By: Rachel Fernandez, Director, Sales Engineering
In the ever-changing landscape of eDiscovery and legal technology, Artificial Intelligence tools are becoming increasingly prevalent. Vendors and platforms alike are quick to highlight the efficiencies and wonders of this accessible and exciting tech.
Below, we unpack the common promises and real-world realities of using generative AI in eDiscovery workflows. We also show how we at Sandline can partner with you to make the most of these tools.
Promises, Realities, and Solutions
Instant and Accurate Document Analysis
- Promise: AI tools can classify and extract insight from your data immediately and accurately, out of the box.
- Reality: Any generative AI tool needs context, prompting, and multiple iterations to work reliably and defensibly.
AI Can Summarize and Review Your Data for You
- Promise: The AI can handle everything in any workflow. Whether it’s summarizing, reviewing, or coding documents, the tool can do it faster than any team.
- Reality: AI can miss nuances, hallucinate, or overgeneralize. It can help you move faster, but not without human-led training and review.
Manual Review Is a Relic of the Past
- Promise: AI will replace human review and dramatically reduce costs.
- Reality: AI reduces manual effort, but defensible review still requires legal insight, thoughtful workflows, and human review expertise.
Limitations to Consider
Even with all the promise, generative AI tools come with real limitations, especially when they’re added to eDiscovery projects without support or planning:
Data Size & Requirements
Many tools have limits on how much data they can ingest or process at once. These constraints mean that some of your most critical data may still require manual review.
Just like any analytics tool, generative AI needs high-quality text to function properly. OCR errors, images, or complex formats (like large spreadsheets) can significantly reduce accuracy and applicability of these tools.
Cost
AI can be expensive, especially if you’re relying on it heavily across large datasets. The cost model for many platforms is hard to predict, especially when multiple prompt iterations and manual QC are still required.
The Sandline Difference
The most effective way to use generative AI in eDiscovery isn’t full automation—it’s smart orchestration. We blend the speed and scale of AI with the strategy, review, and defensibility of experienced human teams.
At Sandline:
- We help clients configure AI tools properly up front, ensuring the set up supports meaningful results.
- We help reduce the overall volume of review through proprietary culling and data prep processes.
- We leverage AI summaries as a starting point, not a final product. Sandline has built in quality checks and feedback loops to ensure nothing critical is missed.
- We consult on prompt engineering and guide iteration cycles at every stage.
- We make sure defensibility and oversight QC are built into every step of the workflow.
- We focus on reducing what needs to be reviewed, not removing humans from the process. Our workflows balance automation with experienced oversight, making your review more efficient and defensible
- We communicate constantly. We give you full access to our teams with fast response times, comprehensive budget reporting, and continuous collaboration.
We help you get the most out of AI without losing control, context, or compliance. Generative AI is powerful, but it’s not magic. At Sandline, we work with legal teams to get past the hype and build review strategies that actually work. Whether you’re new to AI tools or already using them in your workflow, we can help you take the next step with confidence.
Let us help you find your generative AI flow.
