Relativity’s decision to include aiR for Review, its generative AI-powered document review tool, within the standard RelativityOne hosting costs, rather than as a separate, unitised fee, is more than a pricing update. In Relativity’s own words, they have “democratised” AI. This means clients will soon be able to access powerful AI capabilities without the commercial barriers that have traditionally shaped review strategies.
Why it matters
For decades, eDiscovery has relied on keywords and date filters to reduce data volumes before human review. Those techniques were born out of necessity – reviewing everything was disproportionate and impractical. A solution was needed to reduce volume defensibly and repeatably.Even as AI was introduced, legacy filtering techniques remained. Why? Because the cost of applying AI at scale still required justification. But now, with aiR for Review included as standard, the motivations shift from cost-saving to capability-maximising.
We are entering a world where AI can assess every document in context, at scale, with explainable reasoning and citations. The question becomes: do we still need those blunt instruments of the past?
A shift in strategies
If AI can review everything, proportionally and defensible, do traditional culling strategies now introduce more risk than they mitigate? Could this be the beginning of the end for keyword battles and iterative search term reports?Imagine a future where legal teams are no longer drawn into disputes over keyword selection, where review strategies wre driven by insight rather than compromise. This shift could accelerate time to value, reduce risk, and fundamentally reshape how we approach discovery.
Of course, the challenges won’t disappear, they’ll simply change,
“Can we agree a shared set of prompts for key issues?”
“That prompt will not perform well with my model”
“Please provide a prompt log showing all instruction given to the model”
Looking ahead
The integration of aiR into RelativityOne is more than a product update, it’s a signal of where the industry is heading. As we embrace this new era, we must be ready to challenge old assumptions, re-evaluate risk, and explore new ways of working.
Is this the start of a new chapter in eDiscovery or do keywords still have a role to play?
Contact Seth Hughes to discuss this further.
