CoCounsel, the pioneering AI legal assistant launched on March 1, 2023, has achieved a significant milestone by reaching 1 million users across 107 countries. Developed by Casetext and acquired by Thomson Reuters (TR) a mere four months post-launch for $650 million, this AI system has seen expansive integration across TR’s product lines and various professional sectors from legal to compliance and tax. For more on the acquisition details, see Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of CoCounsel.
This milestone, announced at an event in San Francisco, is indicative of a larger trend wherein the usage of AI is accelerating beyond pilot programs in regulated sectors. Steve Hasker, TR’s CEO, stated that professionals are no longer deciding whether to use AI, but rather which AI to trust with sensitive data and client reputation. CoCounsel is valued for offering outputs grounded in editorially refined content and validated by TR’s subject-matter experts, ensuring that it meets rigorous professional standards.
The integration of CoCounsel into TR’s major product offerings, such as Westlaw and Practical Law, has been a strategic move. Designed for environments requiring robust legal scrutiny, CoCounsel leverages a multi-model AI architecture, including technologies from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. Significantly, TR emphasizes data privacy, ensuring customer inputs remain separate from third-party models. For more background on CoCounsel’s launch, visit CoCounsel’s initial launch.
Reflecting on CoCounsel’s evolution, Joel Hron, TR’s Chief Technology Officer, highlighted the challenges faced and the initial system’s need for refinements based on real-world feedback. This feedback has guided the development of advanced AI capabilities, exemplified by Westlaw Deep Research. CoCounsel’s evolution aims to combine accuracy with utility, enhancing its capability to deliver comprehensive legal analysis efficiently.
Looking ahead, TR plans to introduce a next-generation version of CoCounsel Legal, focusing on conversational task execution. This upgrade is designed to allow legal professionals to outline objectives conversationally, enabling CoCounsel to synthesize a comprehensive work plan and deliver fully-structured outputs. Future enhancements are also expected in CoCounsel Tax and ONESOURCE+, with potential development of a proprietary large language model dedicated to legal, tax, and compliance applications. This development aims to reduce dependence on external model providers for critical applications.
TR retains a robust investment strategy in AI, with more than $200 million invested annually in AI products and approximately $11 billion set aside for investment and acquisitions up through 2028. In light of these figures, TR expresses confidence that CoCounsel’s expansion and innovation will continue to transform its use in professional environments. For further insights, access the full article here.