In one sentence
Instead of loading the whole case file into the model for every question, the assistant reads up selectively: first the overview, then the facts, then the wording of individual documents, and for extensive reading it asks you first.
The order
A case file with 300 documents does not fit sensibly into one answer. That is why the assistant works like a thorough colleague. It first looks at the map of the case file, that is, how many documents, facts and deadlines there are. Then come the summary and the stored facts, filtered by topic, period or document. Only then does it read a document, first the short version, then the wording. The legal library and web search come last.
You see what was read
While the answer is being written, the activity line shows steps such as “Reading case facts 1–100”. With the answer, a list names every document that was read, with its name and extent. If a step went wrong, it says so there, instead of the answer pretending that everything was read.
Extensive reading only on click
If a question needs the full wording of several long documents, the card “Read in depth?” appears. It names the documents, the reason and the expected costs. With “Yes, read it” the assistant reads them for this one answer; with “No, that is enough” it works with what it has. An example: you ask whether the notice period is the same in all three versions of a contract. The assistant finds two statements in the facts, suggests reading the full wording of the three versions, and waits for your click.
Evidence instead of assertions
The answer states how many of the statutory citations it contains were checked, for example “4 of 5 statutory citations checked”. If the answer names a reference from a journal, a commentary or a database that was not available as a source in this conversation, it is marked as not supported. The assistant calculates deadlines with a calculation tool, including deadlines in weeks and months and with the public holidays of a German state.
What it does not do
- It never reads documents that you have excluded from the AI.
- The costs on the card are an estimate, not the bill.
- The “Read in depth?” card exists in the assistant. Agents that write entire pleadings continue to read everything they need for that.
- Even with evidence, AI can make mistakes; check citations and deadlines yourself.
More: Assistant and in the manual The AI reads selectively.
