As generative AI becomes more deeply embedded in e‑discovery, 2026 is expected to bring greater automation across first‑pass review, privilege logs, investigations, and other core workflows. With pricing for AI‑enabled tools rapidly dropping, industry observers anticipate both broader adoption and new litigation challenges, including increased "discovery‑on‑discovery” disputes and questions around data ownership, custody, and the discoverability of prompts.
Finnegan’s Director of Litigation Technology and Knowledge Management, Benjamin Chi, stated “E-discovery retail customers will benefit as AI-assisted review shifts from a premium add-on to a standard, low-cost utility. Relativity’s October 2025 move to include unlimited AI-assisted review in AI triggered a prisoner’s dilemma, prompting rivals to follow. Weeks later, Everlaw announced plans to bundle most AI features into core pricing. Providers are cutting fees, driving per-document costs sharply down and differentiating with tools like chat-with-evidence, AI timelines, and workflow enhancements. This price war mirrors the stock brokerage industry’s 2019 race to zero trading commissions, with law firms and clients gaining through predictable budgets and richer bundled services.”