It’s not uncommon in legal departments right now for a general counsel to purchase an AI tool after a compelling vendor demo. Then an associate starts using ChatGPT for memo drafts because a colleague recommended it. The compliance team gets access to Copilot because IT rolled it out enterprise-wide.
None of these are bad decisions on their own. But together, they add up to something we call "random acts of AI,” scattered one-off experiments with no shared strategy or methodology connecting them. Everyone is trying AI. Few are getting meaningful results from it.
The problem is easy to miss because the activity feels productive. Tools are being tested. People are experimenting. Boxes are getting checked. But without a way to evaluate which opportunities actually matter for your role, your obstacles, and what's realistically executable today, you’re not making much progress.
This is the single most common pattern we see across legal functions trying to adopt AI. And the fix is simpler than most people expect.
You need a playbook, not another tool
A playbook gives you a framework for looking at any AI opportunity and knowing three things about it:
- What kind of opportunity it is?
- How do you evaluate whether it's worth pursuing?
- Where does it fit relative to everything else on your plate?
One approach that works well is categorizing every potential AI use case into one of three buckets:
Automation: Can AI take this repetitive, low-judgment task off my plate entirely? Think routine NDA processing or contract obligation tracking.
Augmentation: Can AI make me sharper and faster at work that still requires my expertise? Think using AI as a redlining copilot or to prep intelligence briefs.
Acceleration: Can AI enable something that was genuinely impossible before? Think semantic analysis across thousands of active contracts simultaneously.
When you know which category an opportunity falls into, you immediately know how to evaluate it and what success looks like. Automation saves time. Augmentation improves quality. Acceleration changes what's possible.
That simple sorting mechanism is what turns random acts of AI into a deliberate strategy. So the next time someone on your team pitches an AI tool or you spot a shiny new platform on LinkedIn, try running it through those three categories before you commit any time to it.
Learn More at AI Academy
Our AI for Legal course is a comprehensive learning journey designed to transform how you approach corporate legal work in the age of artificial intelligence. You will move from understanding the strategic imperative for AI adoption to building a complete, prioritized action plan for your specific role and organization.
Across four courses, you will master frameworks for identifying and prioritizing AI opportunities, learn to navigate the complex technology landscape with confidence, and develop hands-on skills that put you ahead of the vast majority of legal professionals. Whether you are a corporate attorney managing contracts, matters, and counsel to business partners or a general counsel responsible for enterprise risk, legal function performance, and advising the C-suite, this series will equip you with the mindset, methodology, and practical capabilities to lead AI transformation in your legal function.
