In a significant development for legal researchers and practitioners, descrybe.ai, a free legal research platform leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), has announced a major upgrade. This latest enhancement to the platform promises a redesigned interface and a suite of new features aimed at refining and simplifying legal research.
The upgrade brings a comprehensive overhaul of descrybe.ai’s search functionality, shifting from a traditional sidebar to a more intuitive dropdown menu for state selection. It also introduces enhanced, AI-driven search results for state appellate and supreme court opinions from seven states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. By year’s end, the platform anticipates expanding its reach to encompass 3.6 million opinions across all 50 states.
A key feature of this upgrade is the inclusion of AI-generated summaries of judicial opinions available in both English and Spanish, with functionalities for translating directly from the search results page. Users can select to view these summaries not only in standard English and Spanish, but also in simplified versions, aimed at users with lower reading levels. These simplified summaries operate at a fifth-grade reading level, a feature recommended by legal aid organizations to enhance accessibility for those with limited English proficiency.
Cofounders Richard DiBona and Kara Peterson have articulated that the use of the latest large language models allows the platform’s AI to yield more precise and contextually relevant search results, transcending traditional keyword search limitations.
As reported by LawNext, these efforts underline the commitment of descrybe.ai to democratize access to legal information. While the platform’s basic features remain free, there are indications that descrybe.ai is considering additional premium features. Nonetheless, the core mission to leverage AI for improving access to the law remains unwavering.