Three New GenAI Tools Every Lawyer Should Know About

When it comes to technology in the legal field, two questions often dictate whether something will disrupt our practice: “What can it actually do for us as lawyers?” and “Is it easy enough to use that we will actually use it?”

In the last few weeks, three big GenAI launches have the potential to once again change up our practice on both of those fronts. Let’s check them out (complete with some short demo videos we made of each!).

If you’ve ever dreamed of a digital assistant capable of doing more than generating text, Anthropic’s Claude is making that vision a reality. Claude has rolled out a feature called Computer Use, which lets the AI take over your computer to perform tasks just like a junior associate would—using your mouse and keyboard to get things done. This is perhaps the most obvious rise of the new Agents that all the AI experts have been talking about. 

Computer Use allows GenAI to use a mouse and keyboard like you do. Picture this: You need to review hundreds of documents in an eDiscovery database. With Claude’s new tool, you can have the AI sign into your eDiscovery platform, run targeted searches, download key files, and then comb through them to create summaries. It can even organize those summaries into client-specific folders on your firm’s drive for easy access.

Or imagine using Computer Use for due diligence. The AI could log into your data room, download financial records, review them for specific clauses or red flags, and compile the findings into a well-structured report. You can even watch the AI perform these tasks, providing a level of transparency and trust that’s essential for our line of work.

Here’s a short video I created to show the potential: I give it a simple request and it figures out how to open a browser, run searches, download documents, and fill out a spreadsheet of information.

Let’s be honest: We’ve all experienced the frustration of GenAI mixing up our ongoing legal projects with casual brainstorming chats. Both Claude and ChatGPT are addressing this by giving lawyers the ability to separate different work streams. For drafting briefs or crafting checklists, you can now set up a dedicated project space where everything is organized in one place—no more confusion or cross-contamination.

This is a significant step forward. It allows us to manage projects separately from our work with the GenAI assistant. Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice and now president of the American Arbitration Association, has highlighted how this feature is reshaping document drafting in real time.

To see it in action, check out this video link. It’s a game changer for those of us who juggle multiple clients and projects daily.

We all know that research is a time sink. But OpenAI’s latest enhancement—a search feature enabled through a Chrome extension—is a game changer. Now, ChatGPT can access the internet instantly and cite its sources transparently, making it a viable alternative to traditional online search products like Google.

All we can say on this one is try it. You instantly get all the sources and links as well as a great summary response—and so far, they seem very accurate. You can also see a sample of this feature at work in the prior video linked above.

These features are a big deal for us in the legal profession. Whether you’re looking for a way to speed up document review, keep your writing projects organized, or perform thorough factual research with a few clicks, GenAI is changing the way we practice law. And unlike some tech that promises more than it delivers, these tools are ready to make an immediate impact.