Tom Dunlop, CEO & Founder at Summize is an completed business and expertise lawyer, Tom’s expertise with reviewing contracts was the catalyst that led to Summize. Previous to this, he labored as a International Authorized Director for a number of fast-growth expertise corporations.
Summize is remodeling Contract Lifecycle Administration (CLM) by enabling total companies—not simply authorized groups—to work quicker and smarter with contracts. The platform integrates immediately into broadly used instruments like Microsoft Phrase, Groups, Slack, Outlook, and Gmail, assembly customers the place they already work. With an intuitive person expertise, knowledgeable implementation, and highly effective AI, Summize simplifies and accelerates the contract course of from finish to finish. Targeted on driving business-wide CLM adoption, Summize is redefining how contracts are managed, reviewed, and executed throughout organizations.
What impressed you to create Summize? Have been there particular challenges you confronted as a Basic Counsel that led you to develop an AI-powered authorized answer?
There’s a couple of issues that impressed me. Beforehand, as a International Authorized Director, I’d be there with my highlighter marker and printouts, reviewing contracts and making an attempt to create summaries of every one. There have been additionally groups of very demanding salespeople who wanted consideration and understandably wished to get offers executed. There was clearly a necessity for automating duties. I used to be working in a really excessive progress tech surroundings, so when it got here to innovation, I had an entrepreneurial mindset. Everybody round me was additionally continuously looking out for higher methods of doing issues, too. These items all coming collectively have been the catalyst for me creating and beginning Summize.
How has Summize developed since its founding in 2018? What have been some key milestones alongside the best way?
We have been a generic summarization device at first, so it was a giant step ahead once we determined to give attention to the authorized trade, and particularly, in-house counsel. Subsequent was once we reached our purpose of making a holistic answer that will function a touchpoint for each contraction interplay – which additionally led to the widening of our performance. The third milestone was once we started embedding our intelligence in different instruments inflicting adoption to actually take off. Then there was our enlargement into the U.S. and the speedy progress that adopted.
Alongside the best way we achieved quite a bit. We have been first-to-market with Phrase Add-In and AI performance. We have been first-to-market with Groups and Slack chatbots that would work together with authorized and create contracts. And, we’ll be first-to-market with further capabilities within the very close to future. We’re continuously evolving.
What units Summize aside from different Contract Lifecycle Administration (CLM) options available on the market?
Our distinctive promoting level is our embedded strategy versus an all-in-one CLM platform. Essentially, these are the choices, and we really feel an embedded expertise by current and acquainted instruments is extra highly effective and facilitates adoption. Our use of synthetic intelligence (AI) and pure language processing (NLP) can be a differentiator. Its capability to streamline processes and cut back guide effort is driving new ranges of price effectivity for authorized groups.
What industries or authorized capabilities are presently main in AI adoption, and which of them are lagging behind?
In-house counsel at expertise and software program corporations usually tend to undertake AI as a result of excessive quantity of offers and give attention to effectivity. While you’re in additional commercially targeted environments, eradicating blockers to hurry deal processes is vital. We’re seeing adoption throughout all authorized capabilities. Nonetheless, because the voice of a enterprise, normal in-house groups can truly be a barrier to AI. They should approve options and that may gradual adoption amongst customers and throughout wider enterprise capabilities. However bigger business groups which might be very deal targeted know there’s speedy productiveness features and financial savings, so that they’re adopting AI quicker.
How do you see AI remodeling authorized work past contract evaluation? What different authorized duties may AI streamline?
Contracts are the system of report for any enterprise transaction, delivering all of the related relationship information, starting from who you’re contracting with to particular obligations to termination particulars. Accessing that data and making it usable is what we’re doing with issues like contract evaluation and summarization. Put AI on the again of that and you’ll drive information pushes between programs and workflow orchestration throughout numerous elements of the enterprise. That opens the door to a world of functions. It’d sound far-fetched, however AI may even rework the authorized service mannequin itself sooner or later, enabling companies to cost primarily based on the data they ship and never time.
In accordance with Summize’s latest survey, 89% of in-house authorized professionals use AI instruments, but issues stay round privateness and safety (45%), restricted understanding or coaching (37%), and a scarcity of clear use circumstances (31%). How can authorized groups transfer past preliminary AI adoption to make sure they’re utilizing it securely and successfully as a trusted companion of their workflows?
They should perceive how AI works, what to look out for from a safety standpoint, and the way information interacts with an AI mannequin. You must guarantee they’re utilizing it securely and successfully as a trusted companion in workflows. This requires coaching and clear AI insurance policies. Staff members also needs to perceive how AI will influence the position of normal counsel over the subsequent 5 years. As soon as they’ve this data, they’ll have the ability to apply what they’ve realized to develop even larger use circumstances and spur additional adoption,
How do you assume AI-powered instruments like Summize will change the position of Basic Counsels and in-house authorized groups over the subsequent 5 years?
I feel it’s going to free them from decrease worth, excessive quantity duties, permitting them to give attention to the fitting kind of labor. It’ll additionally allow Basic Counsels to scale their data, in addition to their experiences, throughout authorized groups and the enterprise itself. And along with being relieved of time-consuming, guide duties, leaders will know that such jobs are being executed to their requirements.
Do you assume regulatory frameworks must evolve to higher govern the usage of AI in authorized tech?
Regulatory frameworks might want to specify the info utilized by language fashions (LLMs). What’s extra, fashions might be required to make use of verified content material, which might shift the main focus from information quantity to high quality and relevance. Total, I do assume we’ll see regulatory frameworks evolve, and fashions do higher at understanding the info it makes use of earlier than rendering a solution.
What position do integrations (e.g., with Microsoft Phrase, Groups, Slack) play in making AI-driven authorized instruments extra accessible and user-friendly?
Shifting ahead, it’ll be essential to have AI embedded in person workflows and experiences. The query is, how do you do it and make it simple for customers? Integrations with Phrase, Groups and Slack are basically essential as a result of individuals are already utilizing and adopting these instruments each day, making it the simplest entry level to begin a question.
Integrations with on a regular basis instruments will guarantee AI-driven authorized instruments are extra accessible and user-friendly.
What’s subsequent for Summize? Are there any upcoming options or expansions we must be trying ahead to?
We simply launched our next-gen AI-Powered CLM with clever brokers to speed up evaluations and unlock contract insights that makes use of agenetic AI to deal with duties from redlining to overview. We additionally broadened our chatbot’s performance to work together with different information units. These are only a couple issues we have now deliberate and we’re trying ahead to introducing different highly effective CLM developments.
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Summize.
