Intapp has announced the general availability of its latest product, Celeste. Marketed as an “expert AI coworker,” Celeste aims to streamline the business operations of law firms and professional services firms. Unveiled during a global broadcast event, this solution is designed to handle various functions such as deal screening, conflicts clearance, business development, and lateral hiring.
The debut of Celeste follows a five-month preview period after its initial presentation at Intapp’s annual product event in New York. In this time, Celeste has been tested in limited release by early-adopter firms like BakerHostetler and Hg. Intapp claims that Celeste fills a gap in legal AI by offering a solution tailored for the business side of law, as opposed to the practice side.
“Firms will run several kinds of AI,” remarked Thad Jampol, co-founder and chief product officer at Intapp, highlighting the company’s introduction of “Firm AI,” a new category aimed at the operational sectors of firms. This contrasts with both practice AI, which aids legal work, and horizontal assistants that help with general tasks.
According to Intapp, Celeste operates autonomously, executing multi-step workflows outlined in “playbooks.” These playbooks can be customized by firms using a no-code builder environment. Moreover, the AI system integrates natively with firm databases, which is significant given Intapp’s established foothold in managing intake, conflict, and relationship data for many firms. On the governance side, Intapp has emphasized ethical walls and audit capabilities for monitoring AI activity.
Intapp has partnered with Harvey and Anthropic to enhance Celeste’s capabilities, ensuring compliance and ethical standards are maintained while drawing on intelligent workflows.
BakerHostetler has already seen potential improvements in intake and conflicts processes. Katherine Lowry, the firm’s chief information officer, stated that Celeste is aligning with the firm’s substantial lateral growth, aiding in the efficient handling of complex engagements. Similarly, Hg has benefited from Celeste’s capability to leverage its accumulated firm knowledge, offering tailored solutions from years of data.
Intapp has its sights set on a segment of legal AI that remains relatively uncontested by competitors focused on practice-oriented solutions. With inefficiencies prevalent in many business processes of law firms, Intapp’s positioning as a stalwart in these data-driven environments could provide a distinct advantage for Celeste as it seeks to transform legal business operations.