News You Can Use

Bain & Company's May 2025 global survey of 1,200 business leaders reveals that 70% of executives have either implemented or piloted genAI, more than double from the year before. Adoption is being led by technology, banking, and business services sectors, with law firms showing increased experimentation. However, half of respondents say they are not yet seeing material business value, citing challenges like integration, hallucinations, unclear use cases, and talent gaps.

Clients are moving fast. We are seeing this with some of our clients, but others are much further behind. We need to continue to speak to clients about where genAI adds value for in-house teams, as well as what we are doing at AG. It also opens doors for client conversations around responsible adoption, especially when we can demonstrate our own use cases (e.g., AGPT) backed by a firm-wide usage policy that we have worked with OGC to shape and stress-test.

The paper explores the growing misuse of the term "AI Agents" and distinguishes true agents, which are autonomous, iterative, and environment-aware, from AI tools that simply follow user instructions. Using a formal taxonomy, the authors argue that many current "agents" are just fancy pipelines or orchestrators.

As we experiment with tools to build "agent-like" flows, understanding their limitations is key to managing expectations internally and in the future, with clients. This paper reinforces the importance of clear definitions, especially if we are marketing our tools or advising clients on theirs.

The article highlights that while top UK law firms are quietly but actively piloting genAI for drafting, research, and knowledge management, corporate clients are increasingly seeking transparency on how these tools will translate into cost savings.

As clients become more inquisitive about the practical benefits of genAI, it's imperative for us to showcase how our AI initiatives (i.e. AGPT) and AI tools (e.g. Legora) can enhance efficiency and reduce costs.