Administration and finance
Reading contracts faster: what AI can and can't do
AI helps you get to grips with a contract faster: structure, deadlines and questions. It doesn't give a legal opinion. What it can and can't do.
6 min read
A commercial lease, a supplier agreement, a new partner's terms and conditions: many business owners sign documents they haven't fully read. AI can help you read faster and more purposefully. It doesn't replace a lawyer.
General information, not legal advice.
What AI does well
- Giving structure: which sections there are and where to find what.
- Listing deadlines and amounts: term, notice period, payment terms, price indexation, penalties.
- Explaining in plain language what a difficult clause says.
- Suggesting questions to put to the other party or your adviser.
- Comparing two versions: what's changed between an old and a new draft.
What AI can't do
- Tell you whether a clause is valid or favourable in your situation in Belgium. That takes legal knowledge and context.
- Guarantee nothing was missed. A summary can skip an important sentence.
- Know what was agreed verbally or what's in other documents the contract refers to.
Working safely
Contracts often contain confidential information. Use a business AI account with data processing terms, or remove names, amounts and parties before pasting text into a personal account.
A good method
- Ask for an overview of the structure first.
- Ask for a list of every deadline, amount and obligation, with the clause number.
- Read those clauses yourself in the original.
- Ask which clauses look unusual or one-sided, and which questions to ask.
- If in doubt, or with large sums involved, put those questions to a lawyer. You'll still save time, because your questions are sharper.
Test yourself
What's the best way to use AI with a new supplier contract?
Prompt to copy
Read this contract. Give: 1) its structure in no more than ten points, 2) a table of every deadline, amount and obligation with the clause number, 3) clauses that look unusual or one-sided, phrased as questions, 4) five questions I can put to the other party or a lawyer. Don't give an opinion on validity.
[paste the contract without confidential details]
