# Will AI replace paralegals? Updated October 2026 Paralegals score 52 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 43%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 37% outright, and 20% stays with people. - **37%** AI can do it - **43%** AI helps - **20%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 79% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 12 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 6 and leaves 3 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements. Drafting and reviewing contracts and briefs is core language work. | 72% AI can do it | | Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system. Drafting affidavits and letters is routine text AI handles well. | 70% AI can do it | | Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents. AI gathers and summarizes statutes and cases well, with verification. | 68% AI can do it | | Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases. Research suits AI, though some records need physical retrieval. | 60% AI helps | | Keep and monitor legal volumes to ensure that the law library is up-to-date. Update alerts are automatable, but physical volumes need handling. | 55% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across a legal and compliance team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/legal-and-compliance/) ## How paralegals compare All occupations (923) Legal (7) **Paralegals score 52**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 50 for legal. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $62,890 a year, May 2025 People employed 392,880 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-0.3% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Draft and redline contracts in Microsoft Word - Verify AI-generated case citations in Thomson Reuters Westlaw - Organize trial exhibits and filings in Orion Law Management Systems - Make court filings in person with clerks - Serve and deliver subpoenas in person - Review title searches for real estate closings ## Safer roles nearby 4 related occupations with lower scores. - [Lawyers48 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/lawyers/) - [Judicial law clerks49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/judicial-law-clerks/) - [Mediators50 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/mediators/) - [Private detectives40 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/private-detectives/) ## Questions about paralegals and AI Will paralegals be replaced by AI? Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting and reviewing legal documents and gathering research data. Client meetings, witness contact, and courthouse filings stay with people because they need a human in the room. Which paralegal tasks is AI taking over? Drafting and reviewing legal documents scores 72 on exposure, and preparing affidavits and correspondence scores 70. AI produces first drafts of briefs, contracts, and letters quickly, so paralegals spend less time on initial text and more on checking it. Which paralegal tasks stay human? Meeting with clients and other professionals scores 15 on exposure, the lowest in the job. Calling witnesses to testify scores 18. These tasks need live trust, persuasion, and physical presence, which only a person in the room can supply. How can paralegals stay valuable as AI takes over drafting? Verify every AI-generated citation against the source in Westlaw before it goes into a filing. Take responsibility for the trial exhibit and filing process in Orion, and handle in-person court filings and subpoena service that need a person at the courthouse. ## Related jobs - [Legal secretaries56 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/legal-secretaries/) - [Court reporters60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/court-reporters/) - [Court clerks62 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/court-clerks/) - [Secretaries66 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/secretaries/) ## Next steps for paralegals - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.