Ari Kaplan lately spoke with Brian Powers, the co-founder and CEO of Markups.ai, an organization that created an AI agent referred to as Agent Marko to draft, revise and analyze contracts from purchasers’ inboxes with no new platform required, and Debbie Epstein Henry, the founding father of DEH Consulting, Talking, Writing and the chief strategic adviser to Markups.ai.
They mentioned the benefits of utilizing an AI agent in contract evaluate, the place startups can distinguish themselves in a crowded market, the misconceptions about AI that leaders want to handle earlier than they will obtain broad adoption, and the talents authorized professionals ought to improve to gas their success.
Ari Kaplan: Inform us about your background and the genesis of Markups.ai.
Brian Powers: I began my profession in funding banking at Moelis in New York, and like every good analyst, I had my justifiable share of NDAs. Then I based an organization referred to as TemperPack, which makes sustainable supplies to switch plastics like Styrofoam, and we grew it to over 100 million in gross sales. We bought fairly a little bit of it to non-public fairness corporations led by Goldman Sachs a number of years in the past. Alongside the best way, we had been steadily challenged on our contracts. We had many giant purchasers throughout totally different sectors, and we had plenty of good options for storing contracts however nothing to help with the precise negotiations. My co-founder at Markups.ai, Sam Shelley, started his AI profession at Dataminr over a decade in the past, then began Vault Well being, which turned one of many largest COVID testing telemedicine companies. In 2023, we teamed up with the concept of utilizing the most recent AI know-how that had lately emerged to assist automate contract negotiations, aiming to take action with out onboarding a brand new platform and making the method extra personalized and user-friendly.
Ari Kaplan: Inform us about your background and your function as chief strategic adviser for Markups.ai.
Debbie Epstein Henry: I name myself a recovering lawyer turned skilled speaker, communication coach and entrepreneur. What’s extra related to my background for at present’s dialog is that I co-founded an organization referred to as Bliss Attorneys, which was a secondment agency. I ran that firm with two different accomplice co-founders for almost 9 years, after which we had been acquired by our greatest competitor, Axiom, in February 2020. So I used to be really out of authorized innovation for some time earlier than becoming a member of Markups.ai as chief strategic adviser. For the corporate, I primarily communicate to potential purchasers day by day as they consider totally different AI instruments, which each and every firm and agency is doing proper now. I additionally advise Markups.ai on developments within the authorized occupation as a result of our two co-founders aren’t attorneys and want to remain knowledgeable about what’s taking place within the discipline. We talk about present developments and what purchasers anticipate from their exterior service suppliers.
Brian Powers is the co-founder and CEO of Markups.ai, an organization that created an AI agent referred to as Agent Marko to draft, revise and analyze contracts from purchasers’ inboxes with no new platform required. Debbie Epstein Henry is the founding father of DEH Consulting, Talking, Writing and the chief strategic adviser to Markups.ai.
Ari Kaplan: Why did you design Markups.ai to work with an agent, slightly than the extra frequent strategy to utilizing AI to handle contracts?
Brian Powers: A few of it was what we believed was lacking out there, however there have been additionally three main causes that motivated us to create and use a product like this. First, we wished one thing that was a lot simpler to onboard. I nonetheless get shudders after I hear the phrase “platform”—which means my subsequent yr’s plans are disrupted, and it is going to be an extended wait earlier than we see any advantages. Second, I wished one thing extra intuitive to make use of, particularly with AI, that’s simple to function but in addition actually highly effective. Our purpose from the beginning was to create one thing so easy that even my two lawyer mother and father might use it. Third, we aimed for one thing much more customizable than most software program platforms. Most platforms are designed to suit many alternative companies doing related issues, however there was a chance to develop one thing that would deal with extremely tailor-made work. For the primary time, AI-powered software program might obtain this, with an agent doing the work. We develop a brand new model of our agent for every consumer, guaranteeing every thing they do is uniquely personalized.
Ari Kaplan: What’s most essential for authorized tech startup founders to contemplate within the present market?
Debbie Epstein Henry: The first consideration needs to be workflow. The primary impediment to AI adoption is when an AI software doesn’t simply match into an organization’s present workflow. That’s why our engineers at Markups.ai developed an electronic mail agent as a result of electronic mail is probably the most pure and easy integration level. This isn’t simply primarily based on our expertise; it’s backed by two current research, one by McKinsey and the opposite by MIT. Finally, it’s all about simplifying workflow and seamlessly integrating with present firm methods.
Ari Kaplan: What are the benefits of utilizing an AI agent in contract evaluate particularly?
Brian Powers: The 2 holy grails are one which saves time and likewise makes you higher at your job. AI, straight out of the field, is efficient at easy duties, however most work individuals do, particularly attorneys and authorized professionals, may be very complicated and customised. AI usually struggles with these tougher duties, and since that makes up most of what authorized groups do, AI hasn’t but change into as helpful because it could possibly be. We discover that while you correctly prepare AI and create a extra lively agent, it will probably help with extra complicated duties. This enables AI to assist extra elements of your job, not simply fundamental duties like search and summaries. Our Agent Marko is depicted as a duck, gliding effortlessly on the floor, however paddling like loopy beneath. That’s precisely how working with Agent Marko feels. It’s so simple as sending an electronic mail or high-level request for a contract evaluate, however behind the scenes, hundreds of prompts run on lots of of customized directions written by our attorneys for every consumer, utilizing probably the most highly effective reasoning fashions accessible. That paddling below the floor makes every thing appear simple above.
Ari Kaplan: The place can startups most simply distinguish themselves?
Debbie Epstein Henry: Begin by understanding what your viewers needs. We discover that except you’re designing a service and a software that really speaks to your viewers, you’ll be at an obstacle. For instance, in our case, we examine what purchasers need within the in-house authorized division house. We all know they need flat charges. We all know they need limitless customers and utilization as a result of if we develop an amazing product that everybody on their staff needs to make use of, the very last thing we wish is to hinder their use of that software or have colleagues compete with one another. So step one is knowing your viewers’s wants. The second is to supply a service, slightly than simply be a software program supplier. You heard Brian speak in regards to the significance of customization. As AI instruments enhance, they be taught their purchasers’ preferences and necessities. Offering that customization is important. The third step is being sensible about defining who ought to do what varieties of labor; the place you need individuals concerned; the place their worth lies; and the place AI provides worth, leveraging the strengths of each. In our case, we now have former training attorneys on our staff, whom we name lawyer-prompt engineers. They convey with our purchasers, prepare our brokers to construct customized AI playbooks, and deal with updates by incorporating consumer suggestions and testing paperwork to make sure AI playbooks are correct and present. We depend on the strengths of the staff to be actually efficient.
Ari Kaplan: What are the misconceptions about AI that leaders want to handle earlier than they will obtain broad adoption?
Brian Powers: There are two conflicting misunderstandings, each of which result in disappointment. One is the idea that AI can do every thing straight out of the field, which regularly ends in frustration. The primary time you utilize it, it feels completely magical to ask a query and obtain an clever response. Every part else that would try this was a human. So that you assume it will probably do every thing a wise human can do, however you begin encountering actual limitations while you ask it to do one thing extra personalized or complicated. The opposite misunderstanding is that AI can solely deal with quite simple duties, it doesn’t matter what you do with it, resulting in missed alternatives to leverage AI’s full potential. We see that the fact is a mix of those two concepts. AI chatbots utilizing the fashions straight are actually helpful for questions, analysis, summaries and related duties, however for extra complicated jobs, you might want to specify every thing you care about and provides detailed directions. That’s precisely what we do at Markups.ai. We offer Agent Marko with lots of of absolutely personalized directions for every consumer’s routine negotiations, enabling it to deal with complicated agreements faithfully. Nonetheless, it requires fairly a little bit of effort, and that’s the place we intention to assist our purchasers.
Ari Kaplan: What abilities ought to authorized professionals improve to gas their success?
Debbie Epstein Henry: That is such an essential query as a result of there’s a number of worry round AI, with many believing everybody’s jobs shall be changed. Specializing in that is actually essential. Firstly, it’s important to have the substantive experience anticipated of any authorized skilled in that function. That’s a basic requirement. However past that, what actually issues is creating extra abilities that set aside those that thrive within the office from those that battle. These additional abilities, in my opinion, embody successfully speaking with confidence, exercising judgment, constructing relationships, exuding govt presence, establishing belief, cultivating sponsorship, with the ability to self-advocate with out offending, and giving and receiving suggestions successfully. Many see these as comfortable abilities, however I consider they’re important to being an efficient authorized skilled. Particularly with the rising use of AI, these abilities will change into extra essential than ever.
Ari Kaplan: How do you see AI empowering authorized professionals because it continues to develop?
Brian Powers: When AI is executed successfully, it permits you to replicate your greatest work and offers a a lot larger stage of leverage. Everybody needs they’d a extremely smart assistant able to dealing with duties precisely as they like, and AI has that potential. It doesn’t obtain this routinely, however with correct steering, it will probably positively attain that stage. AI allows authorized professionals to give attention to extra strategic work, giving them the time to determine how issues needs to be carried out, slightly than simply following routine duties on daily basis, and it will probably deal with duties which may have beforehand been carried out externally or internally. This manner, firms can save a big sum of money whereas sustaining the identical staff dimension. We see our purchasers doing this, and it’s actually impactful. When AI works effectively, you’ll be able to take pleasure in productiveness features with out the massive upfront headache of implementation. That was a serious sacrifice, however now AI instruments are making it simpler to start out utilizing new applied sciences, which is actually thrilling.
Take heed to the entire interview at Reinventing Professionals.
Ari Kaplan usually interviews leaders within the authorized trade and within the broader skilled companies neighborhood to share perspective, spotlight transformative change and introduce new know-how at his blog and on Apple Podcasts.