Contract redlining: the process, challenges and technology

As any lawyer will know, redlining is a vital step in contract negotiations, but it’s often slow, manual and not very straightforward. Even though most in-house teams have traded the traditional printed contract and red pen for tracked changes in Microsoft Word, the process can still create bottlenecks and frustration.

In fact, legal professionals spend 40-60% of their time reviewing and redlining documents. On top of that, as changes pile up, interpretation becomes tricky, time is wasted on reformatting and organizing version control, all of which  can lead to compatibility headaches.

But with the right software, redlining can become faster, more accurate and more collaborative.

What is contract redlining software?

Contract redlining software helps legal professionals speed up and simplify the contract redlining process. This technology doesn’t just save legal teams huge amounts of time, but it can improve the risk mitigation process – and, when combined with smart artificial intelligence (AI), the process is even easier!

• Compliance checks - AI contract redlining technology will check your contract against your business’ playbook or rulebook to judge if any clauses don't comply with your legal standards.

• Red flags - Once your assessment is complete, (which can be done in as little as 60 seconds with the right software), you’ll get a list of any clauses which need review. Leading AI contract redlining software will provide an explanation detailing why a clause may not be compliant.

• Redlines - Within your results, the AI redlining software will redline any contract words or phrases that don’t meet your requirements. Some AI redlining technology will redline the entire clause, whereas leading solutions will only surgically redline specific words.

• Suggested amendments - Alongside your redlines, the technology will provide a suggested amendment, guided by the terms in your contract's playbook. All you need to do is assess these amendments and accept, edit or decline their addition to your contract.

Summize's contract redlining software

Using Summize’s AI-powered CLM platform, legal teams and business users are reviewing and analyzing contracts quicker and easier than ever before.

Here are a few reasons why:

• Microsoft Word - Our AI redlining technology is integrated within Microsoft Word, making it even easier for legal professionals to redline contracts in the tools you’re already used to.

• Surgical redlining – Save time with our surgical redlining feature (which not every CLM has by the way). Instead of redlining entire clauses, it pinpoints specific words or phrases that don’t align with your contract playbook. This approach speeds up reviews while preserving the integrity of your contract content.

• Assessment and amends - Our AI redlining software provides an explanation of each redline and suggested amendment, so that you can make your legal decision with even more confidence.

• Security - Any use of AI should be checked and comply with your business' AI mandate. At Summize we take AI security and privacy seriously, and our AI works within siloed practices, meaning that your AI data is not available to any other businesses, OpenAI or used to improve OpenAI models.
  

AI contract redlining software in action

See our AI redlining process in action – simple, smart and fully integrated with Microsoft Word.

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Summize’s AI contract redlining software in real life

The right tools speed up your redlining process and cut down on errors – and Summize’s contract lifecycle management (CLM) software transforms redlining into a faster, smarter, more collaborative experience with shareable links, real-time activity tracking and a seamless Word integration.

“The basic contract summary is one of the best time-saving tools I have. The integration with Word makes redlining a much cleaner process. Everything is just quicker now that we have Summize”.
‍Tabitha Studebaker
Director of Presale and Contracts at Day Wireless Systems                  

Discover how Day Wireless Systems achieved faster, cleaner contract workflows in their full story.

If you’re ready to simplify redlining, cut the time you spend on contract review tasks and accelerate the contract review process for your business, take a look at our software below – or see it in action for yourself by booking a demo with our team.