I’ve been hearing from more and more clients and potential clients of my law firm lately that they are using ChatGPT to help them draft their legal contracts.
Before you read any further, I turned this blog post into a podcast episode. You can listen in on the player below, or on your favorite podcast player.
I know—coming from a lawyer, this might sound biased. And honestly? You’re not wrong. But my concerns aren’t just professional—they’re practical.
But not without good cause. There are many reasons why using ChatGPT, CoPilot, Claude, or any other type of generalized AI software to draft legal contracts is not a great idea. In today’s post, I’m going to walk through 5 of the biggest reasons you should think twice before turning to AI to draft or review your legal documents.
1. ChatGPT is not a lawyer
The first big reason that you should not use ChatGPT to draft your legal contracts is that a computer is not a lawyer, and neither are you (I assume, or why are you still reading this post?)
That means ChatGPT—and any AI tool—cannot give legal advice.
Legal advice can only be given by a licensed attorney who has been fully informed about your situation and is able to tailor their advice to your legal needs and specific questions.
When you are entering prompts into a computer, often you don’t know what information is important to provide and what isn’t. Without the proper inputs, AI cannot properly understand the nuance of your specific business or industry so that it can advise you on what the law means for your situation.
When you use AI, the information provided is only as good as the inputs it is given. As I like to say, when you give the computer crappy inputs, you are going to get crappy outputs.
Worse, the AI likely won’t realize that the information it’s being given is flawed—nor will it ask smart follow-up questions the way a human lawyer would.
2. AI-generated contracts often contain errors or legal gaps
Have you ever used ChatGPT and received a response that didn’t seem quite right – or maybe you knew that the response was just downright wrong?
Believe it or not, the same came happen if you attempt to use AI to draft your legal documents. ChatGPT may crawl the web to find some boilerplate language that sounds good to a non-lawyer, but it may be unenforceable, outdated, or both.
This is because the legal landscape is constantly changing and as smart as artificial intelligence is, sometimes it just can’t keep up. As of this writing, the knowledge cutoff for ChatGPT is October 2023. That’s TWO YEARS ago, which in legal parlance is completely obsolete.
Not only that, but ChatGPT is likely to draft legal clauses and provisions that may contradict one another in your final product or worse, it may contradict your legal goals in drafting the contract in the first place!
And this assumes that you actually have all the most important clauses in your contract to begin with – which is a huge assumption. In many cases, ChatGPT will miss critical clauses entirely—things like venue, indemnification, or dispute resolution.
If you don’t know what these words mean or how they will affect your agreement (especially if they are missing or contradictory), then you probably shouldn’t be using ChatGPT to draft your legal contracts.
3. False sense of security
Which brings us to the next major problem with using ChatGPT to draft your legal contracts…
Just because a document looks like a solid legal contract doesn’t mean it will hold up in practice—or in court.
Many entrepreneurs who use ChatGPT to draft legal contracts think they are legally protected… until they aren’t. They are lulled into a false sense of security because they have a fancy looking contract. Unfortunately, however, their contract is likely not worth the paper it was printed on and very well may not accomplish the goals you set out for your document.
As a result, many entrepreneurs don’t even realize they have a problem until they receive a lawsuit or their contract is challenged in court. And trust me, this is NOT a position you want to be in.
4. Legal contracts are more than just “fill-in-the-blank”
It’s true—most lawyers use templates to work efficiently. But those templates are carefully selected, reviewed, and customized to fit each client’s specific needs. There is really no sense in reinventing the wheel every time I draft a new custom contract for a client. And I spend
But a legal template is way more than just a form where you “fill-in-the-blank”.
When you hire a lawyer to draft your legal contracts, it is imperative that they properly understand your business model, anticipate potential disputes and future problems that could come up, and draft customized legal protections and clauses when necessary (and trust me, it is more necessary that you think).
A well-drafted legal contract is just as much about what is not in the document as what is in the document.
5. What to do instead
Not surprising, I don’t advocate using legal documents that were drafted by AI, whether ChatGPT or another platform.
Instead, I recommend using lawyer drafted and vetted legal documents (such as the ones you can find in our template store).
Even better, I recommend consulting with a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction whenever possible.
But if you can’t afford the thousands of dollars that a lawyer would charge for a custom contract, then our legal templates are the next best thing. They are reviewed by a lawyer, legally sound, and are designed to be used safely and competently by non-lawyers.
Final Thoughts on Using ChatGPT to Draft Legal Contracts
AI is a powerful business tool—but legal protection isn’t something to DIY with a chatbot. Whether you’re starting a new business, launching a product, or protecting your brand, your contracts deserve the attention of a trained legal professional.
If you can’t hire a lawyer, your next best option is a vetted legal template created by one. (Like the ones in our legal template store.)
Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you know when it’s safe to use ChatGPT for your business—and when you should pump the brakes and call a pro instead:
| ✅ Safe to Use ChatGPT For | ⚠️ Not Safe to Use ChatGPT For |
|---|---|
| Brainstorming content ideas (blogs, emails, videos) | Drafting legal contracts or agreements |
| Writing social media captions or email subject lines | Creating trademark applications or legal filings |
| Drafting internal SOPs or team onboarding docs | Giving legal advice or interpreting the law |
| Generating blog post drafts (to edit later) | Writing enforceable Terms of Service or Privacy Policies |
| Outlining sales funnels or marketing plans | Choosing your business structure (LLC vs. S-Corp, etc.) |
| Creating canned customer service email templates | Responding to legal disputes, chargebacks, or cease & desist letters |
| Writing chatbot scripts or automations | Reviewing or negotiating contracts |
| Generating FAQs or knowledge base entries | Relying on AI as a substitute for a licensed professional |
| Drafting course or product descriptions | Filing anything with the government or courts |
| Brainstorming business names (followed by a real trademark search) | Replacing a consultation with a lawyer or CPA |
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While I am a licensed attorney, reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. Always consult a qualified legal professional regarding your specific situation before relying on any information or documents. Use of AI tools like ChatGPT should not be a substitute for legal counsel.
