Disputes-focused legal tech company Opus 2 has launched ‘AI Labs’, a programme that invites clients to ‘get an inside look at AI tools within the company’s case management software and take an active role in the development process’.
On one level this is a marketing exercise, however, there are some real-world benefits beyond that. AI Labs participants will get to ‘explore how AI will be integrated into the Opus 2 platform, using it to summarise documents, extract information, and structure data. As part of the programme, legal teams will engage with developers at Opus 2 to provide real-world expertise, process feedback, and use case insights’ the company said.
And, as alluded to above, aside from the show and tell, AI Labs will also include a ‘rigorous examination of Opus 2’s AI-driven features, [with] a continual feedback loop from clients, and an expert-driven development process’.
Is this a big step? This is a way to market the product’s AI features as they arrive and develop. Several other legal tech companies over the years have set up ‘labs’, ‘schools’, or ‘universities’ – all ostensibly doing the same thing, marketing via education.
But it is also a clever way to go about collecting invaluable feedback that helps improve the product. Plus, once lawyers have spent time feeding back to a company on a product’s development, they will likely feel more engaged with it.
All good stuff at the end of the day. Legal tech companies are there to sell software, the buyers want to know how it all works, and the product teams at such companies want to know how they can improve what’s on offer. Everyone’s a winner.
Raymond Bentinck, Chief Product Officer at Opus 2, concluded: ‘As with all our solutions, we’re committed to building AI capabilities that deliver long-term value and solve real challenges facing legal teams. We’re excited that AI Labs gives us the opportunity to partner with our clients again as we continue to design, develop, and deliver industry-leading solutions.’