Legal advice vs. legal information with GenAI tools
The increasing use of generative‐AI tools in legal contexts is complicating the distinction between legal information (general guidance about the law) and legal advice (professional guidance tied to individual circumstances), which is regulated and often restricted to licensed practitioners. Most Canadian jurisdictions ban non-lawyers from providing legal advice, while legal information is largely unregulated. Observers argue that the regulatory framework is “horribly ambiguous” and ill-equipped to address how AI technologies might engage in the practice of law. The company OpenAI recently updated its policy to prohibit users from relying on its tools for tailored legal or medical advice without a licensed professional’s involvement, but still does not define what “legal advice” means. Legal-tech experts emphasize the need for clearer definitions and regulatory guidance to navigate these new tools responsibly.