How might Generative AI be used in law firms?

There are many potential applications for generative AI in law firms related to the business of law, the practice of law, and legal marketing. The following list is continually evolving.

• Chatbots
• Client onboarding
• Content creation: text, audio, video, images
• Contract generation and analysis
• Discovery
• Document drafting and review
• Graphic design
• Insider information
• Knowledge management
• Matter and case assessment
• Media monitoring
• Meeting transcripts
• Predictive analytics
• Procurement
• Reputation management
• Research
• RFP responses
• Transcripts

What are the positives of using generative AI in legal marketing?

• Accessibility and Affordability: Generative AI applications are affordable and accessible via many different platforms.
• Increased Efficiency and Cost Savings: Generative AI offers cost savings for tasks that can be automated and made more efficient. Some tasks otherwise requiring significant amounts of human hours and resources to complete can be automated without any negative consequence. While AI can be used as a tool to speed up many processes, it does not replace the need for human input, review, and edits, as the following segment will explain.

What are the downsides of using Generative AI in legal marketing?

• Increased vulnerability to data manipulation on modern AI: According to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2022,” …new data shows that larger models are also more capable of reflecting biases from their training data. A model developed in 2021 shows a 29% increase in elicited toxicity over a model considered the state of the art as of 2018.” Basically, this means AI systems have become increasingly vulnerable to data insertion by attackers attempting to elicit “toxic behavior” like inserting bias, derogatory terms, or misleading information.
• Client Confidentiality, Privacy, and Trade Secrets: Any content written and shared via AI runs the risk of violating client confidentiality. If you’re composing a press release about a client matter, for example, be as generic as possible in your query. The results of your query may or may not be factual and may contain bias. You must be mindful of the possibility of breaking the rules of professional conduct.
• Cyber-attacks or data breaches: Sensitive legal information is often stored on law firm servers and in the cloud, increasing this risk of cyber-attacks or data breaches with the use of Generative AI.
• Accuracy and reliability can be an issue with AI. AI doesn’t tell the truth and it doesn’t lie. It is simply data in and data out. As an attorney, you are responsible for verifying the data is correct. In its current form, you should assume the data generated is a starting point.
• Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets: It is still unclear as to who owns the copyright or IP rights to content created using AI. Human authorship is the current key to copyrightable materials. You may be putting your firm at risk of infringing on the IP rights of others if you are utilizing content created by AI.
  
  Any data, including trade secrets, you input into an AI platform is captured and then becomes usable by the others. For example, if your law firm includes the steps you take in your intake process or investigations, and the language for your article was drafted with the aid of ChatGPT, your competitor can utilize the same language and implement your process as their own. This is even applicable to information included in nondisclosure agreements.
• Diminished SEO Value: New York Times editor and former web developer, Keith Collins, wrote an insightful article about “How ChatGPT Could Embed a ‘Watermark’ in the Text It Generates”. Most business owners know how important search engine optimization is to their marketing strategy and results. If you haven’t been updated lately on the current SEO strategy, please contact us today because we really need to talk!
  
  The takeaway from Mr. Collins’ article is this. If Open AI is successful at watermarking AI-generated content, Google will be able to take machine generated content factors into consideration as it evaluates your website and digital advertising.
  
  The most reliable way around harming your business’s SEO value, if you choose to use AI generated content, is to use AI to generate a draft of ideas on a topic, research the content for accuracy and relevancy, then rewrite it in your own words based on your target audience, your business’s brand voice (make sure it sounds human and personal), and your intended purpose for the content. Finally, you must do a final edit and choose appropriate images to accompany the text. You need someone with the time, understanding of your industry, and the ability to write to your audience if you want your articles, blogs, ads, and website content to achieve the intended goal.

Do you need help creating valuable and relevant content for your website and marketing materials? Is your firm ready to move to the next level? The experienced marketing, SEO, and public relations experts at Strategic Alliance Marketing Group would love to hear from you. Please contact us today to set up your initial consultation.