Microsoft wants lawyers to trust its new AI agent in Word documents

The Verge / 5/1/2026

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Key Points

  • Microsoft is launching a new AI agent inside Word called Legal Agent, built specifically for legal teams to assist with tasks like contract review.
  • The agent is designed to be more trustworthy than generic AI by using structured, repeatable legal workflows (e.g., clause-by-clause review against a playbook) rather than interpreting free-form commands.
  • Legal Agent can work with existing Word documents that include tracked changes and is intended to manage negotiation history and complex legal documents.
  • Microsoft positions the approach as an effort to align AI behavior with real legal practice to make document editing and review more reliable for lawyers.
Vector illustration of the Microsoft logo.

Microsoft is launching a new AI agent inside Word that's specifically designed for legal teams. Legal Agent handles document edits, negotiation history, and complex documents to help legal teams handle tasks like reviewing contracts.

"Instead of relying on general AI models to interpret commands, the agent follows structured workflows shaped by real legal practice, managing clearly defined, repeatable tasks like reviewing contracts clause by clause against a playbook," explains Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Office Product Group.

The Legal Agent can work with existing documents that have tracked changes, and analyz …

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