Artificial intelligence has become an important part of eDiscovery, but not every matter requires the same approach. While AI can significantly accelerate document review and improve consistency, its value depends on the nature of the data, the review objectives, and the overall case strategy.
So how do you know when AI-assisted review is the right choice? Here are three signs your next matter may be a strong candidate:
1. Your Matter Involves Large Volumes of Data
One of the clearest indicators that a matter is well suited for AI-assisted document review is the size of the data set. Whether you’re responding to litigation, conducting an internal investigation, managing a regulatory request, or handling a merger or acquisition, reviewing hundreds of thousands – or even millions – of documents manually can quickly become one of the most time-consuming and expensive phases of eDiscovery.
AI can help legal teams organize and prioritize documents, identify patterns across large data sets, and surface potentially responsive information earlier in the review process. Rather than replacing attorneys, AI allows reviewers to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time applying legal judgment to the documents that matter most.
Solutions like Relativity aiR can further enhance these workflows by helping review teams work more efficiently while maintaining consistency throughout the review process. When paired with experienced project managers and review professionals, AI becomes a practical tool for improving productivity without compromising quality.
2. Deadlines Leave Little Room for Manual Review
Many legal matters simply don’t allow for lengthy review cycles. Court-ordered production deadlines, regulatory investigations, and cybersecurity incidents often require legal teams to review and produce documents quickly while maintaining accuracy and defensibility.
In these situations, AI-assisted document review can help accelerate the early stages of review by identifying relevant information sooner and helping reviewers focus their attention where it will have the greatest impact. This can reduce bottlenecks, improve responsiveness, and give legal teams greater confidence that critical documents are being identified as quickly as possible.
Technology alone, however, is only part of the equation. Experienced review attorneys and project managers remain essential for validating AI-generated results, resolving nuanced or complex documents, and ensuring the overall review strategy aligns with the legal objectives of the matter. The combination of AI and human expertise enables firms to move faster without losing the quality and defensibility clients expect.
3. Consistency is Just as Important as Speed
While reducing review time is often a primary goal, consistency is equally important. Large review teams can face challenges maintaining uniform coding decisions across thousands of documents, particularly in complex matters involving multiple reviewers or evolving review criteria.
AI can help identify similar documents, recognize recurring concepts, and support more consistent review decisions throughout the project. This creates a more standardized review process while allowing experienced legal professionals to focus on the documents that require interpretation, legal analysis, or strategic decision-making.
The strongest document review workflows don’t rely exclusively on either AI or human reviewers. Instead, they combine the speed and analytical capabilities of AI with the judgment and expertise of experienced legal professionals to produce results that are both efficient and defensible.
Validate AI Before You Commit
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding AI in eDiscovery is that firms need to fully commit before they know whether it will be effective for their matter. That’s why Avalon is offering the Relativity aiR Test Drive, so legal teams can evaluate AI using their own data before deciding whether to incorporate it into a larger review workflow.
Our Relativity aiR Test Drive provides an opportunity to test AI-assisted review using a representative sample of your documents. Rather than relying on a generic demonstration, legal teams can see how the technology performs within the context of their specific matter and better understand where AI can accelerate review. This evaluation helps firms make informed decisions based on real-world results instead of assumptions, reducing uncertainty while increasing confidence in AI adoption.
Finding the Right Balance Between AI and Human Expertise
As AI continues to evolve, the question for many legal teams is no longer whether to use it, but how to use it effectively. The most successful AI-assisted document review strategies recognize that technology and human expertise each play an essential role.
That’s because AI excels at processing large volumes of information, identifying patterns, and improving efficiency. But experienced legal professionals provide the judgment, quality control, and strategic oversight necessary to ensure review decisions remain accurate, consistent, and defensible.
Schedule Your Relativity aiR Test Drive
What if you could see how generative AI performs on one of your own matters – before deciding whether AI is right for you?
Avalon’s Relativity aiR Test Drive puts aiR for Review to work on one of your own matters. Using your review protocol and approximately 100 documents, our experts build, test, and refine a prompt so you can see the results for yourself. This is not a synthetic demo – we use your matter, your documents, and your prompt.
Ready to see aiR in action? Contact us to set up a 20-minute call with our eDiscovery SME today.
