A global snapshot of how justice providers are adopting and adapting to artificial intelligence
In the lead-up to the 2025 AI Summit, HiiL is pleased to release A Snapshot of Current Trends and Future Potential—a new report exploring how legal aid organisations around the world are using generative artificial intelligence to improve access to justice.
This publication builds on conversations from HiiL’s 2024 AI & Access to Justice webinar series, continuing our commitment to understanding both the potential and the limitations of emerging technologies for narrowing the justice gap. It draws on survey responses collected in May 2025 from a non-representative sample of 56 legal aid organisations working across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
While the sample was not designed to be representative, it was intentionally diverse, capturing a cross-section of practices from a range of low-, middle-, and high-income contexts. The goal was to gain early insight into how frontline organisations are beginning to adopt AI, what tools they are using, and what they hope and fear the technology will bring.
Key Findings at a Glance:
- AI Use Is Already Widespread
- 86% of organisations surveyed reported using at least one AI-powered tool.
- ChatGPT was the most widely used (68%), followed by Google Gemini and Canva (36%).
- The use of alternative models, such as Microsoft Copilot, Deep Seek, and Claude, remains limited but is present.
- Focus on Internal Efficiency
- Current applications are primarily focused on back-office tasks, such as translation, document drafting, proofreading, and search.
- A second, emerging group of use cases includes client intake automation, legal problem diagnosis, and chatbot-assisted support.
- Optimism About AI’s Role in Justice Delivery
- 90% of respondents expect AI to have a positive impact on access to justice within the next five years.
- Every respondent expressed the belief that AI can contribute to more people-centred justice services.
- Significant Barriers Remain
- Cost is the most commonly cited barrier to the adoption of AI.
- Other challenges include data privacy concerns, lack of integration with existing systems, and limited staff preparedness—the latter receiving a self-assessed readiness score of just 5.8/10.
- Concerns About Oversight, Bias, and Accountability
- Many organisations raised concerns about potential declines in human oversight and expertise.
- Nearly one-third highlighted the risk of bias or discrimination in AI-generated outputs, particularly in systems without sufficient safeguards for fairness and rights-based protections.
Recommendations for Moving Forward
To make the most of AI’s potential, legal aid organisations need to invest in staff skills, rethink how services are designed, and share knowledge across the sector. Rather than simply adding AI tools onto existing systems, the report encourages a people-centred redesign—one that ensures fairness, accountability, and accessibility are built in from the start.
At the same time, collaboration will be key. Joint efforts around training, governance, and tool development can help organisations adopt AI responsibly and affordably. And while most current uses are internal, there’s real potential for AI to enhance front-line justice services—from legal chatbots to translation tools and support for dispute resolution.To explore these insights and recommendations in more detail, we invite you to read the full report:
AI and Access to Justice: A Snapshot of Current Trends and Future Potential
