AI Agents are the next big thing

In our previous article, we looked at legal technology predictions for 2025. Several experts predicted that AI agents would be the most important evolution. So, let’s have a closer look. In this article, we will answer the following questions, “what are AI agents? “, and “why are they important?”. We will also talk about AI agents in legal technology.

What are AI Agents?

An artificial intelligence (AI) agent is a software program that can autonomously interact with its environment, collect data, and use the data to perform self-determined tasks to meet predetermined goals. Humans set goals, but an AI agent independently chooses the best actions it needs to perform to achieve those goals. So, it is a system or program that is capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user or another system by designing its workflow and utilizing available tools. AI agents may improve their performance with learning or acquiring knowledge.

IBM explains that “AI agents can encompass a wide range of functionalities beyond natural language processing including decision-making, problem-solving, interacting with external environments and executing actions. These agents can be deployed in various applications to solve complex tasks in various enterprise contexts from software design and IT automation to code-generation tools and conversational assistants. They use the advanced natural language processing techniques of large language models (LLMs) to comprehend and respond to user inputs step-by-step and determine when to call on external tools.”

Why are they important?

Some refer to agentic AI as the third wave of the AI revolution. The first wave was predictive analytics where AI could crunch large datasets to discover patterns and make predictions. The second wave was generative AI, that uses deep learning and large language models (LLM) that can perform natural language processing tasks. And now, the third wave consists of AI agents that can autonomously handle complex tasks.

Because they can autonomously handle complex tasks, and better than ever before, AI agents can change the way we work. One headline gives the example of an AI agent that can reduce programming from months to days. There already are E-commerce agents, sales and marketing agents, customer support agents, hospitality agents, as well as dynamic pricing systems, content recommendation systems, autonomous vehicles, and manufacturing robots, for example. And they all can do the work that was previously done by humans.

AI agents clearly offer several benefits. They can dramatically improve productivity, as they can handle complex tasks without human supervision or intervention. And because processes are automated, this also reduces the costs. AI agents can also be used to do research which in turn allows to make informed decisions. AI agents also lead to an improved customer experience because they can “personalize product recommendations, provide prompt responses, and innovate to improve customer engagement, conversion, and loyalty.”

But, as with any breakthroughs in AI, it is important the remain aware that there always is a dark side, too. Already there are warnings about ransomware AI agents, which work autonomously, and are far more sophisticated than their predecessors.

AI Agents in legal technology

For quite a while now, legal technology has been using bots that automate certain processes. In a way, AI agents are the next generation of bots. Many legal technology experts predicted that 2025 would be the year of the legal AI agents.

A selection of predictions on AI agents in legal technology

The National Law Review, also quoted in last month’s article, interviewed more than sixty experts on legal technology. Several of them talked about AI agents in legal technology. Here is a selection of quotes.

Gabe Teninbaum stated that “The biggest surprise in legal AI in 2025 will be the emergence of agentic AI—systems capable of taking autonomous, goal-driven actions within set parameters. These tools won’t just assist lawyers but will independently draft contracts, conduct negotiations, and even manage compliance, pushing the profession to redefine what it means to “practice law.”” And “by 2025, legal AI will shift from supporting tools to decision-making partners, with agentic systems managing tasks like compliance monitoring and preliminary dispute resolution. The surprise won’t be AI’s capability—it will be the speed at which clients demand its adoption.”

Nicola Shaver said, “Agentic AI, with the capability to automate legal workflows end-to-end, will become more prevalent in 2025, as will AI-enabled workflows generally. We will see a move away from the chatbot model to generative AI that is built into the systems where lawyers work and that mimics the way lawyers work, making it easier to adopt. Lawyers should expect to access custom apps for their legal practice areas in places like their document management or practice management systems and will adopt the tools that they like at a deeper level. In 2025, some lawyers will be using generative AI on a daily basis without even noticing it, since it will be an enabler of so many systems in the back end with less of the prompting burden sitting with end users.”

Tom Martin echoes a similar sentiment, calling Agentic AI “a transformative leap in the direct provision of legal services, driven by strengthening multimodal AI models, agentic capabilities, seamless machine-level orchestration, and evolving regulations governing AI-driven legal entities. This shift won’t just streamline existing workflows; it will redefine the way legal services are conceived, delivered, and experienced.”

Jon M. Garon observes that, “The potential for user-operated agents will grow exponentially as these apps create the power to automate calendaring, meeting coordination, note-taking, work-out buddies, and much more, becoming true personal assistants. Lawyers will need to be careful that the agents do not disclose personal or client data, but with that problem solved, these will grow into a significant new market. “

Evan Shenkman explains it as follows: “Think about tools that can listen in on depositions, trials, or client intake meetings, and provide the attorney — in real-time — with AI-powered guidance and assistance (issue spotting, identifying inconsistencies or falsehoods, etc.) based on the tool’s prior review and analysis of the entire case file. Or tools that can continually review the case docket, and then unilaterally alert the attorney of what just happened, what now needs

to be done, and include GenAI-created proposed drafts based on prior firm samples. These tools are already in the works and will be mainstream soon enough. “

Benefits of AI Agents in legal technology

The benefits AI Agents will bring to the field of legal technology apply not only to lawyers, but to all legal service providers, including alternative legal service providers.

One of the obvious primary advantages of AI agents in the legal field is their ability to enhance efficiency, and reduce costs. Bots have already been doing that to a certain extent by automating repetitive tasks such as document review, legal research, and contract analysis. AI agents are expected to take this process of automating tasks to a new level where entire workflows and more complex tasks will be handled by them as well. This will free up valuable time for attorneys to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work. This not only increases productivity but also reduces the likelihood of human error, leading to more accurate outcomes.

The capability to process and analyse large volumes of data at speeds is particularly beneficial in legal research: AI can quickly sift through case law, statutes, and regulations to provide relevant information and insights.

Another significant benefit is the improved client service. By providing real-time updates and centralized document management, these agents encourage better collaboration within legal teams. This leads to more cohesive workflows and ensures that all team members are informed and aligned. All of this contributes to enhancing the client experience. (Several experts, some of whom are quoted above, predict that client demand will be a major factor in the adoption of AI agents).

AI agents also support transfer learning, which enables them to apply knowledge gained in one context to new, related tasks. This reduces the need for extensive retraining and allows legal professionals to leverage AI capabilities across various areas of law.

Sources: · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_agent · https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-agents · https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/ai-agents/ · https://www.zdnet.com/article/agents-are-the-third-wave-of-the-ai-revolution/ · https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-agentic-ai-platform-claims-to-speed-development-from-months-to-days/ · https://www.chatbase.co/blog/ai-agent-examples · https://natlawreview.com/article/what-expect-2025-ai-legal-tech-and-regulation-65-expert-predictions · https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/02/new-ai-agents-could-hold-people-for-ransom-in-2025 · https://www.truelaw.ai/blog/legal-ai-autonomous-agents-frameworks-for-compound-legal-ai-systems · https://www.leewayhertz.com/ai-agent-for-legal/ · https://www.leewayhertz.com/ai-agents-for-legal-documents/ · https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-ai-agents-revolutionizing-legal-document-management-allen-adams-bycvc/ · https://rankings.io/blog/legal-ai-tools · https://growlawfirm.com/blog/legal-ai-tools · https://www.rapidinnovation.io/post/ai-agents-types-benefits-and-real-world-uses