Should an in-house legal team use a Word add-in or a legal AI platform?
Should an in-house legal team use a Word add-in or a legal AI platform? Use a Word add-in if most of the team's week is drafting and negotiating contracts in Microsoft Word, because the tool then sits on the live document and can draft from your own precedents. Choose a broader legal AI platform if the team also needs legal research, disputes support or large-scale document review in the same product.
The choice is often presented as a brand decision: Harvey, Legora, Spellbook, Luminance, Definely, Robin AI, Microsoft Copilot or Scriptum AI. The more useful split is between a Word add-in built for contract work and a platform built to cover every kind of legal task.
Should an in-house legal team use a Word add-in or a legal AI platform?
It depends on the work, not on the size of the team. If the week is mostly vendor contracts, playbook reviews and markups, a Word add-in is usually the better fit. If a large share of the work is research, investigations or litigation support, a platform such as Harvey or Legora will do more of what you need.
| If your week looks like this | Better starting point | Tools in this category |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly contracts drafted and marked up in Word | A Word add-in that drafts from your own playbooks | Scriptum AI, Spellbook, Definely |
| Everyday work already happens in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Copilot, including Copilot for Legal if you have it | Microsoft Copilot |
| Research, disputes and contracts in one product | A broader legal AI platform | Harvey, Legora |
| Large-scale review of incoming document sets | A review-led tool | Luminance, and the review features in Harvey and Legora |
A starting point for a shortlist, not a ranking. Test any tool on your own templates and a live markup.
What is the difference between a legal AI Word add-in and a platform?
A Word add-in works on the document you already have open. Suggestions land in the draft itself, usually as tracked changes, and the lawyer stays in Word. A platform usually offers a wider workspace for research, matter questions and document review, and may also include a Word add-in as one way in.
Harvey and Legora are the best-known platforms, and both now sell to mid-sized organisations as well as to large legal departments. Legora markets to small and mid-sized firms too. Spellbook and Definely are Word add-ins used for drafting and review. Luminance is particularly known for review and has a strong in-house following. Robin AI was a contract tool put up for distressed sale in late 2025, which is a reminder to ask what you would keep if a vendor changed hands. Microsoft Copilot sits in the Microsoft 365 tools many teams already use, with Copilot for Legal adding legal skills inside Word.
Our post on a practical alternative to Harvey and Legora for in-house legal teams covers the platform choice in more detail.
When is a Word add-in the better choice?
When contracts are the job. In-house counsel draft, comment and redline in Word. A tool that lives in a separate portal tends to become a side project used by one or two enthusiasts. An add-in that works on the live document is the one that gets used on real matters.
It should draft from your own approved templates and positions, not generic clause text, and it should keep what the team learns as knowledge the company owns. Our guide to the best AI drafting tool for in-house legal teams sets out those tests in more detail.
When does a legal AI platform make more sense?
When the department's work is broader than contracts. Harvey and Legora offer research, diligence and support for other practice areas that a contract-focused add-in does not. That breadth is a genuine strength if the team will use it. If most of the week is still vendor agreements and markups, you may be paying for capability you rarely open, often against a quote rather than a published price.
Microsoft Copilot is a slightly different case. If the company already has it, it is a reasonable default for everyday writing across Word, Outlook and Teams. For contract drafting against your playbooks, it is still worth comparing it with a specialist add-in, which we do in Microsoft Copilot for Legal vs Scriptum.
How should an in-house team decide?
Work through this checklist with whoever will use the tool, and with IT security, before you sit through a demo.
- What share of a typical week is contracts in Microsoft Word?
- Do we also need legal research, disputes support or large-scale document review in the same product?
- Will it draft from our own templates and playbooks, and can we see the source of a suggestion?
- Who owns the knowledge it captures, and can we export it if we leave?
- Does a named lawyer approve anything before it is sent to the business or the other side?
- Can we see the price before a sales call, and can we start with a few seats?
- How does it fit our Microsoft 365 set-up and our information security requirements?
The useful question is not which brand is biggest, but where the work actually happens.
Where does Scriptum AI fit?
Scriptum AI is a Microsoft Word add-in, built for transactional work. It drafts from your organisation's own precedents, and the clause choices the team makes are captured into a library the organisation owns. It is built for firms of 20 to 100 fee earners and for in-house teams doing the same kind of contract work.
Pricing is published on our pricing page: £79 per user per month for Starter and £119 for Pro, excluding VAT, billed monthly. Starter includes the drafting and review agents, the Word add-in, a matter workspace and a firm-owned clause library. Pro adds a negotiation agent that works inside limits a senior lawyer sets.
Choosing between an add-in and a platform? Book a demo and we will walk through a live contract on your own templates.
Common questions
Should an in-house legal team use a Word add-in or a legal AI platform?
Use a Word add-in if most of the week is drafting and negotiating contracts in Microsoft Word. Use a broader platform if the team also needs legal research, disputes support or large-scale document review in the same product.
Can we use Microsoft Copilot and a specialist Word add-in at the same time?
Often, yes. Many in-house teams already have Microsoft Copilot for everyday Microsoft 365 work and still use a specialist tool for contracts. Check with IT how the two would sit together, and set a clear rule for which tool handles client documents.
Do Harvey and Legora work in Microsoft Word?
Yes. Both offer Word workflows as well as a wider platform. The difference is emphasis: Harvey and Legora are built as broad legal platforms that include Word, while tools such as Spellbook, Definely and Scriptum AI are built first as Word add-ins for contract work.
Is a Word add-in enough if we also do some legal research?
If research is occasional, a Word add-in for contracts plus the research tools you already use is usually enough. If research, investigations or disputes are a large share of the team's work, a platform such as Harvey or Legora is the more complete fit.
How much does a legal AI Word add-in cost compared with a platform?
Most platforms, including Harvey and Legora, do not publish prices. Scriptum AI publishes its prices: £79 per user per month for Starter and £119 for Pro, excluding VAT, billed monthly. Spellbook prices on a custom basis by team size. Ask any vendor about seat minimums and onboarding fees, not only the headline rate.