Westlaw's AI Legal Research Tools: CoCounsel and Deep Research Explained

Westlaw's AI offerings are structured around a platform and an engine. **CoCounsel** is the integrated workspace that consolidates research, document analysis, and drafting functionalities, accessible via a dedicated button on the Westlaw interface. Within CoCounsel, a smaller chatbot is available for quick queries on Practical Law materials. However, for comprehensive research needs, **AI Deep Research** is the primary engine. It is the default tab on the Westlaw homepage and serves as the starting point for most research projects. To differentiate, AI Deep Research is the AI engine, while CoCounsel is the workspace built around it, incorporating additional tools like drafting and document analysis. It's important to note that Westlaw Advantage, the current research platform, features both AI Deep Research and Precision Research (a traditional search tab) as distinct options.

Because AI Deep Research is designed for comprehensive, multi-step research, it aims to provide a thorough answer that might sometimes address a slightly different issue than initially intended. To achieve the most useful results, users should clearly articulate the legal issue, include all relevant facts, and set the desired jurisdiction. It is also recommended to review the AI's proposed research plan, adjust it if necessary, and critically check the cited report against primary sources to ensure accuracy and applicability. For optimal prompting, Westlaw suggests clear, 1-2 sentence questions that focus the AI on the substantive legal research task, rather than complex, persona-driven prompts.

It is paramount to remember that all generative AI output, including that from Westlaw's tools, should be treated as a starting point, not a definitive answer. Generative AI can inadvertently miss relevant legal authority, misinterpret facts, or generate non-existent citations. Therefore, independent verification is essential. Before relying on any AI-generated information, users must confirm that each cited case, statute, or regulation: 1) exists, 2) accurately reflects what the tool claims, 3) is considered good law, and 4) is applicable to the specific jurisdiction and facts of the case.

Westlaw openly acknowledges that its AI research tools have current limitations, with ongoing development to address these. As of the information provided, AI Deep Research does not support tasks such as searching dockets, jury instructions, or briefs. Certain Boolean or fielded queries may also not be supported. The tool cannot provide analytics (e.g., "How often do courts rule in favor of plaintiffs?"), perform calculations (e.g., "How much will I recover in damages?"), execute commands like sending emails, predict outcomes, draft specific legal documents or forms, or provide information on judges, attorneys, or individual parties. It also does not currently support requests for the laws of foreign jurisdictions.