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We have had the meat proxy and workslop, two habits from people using AI. This time, a claim, from vendors and sometimes from us: the one on the brochure, the website and, increasingly, the pitch.
AI washing
AI washing is overstating how much, or how well, a product or business uses AI. It is a play on greenwashing. It works the same way: put the fashionable word on the label and hope nobody looks closer.
This is not just a marketing sin. In March 2024 the US Securities and Exchange Commission brought its first "AI washing" cases, against two investment advisers. One had called itself the "first regulated AI financial advisor". The other, the SEC found, simply did not have the AI capabilities it described. They paid penalties of $225,000 and $175,000 (SEC). That is American financial regulation, but the principle travels well across the Atlantic.
When you are buying
Legal tech is full of AI washing. "AI-powered" can mean anything from a genuinely capable tool to a keyword search with a new logo. Before you sign up for anything, ask:
What does the AI actually do? Which tasks, and which parts are still rules, templates or a person in the back office?
Which model is underneath, and will you be told if it changes?
Show me on my documents. A demo on the vendor's chosen example proves very little.
What happens when it is wrong? Every tool is, sometimes. A vendor who says otherwise has answered your question.
This is rule 8 of my Golden Rules: vendor due diligence. Keep doing it.
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When you are selling
Now turn it round. Plenty of firms are keen to tell clients they are "AI-enabled". Some truly are. Some simply have a chatbot subscription and a press release.
The Code is light on this. Paragraph 8.8 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors requires that "any publicity in relation to your practice is accurate and not misleading", and paragraph 1.4 says you do not mislead your clients or others (SRA). The ASA's recent guidance on AI in ads makes the same point in plainer words: "what the ad promises, the product should deliver" (ASA).
So if your website says AI speeds up your conveyancing, it should, and you should be able to show how. If AI is a pilot in one team, say that. "We are testing AI tools for document review, with every output checked by a solicitor" is honest, specific and, frankly, probably more reassuring to a client than "AI-powered legal services".
The test
Before you put "AI" on a brochure, a pitch or a supplier contract, ask one question: could you explain, in a sentence, exactly what the AI actually does? If you cannot, neither can your client, and that is where the washing starts.
Credit
The SEC cases are summarised from the SEC's press release of 18 March 2024. The ASA quote is from "Regulating the Illusion of Intelligence in Ads", 27 August 2026.
Disclaimer
Guidance and news only. Not legal advice. Always use AI tools safely and in line with your regulator's guidance and your firm's policy.