What matters in AI for legal questions.
A general AI chat answers questions of every kind. A specialized legal AI additionally works with evidence, a case file, deadline logic and data masking. Here are the criteria at a glance — objective and easy to check yourself.
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Lexi helps you quickly understand and phrase things. Lex steps in for the formal, legal context and the clean handover.
Try it yourself: free AI legal guidance →Not just a chat: how Lexi or Lex accompanies you →Everyday situations comparedReview a contract
Legal system and expertise
General AI chat (typical)
General knowledge from training; you specify country, area of law and contract type yourself.
Smart Legal Pro
Country- and contract-type-specific playbooks (NDA, tenancy, IT, T&Cs …); the country follows the case file.
Evidence and sources
General AI chat (typical)
Source references depend on the product; you should check citations against the source yourself.
Smart Legal Pro
Citations are checked against our own citation network of statutes and decisions; the result is stated: verified, not found or not checkable.
Case file
General AI chat (typical)
You typically upload documents anew for each conversation; case management is usually not part of the feature set.
Smart Legal Pro
My documents with versions and confidentiality level; the documents of a matter are analyzed together.
Deadlines
General AI chat (typical)
A deadline is typically derived from the model's knowledge; you check the legal system, type of proceedings and date of receipt yourself.
Smart Legal Pro
A deadline is only saved if it appears in the document or was calculated from a documented date of receipt; under German law a fixed deadline calculator applies (§§ 187, 188, 193 BGB). Otherwise you get a note without a date.
Data protection
General AI chat (typical)
Processing location, retention and use for training depend on provider and plan; check the settings and the data processing agreement.
Smart Legal Pro
Names and identifiers are masked before they are sent to the model, as far as they are detected; EU hosting; no AI training with your data (excluded by contract).
Responsibility and notices
General AI chat (typical)
A general notice that answers may contain errors; checking and responsibility lie with you.
Smart Legal Pro
Results are labeled as AI suggestions, the notice under the German Legal Services Act (RDG) is visible; checking and responsibility remain with you or a lawyer.
Legal questions without a document
General AI chat (typical)
Answer in free conversation, without a fixed structure for open points.
Smart Legal Pro
Dedicated legal-question flow with sources, open points and re-analysis.
Adding new facts
General AI chat (typical)
You add facts within the conversation; in a new conversation you describe the status again.
Smart Legal Pro
Targeted follow-up analysis with saved clarifications.
Passing on to team and lawyer
General AI chat (typical)
You copy results out yourself; a record of the processing history is typically not included.
Smart Legal Pro
PDF, redline/clean and compliance ZIP with audit log; export of all documents to pass on to your firm.
Logging and compliance
General AI chat (typical)
Logging differs by provider and plan.
Smart Legal Pro
Audit log; notice under the RDG visible.
| Criterion | General AI chat (typical) | Smart Legal Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Legal system and expertise | General knowledge from training; you specify country, area of law and contract type yourself. | Country- and contract-type-specific playbooks (NDA, tenancy, IT, T&Cs …); the country follows the case file. |
| Evidence and sources | Source references depend on the product; you should check citations against the source yourself. | Citations are checked against our own citation network of statutes and decisions; the result is stated: verified, not found or not checkable. |
| Case file | You typically upload documents anew for each conversation; case management is usually not part of the feature set. | My documents with versions and confidentiality level; the documents of a matter are analyzed together. |
| Deadlines | A deadline is typically derived from the model's knowledge; you check the legal system, type of proceedings and date of receipt yourself. | A deadline is only saved if it appears in the document or was calculated from a documented date of receipt; under German law a fixed deadline calculator applies (§§ 187, 188, 193 BGB). Otherwise you get a note without a date. |
| Data protection | Processing location, retention and use for training depend on provider and plan; check the settings and the data processing agreement. | Names and identifiers are masked before they are sent to the model, as far as they are detected; EU hosting; no AI training with your data (excluded by contract). |
| Responsibility and notices | A general notice that answers may contain errors; checking and responsibility lie with you. | Results are labeled as AI suggestions, the notice under the German Legal Services Act (RDG) is visible; checking and responsibility remain with you or a lawyer. |
| Legal questions without a document | Answer in free conversation, without a fixed structure for open points. | Dedicated legal-question flow with sources, open points and re-analysis. |
| Adding new facts | You add facts within the conversation; in a new conversation you describe the status again. | Targeted follow-up analysis with saved clarifications. |
| Passing on to team and lawyer | You copy results out yourself; a record of the processing history is typically not included. | PDF, redline/clean and compliance ZIP with audit log; export of all documents to pass on to your firm. |
| Logging and compliance | Logging differs by provider and plan. | Audit log; notice under the RDG visible. |
The left column describes typical properties of the product category “general AI chat”, not a specific product. Features and prices of individual providers and plans differ and change; check each row against the product of your choice. For Smart Legal Pro we only name features that exist in the product. As of: October 2026.
Source expansion
Select a passage and optionally run primary-source search — with snippet check on the target page, without recalculating the analysis.
Confidentiality score
Automatic classification of your documents — you instantly see what's confidential.
Sources on click
Default without live web; on demand, targeted search for your selected text (paid, price shown before start).
Built by a lawyer
Designed by Marian Härtel (ITMediaLaw.com) — legal know-how meets tech.
General AI chat or legal AI?
What happens after the first answer
A legal problem lasts weeks to months. What matters is what happens after the first answer.
Memory across sessions
General AI chat (typical)
A chat is designed around the individual conversation; memory and project features differ by provider.
Smart Legal Pro
An optional memory you switch on yourself: circumstances you explained once are available in later chats, letters and analyses — visible at any time and deletable item by item.
Keeping deadlines in view
General AI chat (typical)
A calculated deadline is typically not monitored; you set up reminders yourself.
Smart Legal Pro
Deadline register with e-mail and push reminders 7, 3 and 1 day ahead — including deadlines that belong to no document.
Contracts after signing
General AI chat (typical)
Reviews the text you paste in; you track the term and the notice window yourself.
Smart Legal Pro
The contract analysis detects term, notice period and automatic renewal; once you confirm, the platform reminds you in time and shows every contract as a status light.
From the letter to the reply
General AI chat (typical)
Produces a text; you follow dispatch, deadline and reply outside the chat.
Smart Legal Pro
Mark as sent, move the deadline into the register, upload the incoming reply — the AI evaluates it within the same matter. If no reply arrives, the platform gets in touch after 14 days.
What connects your documents
General AI chat (typical)
Depending on the product, documents are read individually or together; a confirmed overview of parties and amounts is typically not produced.
Smart Legal Pro
Your documents produce an overview of the people, dates and amounts involved and how they relate — every entry with evidence in the original document, confirmed or discarded by you.
How far it takes you
General AI chat (typical)
Typically up to the text in the chat window; formatting, sending, noting the deadline and evaluating the reply remain your task.
Smart Legal Pro
To the finished result: letter as PDF and Word, “mark as sent”, deadline into the register in one click, and an uploaded reply is analyzed and linked to the letter. For contracts, all the way to the notice date including reminders 7, 3 and 1 day before.
| Criterion | General AI chat (typical) | Smart Legal Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Memory across sessions | A chat is designed around the individual conversation; memory and project features differ by provider. | An optional memory you switch on yourself: circumstances you explained once are available in later chats, letters and analyses — visible at any time and deletable item by item. |
| Keeping deadlines in view | A calculated deadline is typically not monitored; you set up reminders yourself. | Deadline register with e-mail and push reminders 7, 3 and 1 day ahead — including deadlines that belong to no document. |
| Contracts after signing | Reviews the text you paste in; you track the term and the notice window yourself. | The contract analysis detects term, notice period and automatic renewal; once you confirm, the platform reminds you in time and shows every contract as a status light. |
| From the letter to the reply | Produces a text; you follow dispatch, deadline and reply outside the chat. | Mark as sent, move the deadline into the register, upload the incoming reply — the AI evaluates it within the same matter. If no reply arrives, the platform gets in touch after 14 days. |
| What connects your documents | Depending on the product, documents are read individually or together; a confirmed overview of parties and amounts is typically not produced. | Your documents produce an overview of the people, dates and amounts involved and how they relate — every entry with evidence in the original document, confirmed or discarded by you. |
| How far it takes you | Typically up to the text in the chat window; formatting, sending, noting the deadline and evaluating the reply remain your task. | To the finished result: letter as PDF and Word, “mark as sent”, deadline into the register in one click, and an uploaded reply is analyzed and linked to the letter. For contracts, all the way to the notice date including reminders 7, 3 and 1 day before. |
General AI chat or legal AI?
Three questions to ask about AI for legal matters
Whichever product you use, it is worth clarifying three things before you rely on it.
Are the citations correct?
Language models can reproduce statute and case citations incorrectly or word them freely. Check every citation against the statute or the decision before you use it in a letter.
Does the deadline fit the legal system?
Deadlines depend on the country, the type of proceedings and receipt. In Germany, for example, the period for objecting to a fine notice is two weeks from service; other countries differ. Do not have a deadline estimated — have it calculated and documented from the date of receipt.
Where does your data go?
For personal data, client information or trade secrets you should know where and how the provider processes inputs, whether they are used for training and whether a data processing agreement (Art. 28 GDPR) is in place.
General AI chat or legal AI?
Data flow compared
Where do your contract details end up — and who can read them?
General AI chat (typical)
General AI chat (typical)
- Processing location depends on provider and plan, possibly outside the EU
- Use of inputs for training depends on plan and settings
- History stored in the provider account, no case management
- Logging differs by provider
Smart Legal Pro
SmartLegalPro
- EU hosting (Frankfurt); AI runs go through EU endpoints where the provider allows it — exceptions are listed openly
- Contractually excluded: no AI training on your data
- Access separated per account by row-level security
- Audit log; compliance ZIP for export
General AI chat or legal AI?
Transparent costs
A typical NDA draft incl. review and lawyer handover.
Generate NDA from template
General AI chat: Price depends on provider and plan (free to subscription); checking and adapting the draft is up to you.
With SmartLegalPro: … per generation (30 credits) — German template as a starting point, instant PDF/DOCX
Refine clause (adjust liability)
General AI chat: Revision in conversation; version comparison and a log are typically not part of the chat.
With SmartLegalPro: Redline diff, version history, quality score — price depends on the scope of the change and is shown before every revision
Lawyer review in a dispute
General AI chat: The lawyer receives the documents from you and starts by preparing them.
With SmartLegalPro: Case file, analysis and versions are handed over with one click; this can shorten the preparation work for the firm.
| Scenario | General AI chat | With SmartLegalPro |
|---|---|---|
| Generate NDA from template | Price depends on provider and plan (free to subscription); checking and adapting the draft is up to you. | … per generation (30 credits) — German template as a starting point, instant PDF/DOCX |
| Refine clause (adjust liability) | Revision in conversation; version comparison and a log are typically not part of the chat. | Redline diff, version history, quality score — price depends on the scope of the change and is shown before every revision |
| Lawyer review in a dispute | The lawyer receives the documents from you and starts by preparing them. | Case file, analysis and versions are handed over with one click; this can shorten the preparation work for the firm. |
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Multilingual by design
Done means translated and explained
A feature only counts as done when its texts exist in all seven languages and the help center explains it. We treat a gap in any language as a bug.
General AI chat or legal AI?
Frequently asked questions: general AI chat and legal AI
Try it on your own case.
Triage and the first analysis cost zero. You only pay when you actually generate or compare.
