accuracy, these improvements have been gradual, not dramatic.
• There is a bright future for AI in legal practice. The majority of legal departments have reported increments in budgets for AI integration, and more lawyers consider AI skills important for a successful career.
• Best-in-class lawyers are capitalizing on the small wins of its early stages and are poised to scale strategically as the technology continues to mature.

The human + machine equation: how are lawyers integrating AI?

There are many use cases for AI in legal practice, from contract management and legal research to eDiscovery and case analysis. But while AI has shown much promise in these areas, lawyers have embraced it more readily in some areas than others.

According to the report, legal research is witnessing the highest rate of AI adoption (52%), followed by interactive knowledge management (46.3%) and contract management (43.8%).

From the chart above, one thing is immediately apparent: Lawyers aren't throwing AI at everything. They're focusing more on routine, high-volume areas where risks are relatively lower.

This isn't surprising because lawyers are known to be risk-averse, and the proliferation of AI has introduced new variables into a sector where precision and certainty are mission-critical.

The AI adoption spectrum

SpotDraft's report captured the everyday lawyer's sentiment toward AI in what it called the "Adoption Gap."

More than half of lawyers (65%) have expressed a level of interest in AI. A small group (16%) are open to learning more about it, and an even smaller faction says they’re not interested at all.

Interestingly, while a large percentage of in-house counsel are interested in using AI, only 13% of this group use it as an essential part of their day-to-day activities.

With that, one can suggest that lawyers aren’t completely trusting AI. At least, not yet.

"We're approaching AI adoption like building a house. First, we need a strong foundation—understanding what AI can and can't do. Then we'll build systematically, one room at a time, making sure each addition is sturdy before moving to the next." 

~ Akshay Verma, COO, SpotDraft
AI Impact on In-House Legal Teams: 2025 Survey Report

The reality check: How has AI impacted corporate legal teams?

AI came with a lot of promise for the everyday lawyer: accelerated turnaround times (TAT), reduced burnout incidents, enhanced productivity, cost savings, and much more.

Indeed, these are some of the most crucial pain points corporate legal teams are trying to solve. But, in 2025, has AI delivered on these promises?

Here’s what lawyers are reporting:

#1 Improved productivity

"I'm a strong supporter of AI. Although AI still needs human oversight, one way or another, it brings the great efficiency and productivity that we didn't have back in the day when, for example, we were doing a lot of mundane tasks or processes."

~ Mine Ekim, Managing Director, Legal & Compliance, Golden Gate Global
From Big Law to Business Impact

Productivity (52%) is the most pronounced benefit of using AI among legal teams. This is mainly thanks to AI’s ability to automate routine tasks, allowing legal teams to make better use of their time

Also read: AI in Legal Work: From Hype to Real Impact

#2 Improved TATs

AI is much faster than humans, with the ability to summarize a 1,000-page document in under 5 minutes. 1 in 5 in-house counsel has reported improved turnaround times as the biggest benefit of using AI in legal processes.

Being able to finish tasks quicker means they can either do more in their day-to-day or afford more time for rest.

"AI will eventually be a true gift to legal teams by freeing up more time for lawyers to be creative rather than just doing lower level types of reviews that can be automated."

‍‍~ Genevieve Kelly, General Counsel at Goodwin Procter LLP
Blending Legal Expertise and Business Acumen

#3 Better decision-making

AI’s ability to make sense of data has been instrumental to lawyers handling complex legal research tasks, assessing risk, or navigating compliance. For 9% of lawyers, this has been the biggest win.

#4 Enhanced accuracy

The human mind is incredibly limited and prone to errors. But with AI, this is rarely the case. AI can handle complex tasks with significantly higher accuracy than humans.

Lawyers pride themselves on precision and certainty, and most don’t mind going above and beyond to protect their organizations from risks connected to oversight errors.

However, a small fraction of lawyers (8%) do appreciate AI’s contributions to legal accuracy and have been taking full advantage of it.

#5 Cost savings

Only 2% of lawyers cite cost savings as the biggest benefit of AI. While AI helps lawyers work faster, be more productive, and make better decisions, these gains don’t always translate directly into lower costs. For most legal teams, efficiency matters more than cutting expenses—at least for now.

AI’s benefits in real numbers

Lawyers did cite several benefits associated with the integration of AI into legal workflows.

But just how much has it moved the needle in terms of productivity, time savings, and accuracy?

#1 Productivity

• Only 14% of lawyers reported significantly increased productivity.

• The majority (54%) said they’d experienced “somewhat increased” productivity.

• A small minority (3%) said their productivity dropped. And 29% reported no change at all.

This means that while the promise of increased productivity is valid, the change has been more of a steady climb than a dramatic leap.

#2 Time savings

• Only 12% of lawyers reported saving over 10 hours per week.
• The majority (41%) save 1 to 5 hours. 27% save less than 1 hour, and 20% save 6 to 10 hours per week.

Every hour saved is valuable, but it's reasonable not to expect rapid transformation with AI. The time savings are incremental and will accumulate over time.

#3 Accuracy

Perhaps our biggest observation lies in accuracy. Lawyers have expressed mixed feelings about AI’s impact on accuracy.

• More than half (54%) do not see noticeable improvements in accuracy. 

• Interestingly, the percentage of lawyers who confirmed significantly increased accuracy (7.9%) and those who reported worsened accuracy (7.1%) are almost identical.

Why some lawyers are struggling with AI

Most lawyers aren’t technically gifted. But the reason for the adoption gap cuts deeper than this limitation.

Many lawyers are still wary of AI’s accuracy. In legal practice, the margin for error is incredibly low, and outsourcing important tasks to a machine brings about a series of questions:

Who is accountable for errors? What are the potential implications for the legal team and the business? etc.

Another observation lies in AI’s integration with existing ecosystems. Lawyers are concerned about AI’s ability to fit into their current processes.

Learning a new tool, moving data, and adjusting workflows to suit said tool is time-consuming and may sometimes result in productivity dips.

Also read: The Ultimate Glossary of AI Terms Every Legal Team Should Know

What best-in-class teams are doing differently with AI

Among the group of legal professionals who are reaping the benefits of AI, a few things are common:

“AI can be a tool in your toolbox that can help support decision making, but it shouldn't make the decisions.“

~ Cory Lamz, VP Legal, Buoy Health
Building relationships with a problem-solving mindset

• They don’t see AI as something that should make decisions on its own. Instead, they treat it like a smart assistant—it helps them work faster and make better choices, but always under their direction.
• They treat AI like a tool, not a replacement for their expertise.
• Instead of applying AI everywhere at once, they start with small, low-risk tasks that bring immediate value. As they gain confidence in AI's reliability, they gradually expand its use across other areas.
• They have established policies for navigating common issues around AI, including potential inaccuracies, ethics, bias, and privacy considerations.

Also read: AI for Lawyers: A Beginner’s Guide

What’s ahead for AI in legal?

Lawyers are still figuring out how to maximize the potential of AI in legal practice. So, the slow, measured approach to its adoption is reasonable.

Regardless, the future of AI remains promising, with more than half of legal teams reporting varying levels of budget increments for AI integration.

Legal skills are also expanding to accommodate the new requirements of a technology-driven business ecosystem. According to the report, 1 in 4 lawyers have ranked AI skills among the most important traits every modern lawyer should have.

An evolution, not a revolution

AI has the potential to give legal practice a makeover. But contrary to the imagery painted by various “State of AI” reports, this transformation will not happen overnight.

Regardless, the real question isn’t whether AI can change the game for your legal team. It’s how prepared you are.

The key is to start mastering the use of AI for those small, immediate wins it can afford now. As the technology continues to mature, you'll be on the good side of its compounding effects, staying ten steps ahead of your competition.

The insights in this article are based on SpotDraft’s recent report: AI Impact on In-House Legal Teams. It’s packed with insights that give an unfiltered, realistic view of how AI is impacting the everyday legal counsel. Click here to access it.

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