Manupatra Conducts India’s First Pan-India Survey on AI Use in the Legal Sector

New Delhi [India], June 2: Manupatra has remained a leading force in legal technology innovation in India. By engaging regularly with legal professionals and students, we gain unique insights into emerging tools and trends shaping the future of the Indian legal industry.

Artificial intelligence has steadily integrated into daily life, transforming how individuals manage tasks at work and home. In the legal profession, AI tools have shown significant advantages—speeding up research, aiding in drafting, and simplifying both contract and case management. However, incidents of AI-generated content being inaccurately cited have raised concerns across the legal fraternity.

To explore this landscape, Manupatra undertook a groundbreaking national survey to assess how artificial intelligence is being adopted across India’s legal ecosystem. The survey collected valuable input from law students and professionals, identifying both opportunities and obstacles, and underscoring the need for ethical, transparent, and responsible AI implementation. These findings are designed to guide legal institutions, regulators, and practitioners in shaping thoughtful AI strategies.

Manupatra is proud to publish the “Adoption of AI in the Indian Legal Landscape” report, based on responses from 227 individuals—including advocates, students, legal counsels, firm partners, academics, and judicial personnel across India.

Key Findings:

Youth-Driven Participation: 60{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} of participants were between 18–34 years old, with law students (36.6{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}) and advocates (23.8{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}) contributing most responses—indicating a strong interest in AI among the younger legal community.
Adoption Trends: Close to 60{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} reported using AI tools in the last year, especially for legal research (77.9{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}), summarizing material (65.7{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}), and drafting assistance (54.7{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}).
Time Efficiency vs. Trust: Although 79.7{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} acknowledged time savings on repetitive tasks, only 4.1{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} fully trusted AI outputs. Nearly 48.8{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} preferred to review AI-generated content before using it.
Common Issues: 58.1{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} pointed to unreliable results, 51.2{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} experienced hallucinated content, and 42.4{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} reported a lack of Indian legal relevance in most AI platforms.
Policy Gaps: While 77.1{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} favored disclosure of AI usage in legal submissions, only 11{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} of participants stated that their organizations had formal AI policies in place.

Major Challenges:

Inaccurate Results (58.14{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}): Many users highlighted concerns around inconsistencies and fabricated outputs.
Privacy and Confidentiality (47.67{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}): Nearly half expressed concern over data protection and client confidentiality when using AI.
Lack of India-Centric Content (42.44{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}): AI tools trained on global datasets often miss the nuances of Indian law.
Ethical Considerations (38.37{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}): Professionals voiced concerns about accountability, potential bias, and ethical use of AI in legal work.
Knowledge & Training Gaps (40.12{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} & 34.30{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}): A lack of awareness and inadequate training were reported as key barriers to wider AI adoption.

Outlook & Expectations:

AI Integration Timeline: 35.68{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} anticipate that AI will become mainstream in legal practice within 1–2 years, while only 3.96{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} think it will take over five years.
Mixed Sentiment with Optimism: 46.25{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} see AI’s impact as mostly positive, 18.06{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} label it transformative, while 45.37{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be} express a balanced view recognizing both advantages and risks.
Support Mechanisms Needed: Respondents emphasized the need for structured training programs (67.40{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}), free or trial access to tools (66.52{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}), and formal regulatory guidance (47.58{57c25f17212e6fd2e104deb81c032b691fe13de92b74509c64fe85fcd521f4be}).
Human-AI Collaboration: The prevailing view is that AI will enhance research and drafting, but final decision-making should stay with legal professionals.

About Manupatra:

Manupatra is India’s leading provider of legal, regulatory, and business research solutions. As the first company to introduce online legal research in India in 2000, Manupatra offers the most comprehensive database of Indian and global legal materials. Powered by AI and machine learning, Manupatra delivers smart legal research tools used by law firms, government departments, courts, corporate counsels, and students—making legal research faster, smarter, and more accessible.