AI Is a Game Changer for Legal in 2025: What It Can and Can’t Do

A blog post by Checkbox discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) is a game changer for legal in 2025 and what it can and cannot do. By automating tasks such as intake, triage, contract review, and compliance monitoring, AI allows legal professionals to focus on higher-value work and make faster, more strategic decisions. Successful AI integration requires thoughtful implementation, however, and not every tool lives up to its promise. Legal teams, therefore, need to adopt AI with clear intent and careful evaluation. 

Among the most effective applications of AI in 2025 are AI-powered intake systems, contract lifecycle management tools, centralized reporting platforms, agentic AI, and FAQ chatbots. These tools enable legal teams to handle requests faster, reduce manual work, and generate accurate data for real-time reporting and forecasting. Automation, particularly when paired with no-code platforms, helps maintain consistent processes and scale operations.

However, there are still limitations. Generative AI can “hallucinate” incorrect information, a serious risk in legal contexts. Also, many general AI tools aren’t built with legal in mind. They lack the legal-specific training these tools need to understand nuance, jurisdictional complexity, and the regulatory environment. 

Additionally, privacy and confidentiality concerns persist, especially when third-party platforms are involved. Interestingly, numerous legal teams have steered clear of AI entirely, primarily due to concerns about transparency and the lack of robust governance frameworks.

Despite these challenges, AI is a game-changer for legal. It enables teams to demonstrate value more clearly, shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, and run operations with a business-minded perspective. 

To adopt AI responsibly, legal teams must invest in education, start with low-risk use cases, and implement transparent governance. Selecting platforms purpose-built for legal work, with secure integrations, user-friendly design, and built-in knowledge bases, is crucial for success in 2025.