Review contracts and legal agreements faster with Copilot in Word

A good contract review requires understanding key details and potential risks clearly, while navigating legal terms. AI tools in Microsoft Word can make preparing and reviewing legal documents more manageable. Copilot in Word can also help simplify legal language, highlight inconsistencies, and summarize text so documents are easier to scan and understand at a glance.

Prepare drafts for final review with practical tools in Microsoft Word. Learn how Copilot in Word can assist with grasping details and polishing text to improve legal document compliance.

Four ways AI can help review contracts faster in Word

With easy-to-use AI tools, contract review can shift from a time consuming task to one that’s easier to complete. Copilot helps move focus to key sections and next steps in these ways.

Summarize lengthy agreements in minutes

Condense long documents with AI summarizer to gather an overview of key obligations, terms, and dates without manually reading every section in detail. High-level summaries show what a document covers to help comprehend new agreements and spot sections that may need further action.

Try this Copilot prompt"Summarize this business agreement to highlight key dates, payment schedules, and renewal clauses."Click to copy this Copilot prompt

Identify risks and unusual clauses

Copilot can help highlight clauses or sections that may present risks and require additional checks. This can include ambiguous or non-standard phrasing in payment and renewal conditions, where clear terms are important to set expectations. These insights help improve risk analysis, so documents are aligned before signing.

Try this Copilot prompt"Review this contract to help identify potential risks or any unusual clauses used in the payment terms section."Click to copy this Copilot prompt

Compare agreements and contract versions

Confirm revisions across versions without comparing them manually by asking Copilot to describe changes in one structured view. Using just a few instructions, AI can also compare contracts against internal standards to highlight differences and enhance consistency.

Try this Copilot prompt"Compare these two business agreement versions and summarize the key differences in a table."Click to copy this Copilot prompt

Generate suggested edits with tracked changes

Review and refine contract language using Copilot suggestions to improve wording, grammar, and structure. Use tracked changes to assess edits, compare revisions, and accept updates during proofreading. Keep edits visible by collaborating with stakeholders in Word to discuss, evaluate, and finalize legal-style documents.

Try this Copilot prompt"Review this contract and suggest edits in a table to improve language, tone, and flow."Click to copy this Copilot prompt

How to use AI contract review in Word

A structured approach to contract review carries each draft from analysis to approval with greater speed and accuracy. The steps below outline a simple workflow to support consistent, compliant outcomes in Word.

1. Open a contract, agreement, or legal-style document in Word for the web and locate the Copilot icon.

2. Ask Copilot to summarize the document to receive an overview and understand key terms. Copilot can also highlight important clauses, potential risks, and sections that may need review.

3. If the document is a newer version, use Copilot to quickly compare changes with older drafts to validate revisions and maintain document consistency.

4. Conduct a final check for tone, grammar, and wording by asking AI to suggest edits in a table.

5. Evaluate suggested changes before asking Copilot to implement them.

6. Turn on tracked changes and invite collaborators to provide feedback or make edits.

When AI contract review is most useful

AI contract review works best for quickly comparing, evaluating, and polishing legal documents before moving forward on an agreement. From internal documents to external files, find different ways to use AI more effectively.

• Vendor agreements: condense key objectives, terms, and dates from agreements into one scannable page to support smooth vendor negotiations and meetings.

• Service contracts: verify deliverables, compare changes, and spot any unusual terms for added surety before signing contracts and locking agreements.

• Statements of work: extract scope, timelines, and deliverables, so it’s easier to validate expectations and prepare briefing notes without reading the whole document.

• Business proposals: compare proposals across versions, identify risks, and summarize key terms to arrive well-prepared to business conferences.

• Procurement documents: review contracts against internal requirements before submission, so every document is compliant, aligned, and ready for approval cycles.

• Internal policy documents: simplify language or summarize internal rules and obligations to build accurate, consistent operating procedures or technical documentation.

• Contract renewals and amendments: understand updates in pricing or timelines to determine impact and recommend actions.

• Multi-version document reviews: track revisions across drafts, understand what has changed, then validate updates before approving, for refined contracts.

Tips for reviewing contracts with AI

While AI tools are easy to utilize, use these tips to get more value from Copilot when reviewing contracts.

• Review suggestions before accepting: confirm if AI suggestions fit internal guidelines and retain intent prior to accepting and finalizing them.

• Compare multiple sources where possible: rely on more than one reference source when editing documents, including previous contracts, company procedures, and training manuals.

• Keep tracked changes enabled: ensure tracked changes are enabled as stakeholders share feedback in Word to keep audit trails transparent for easy reference.

• Collaborate with stakeholders: invite stakeholders via a secure OneDrive link to provide feedback and co-edit sections, so the legal-style document reaches a finished state sooner.

AI contract review goes beyond proofreading documents to fully analyze sections, provide summaries, and identify gaps for compliant contracts or agreements. Find insights on potential risks, shorten turnaround, and work with stakeholders using built-in AI tools in Microsoft Word.

Explore more ways Copilot in Word can help optimize common workflows for creating technical documentation or standard operating procedures in lesser time.