Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are seemingly everywhere nowadays. If you are interested in employing these tools in your research, it’s crucial to understand how they work and what they can help you do.

To help, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has a new resource for navigating this space! Titled Best Practices for Using AI in Legal Research: A Guide for Nonlawyers, this guide was created by our library’s Director Amy Small in collaboration with Nicole Belbin, Sara V. Pixon, and Laura Moorer.

Should I use AI tools for my legal research?

Many people are turning to AI tools for an increasingly wider range of tasks in their personal and professional lives. But are these tools suitable for legal research?

It can be tempting to outsource all your legal research needs to a generative AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude. These tools may help a researcher clarify their thoughts, find new sources or citations to explore, or provide basic explanations of legal concepts.

However, considerable risks come with relying too heavily on AI tools. AI cannot provide legal advice or analyze how the law applies to your situation. In some cases, it may provide “hallucinations” of incorrect or even nonexistent legal citations, statutes, or rules.

Best Practices

While aimed at nonlawyers, the AALL guide can be a great resource for lawyers, too. It can help improve the accuracy of your research while minimizing errors and hallucinations.

It has pointers for getting started with AI research, including a quick overview of the different types of tools that a researcher may encounter.

Here you’ll find:

• a quick explanation for how AI technology works, including generative AI and extractive AI
• pointers for understanding whether AI tools are appropriate or necessary for your research
• an overview of the types of tools available, including free online tools, AI features in legal databases, and court-provided AI chatbots
• tips and examples for prompting AI tools effectively
• guidance on how to verify your results

We hope this guide helps you learn how to effectively and safely integrate AI tools into your research! As always, feel free to reach out to us for research assistance.

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