Rising to the challenge of uncertainty around AI with customer-centred innovation

When we surveyed commercial real estate lawyers in 2021, we were struck by the finding that, while two-thirds of law firms have a defined digitisation roadmap, only 29% of firms were actively using AI and automation in their business. A further 33% said that they were planning to launch in the following 12 months. All in all, we saw a certain kind of friction at play: recognition that AI is an important enabler for law firms on one hand, and uncertainty and inertia in how best to embrace AI-led technologies on the other hand.

This struck us as an interesting and very pertinent challenge, and it was one that our product innovation team was keen to address. Multiple conversations with property law firms about their most pressing business priorities had highlighted a real need in the market to access insights earlier in property transactions in order to better bid for, price and resource work. As the UK’s leading provider of property search data, we believed that the answer lay in AI and its power to automate traditionally time- consuming manual processes while analysing data to surface relevant insights. And so the next generation of conveyancing search technology, the linchpin of transaction due diligence, was born.

In our latest guide, ‘Bridging the Gap: Advancing Legaltech in the Next Generation of Conveyancing Searches,’ we tell the story of how we drove this product innovation hand-in-hand with our law firm customers and in doing so, gave them a strong use case and accessible entry point to adopting AI as a tech enabler. One commercial real estate client agreed to be an early user of the AI-assisted Title Data Service product and swiftly found that, on a single 150-property portfolio transaction, the team could realise cost savings of £10,000. As a result, the firm is now moving confidently and decisively towards AI- assisted legaltech.

Firms that are slow to adopt legaltech will almost certainly be missing out – right now – on a raft of benefits that include efficiency gains and cost savings, some of the essential building blocks to growth and competitive performance. But slow adopters are also at risk from other, more tech-savvy law firms, as well as new, non-law market entrants using AI to compete with traditional law firms for select pieces of business.

At SearchFlow, we have always been convinced of AI’s potential. It is especially satisfying to me that we have found a persuasive answer to the question of how to make AI relevant and value-adding to our property law clients. By taking a single yet pivotal aspect of their core business, then developing pay- per-play, sophisticated yet straightforward solutions that harness AI to transform it, we have been able to create a genuine customer win. The potential to generate massive cost savings instantly, while taking that all-important step towards AI-assisted legaltech in action in a de-risked, low-stakes way (there’s no need for major integrations, heavy upfront tech investment or extensive upskilling) is bringing our customers significant operational and commercial benefits.

Our client, perhaps, puts it best: “[when] the data is pulled out by AI, and it really drives how we manage the work internally because it gives us headlines about the complicated titles. There’s that old adage that lawyers and technology don't mix, but this is a super-easy step into AI-enabled legaltech.”

AI is here to stay and, with the right legaltech partners that can apply the power of AI to transform core processes and de-risk critical transactions, it can be a value-adding reality in less time than some law firms might think. If your firm deals with property, I urge you to read our guide, ‘Bridging the Gap: Advancing Legaltech in the Next Generation of Conveyancing Searches,’ to enjoy a fresh perspective on AI in legaltech and get inspired about your firm’s next step towards AI adoption. You can get your copy here.

Thomas Quirke
Divisional Director of Data & Search
SearchFlow
42 Kings Hill Ave, Kings Hill West Malling ME19 4AJ

0800 977 8816
portfolio@searchflow.co.uk