We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 952 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Operations & Back-office

Which AI legal tools actually work for startups, and how do you choose?

The market has split into three layers: general chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude) for explanation and first drafts, contract-specific tools (Spellbook, SpotDraft, Juro, Ivo) that live inside Word or your contract workflow, and lawyer-grade platforms (Harvey, GC AI) built for legal teams. For most early founders, one general model plus one contract review tool covers 90% of needs; pick anything with zero-data-retention and SOC 2. Bengaluru-built SpotDraft is proof this category is world-class from India.

Go deeper

19 resources.

Terms in this answer

Retention

More in Legal & Contracts

Why review contracts with AI before paying a lawyer? 19 → How do founders handle NDAs, ESOPs, term sheets, and compliance questions with AI? 19 → Where is AI legal help dangerous, what still needs a human lawyer? 20 → What prompts get reliable contract review out of ChatGPT or Claude? 18 → Is it safe to paste confidential contracts into ChatGPT? 18 → How do I incorporate my startup without burning cash on lawyers? 19 → What goes into a founders' agreement, and can AI draft it? 19 → How do I protect my IP: assignments, trademarks, and patents on a budget? 19 → Can AI handle my privacy policy, terms of service, and data-protection compliance? 20 → What should I check before signing a SAFE, iSAFE, or convertible note? 20 → How do I get due-diligence ready with a clean data room? 18 → How should founders negotiate customer and vendor contracts with AI's help? 20 →

Also in Starting Up

The same ground, over in Co-founders, team & legal, our Starting Up track.

Do I actually need a co-founder, or can I go solo? 3 → How should co-founders split equity fairly? 3 →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →