AI vs. human capability
AI Autonomy Scores by Task
How autonomously AI can handle each legal task, on a 1-5 scale with confidence intervals.
Across 15 legal tasks in HAQQ's usage data, autonomy scores mostly cluster between 2.78 and 3.10 on a 1-5 scale, with no task reaching consistent independent execution (4+). One task, advising on business transactions and lawsuits, stands higher at 3.38, though its wide confidence interval (2.87-4.09) signals inconsistent rather than reliably strong performance. The lowest, explaining tax law, sits at 2.78. The pattern reads as collaborative, not autonomous: AI functions as a capable assistant across the legal workflow, not a substitute for judgment on any single task.
The data
| Task | Autonomy (1-5) | 95% CI low | 95% CI high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read & rewrite legal documents | 2.95 | 2.87 | 3.03 |
| Advise on business transactions & lawsuits | 3.38 | 2.87 | 4.09 |
| Advise on financial & legal matters | 2.81 | 2.61 | 3 |
| Advise on market conditions & legal requirements | 2.86 | 2.73 | 2.97 |
| Obtain patents & meet legal requirements | 2.97 | 2.64 | 3.28 |
| Modify compensation policies for compliance | 2.95 | 2.5 | 3.4 |
| Analyze building codes and by-laws | 2.9 | 2.43 | 3.38 |
| Analyze probable outcomes using legal precedents | 3.1 | 2.57 | 3.62 |
| Determine liability per laws and precedents | 2.89 | 2.76 | 3.02 |
| Examine legal documents for court adherence | 2.88 | 2.58 | 3.17 |
| Examine records for compliance | 2.87 | 2.67 | 3.07 |
| Explain tax laws | 2.78 | 2.5 | 3.05 |
| Gather & analyze legal research data | 2.82 | 2.54 | 3.1 |
| Interpret & explain policies and laws | 2.84 | 2.62 | 3.05 |
| Interpret laws, rulings, and regulations | 2.89 | 2.63 | 3.14 |
Measured data - pre-processed from HAQQ's real Legal AI Index usage dataset (134,000+ data points across 30 countries) or HAQQ's own /50 cross-model legal benchmark.
Related research
- Time Savings by Legal TaskMedian hours saved per task when a lawyer works with AI versus alone.
- Tasks That Still Need a HumanThe share of each legal task that professionals say still requires human judgment.
- Legal Productivity BenchmarksBefore-and-after time per workflow, with the productivity gain from AI.