A legal chatbot is an assistant you can converse with. You ask a legal question, and it provides an answer, summarizes a document, or helps with drafting.
Not all chatbots are created equal. Some cite their sources, while others do not. Some protect data, while others do not. The golden rule is simple: treat every response as a draft, then verify it. Silex is a Swiss legal AI designed to provide sourced and verifiable answers.
In short: what to do and what not to do
Do: research, structure, summarize, and query your documents using a professional tool. Do not: paste a client file into a public chatbot.
Always verify: every citation, every source document, and every date. Always keep: the final human decision. A chatbot prepares; it does not advise on your behalf. It assumes no liability.
Two types of chatbots, two uses
Two different tools are often confused.
The internal chatbot assists lawyers, legal professionals, and notaries. It is used for searching, analyzing, and drafting. This is the focus of this page. See Legal AI.
The public chatbot, found on a website, answers visitors' questions. It can provide information or guidance. It must not give personalized advice and must clearly state that it is an AI.
If you are looking for a work assistant, judge it based on its sources, security, and human oversight—not on the fluency of its text.
Generalist chatbot or specialized tool?
ChatGPT or Claude can answer legal questions. Their text is often fluent, but fluent does not mean reliable.
A generalist chatbot produces a plausible response. A serious legal tool is anchored in sources, allows you to open the reference, and distinguishes Swiss law from foreign law.
Choose a general-purpose tool to rephrase non-sensitive text. Choose a specialized tool whenever you need to cite a source, reference a case file, or use an internal corpus. See ChatGPT vs Silex and Claude vs Silex.
Useful everyday applications
The real value lies in preparatory tasks. For research, you ask a question, get leads, and then verify them. See AI case law. With an internal corpus, you can locate information within files, contracts, or templates, and then cross-reference it with the law.
For analysis, you can summarize documents, extract clauses, and flag missing information. See AI legal analysis. For drafting, you can propose an outline, rephrase content, or prepare a first draft. The tool is also useful for organizing timelines, creating summaries, drafting open-ended questions, and helping a colleague get started faster.
For lawyers: AI for lawyers. For legal counsel: AI for legal counsel and Enterprise AIFor notaries and students: Notary AI, Notarial AI, Student AI.
How to ask the right questions
A vague question leads to a vague answer. A well-framed question produces a more useful draft. Specify the applicable law: Switzerland, canton, subject matter. Ask for verifiable sources, not just a summary. Ask the tool to indicate what is certain and what remains to be verified.
Separate facts, rules, and hypotheses. If you are querying your own documents, ask for the internal document page number and the legal source. Do not enter names, specific dates, or amounts into an unsecured tool.
Framing example: "Under Swiss law, what rules apply to [subject]? Cite your sources. Distinguish between statute, case law, and hypothesis."
Verify before using an answer
Treat every output as a first draft, not as a legal source. Open every cited reference. Verify that it actually exists. If an internal document is cited, open the original file.
Check the court, the date, and the applicable law. Read the passage: does the source actually say what the tool claims? Discard any reference that cannot be found or is out of context. Have a professional review it before sending, filing, or providing advice.
A real source that is incorrectly linked is just as dangerous as a fabricated one. It is often harder to detect.
The 3 risks to manage
1. Hallucination. The tool may invent a court ruling. It may distort an article. It may cite a real decision out of context.
2. Confidentiality. Once you start entering case facts, the issue becomes professional. Who sees the data? Where is it stored? Is it used to train the model?
3. Accountability. The lawyer or legal professional remains solely responsible. A chatbot does not take ownership of the decision. As the Swiss Bar Association reminds us: clarify the data, respect professional secrecy, and verify the results.
Source: Swiss Bar Association.
Data: a simple rule
In Switzerland, the FADP applies. For lawyers, professional secrecy also applies. In a consumer tool: no case data, no documents, no strategy. In a professional tool: verify hosting, access, isolation between organizations, and exclusion from training. When in doubt: anonymize, or do not enter the data.
See Silex security and AI and data protection. Source: FDPIC – AI and data protection.
What a good legal chatbot should provide
Accessible sources: you can check every reference, including internal documents. Applicable law: Swiss law, not reformulated foreign law. An internal corpus: query your own documents and cross-reference them with the law, all within the same environment.
Transparency: you can see what is sourced and what remains a hypothesis. Confidentiality: clear hosting, zero training, no sharing between organizations. Acknowledged limitations: no automatic definitive advice.
See the Silex product and solutions.
Internal guidelines for a firm
Don't let everyone use the tool in their own way. List authorized tools. Define what can be entered into them. Prohibit unverified writing or advice. Train the team to check sources. Appoint someone to validate before sending.
Interest grows when the assistant is integrated into the file. See Silex in WinLex and SkyLex, partners and news.
For individuals
A chatbot can help explain a concept. It can help prepare questions for a professional. It does not replace personalized advice.
Silex: more than just a chatbot
Silex offers a conversational interface. Its role goes further. It helps with researching, reasoning, drafting, and verifying, using structured sources.
Three new features remain within the same environment. Not three chatbots to piece together.
Silo, coming August 26, 2026
Silo queries your own documents directly from Silex. Files, contracts, templates, internal records. It also cross-references them with legal sources.
Every answer is sourced, allowing you to trace it back to the original document. Files uploaded to Silo Storage are hosted in Switzerland by Infomaniak on a sovereign cloud. They are not used to train models and are never shared with other organizations.
Case analysis, coming soon
The agent will process an entire case file at once, including documents, correspondence, filings, PDFs, audio recordings, along with a case summary and your instructions.
Target deliverables: summaries, key points, missing information, areas of concern, and draft documents. This is a first pass; human review remains mandatory.
New plans, starting August 26, 2026
Our plans now include Silo and the new AI agents. Storage and credits are tailored to each offering. See our pricing.
Designed and hosted in Switzerland, the platform is built for lawyers, legal professionals, notaries, and institutions. Organizations such as BCGE and Bordier & Cie already use it.
To get started, book a demo or contact the team. Additional information: product, FAQ and legal monitoring.
FAQ: Legal Chatbot
What is a legal chatbot?
It is a conversational assistant that answers legal questions, summarizes documents, or assists with drafting. Its reliability depends on its sources and security.
Can a legal chatbot replace a lawyer?
No. It speeds up preparation. Advice and liability remain human responsibilities.
Can I paste a client file into ChatGPT?
No, not if confidential data is involved. You need a secure professional tool with document isolation.
Can I query my own documents in a legal chatbot?
Yes, in a professional environment. With Silo, starting August 26, 2026, Silex cross-references your documents with its legal sources. You can trace back to the original document. Swiss hosting, zero training, no data sharing between organizations.
How can I avoid hallucinations?
Choose a tool that provides sources. Open every reference. Verify that the source actually supports the claim. Have it validated by a professional.
How do I ask a good question?
Specify Swiss law, request sources, separate facts from rules, and require the tool to flag anything that still needs verification.
Is Silex a legal chatbot?
Silex offers a conversational interface, positioning itself primarily as a Swiss-sourced legal AI. Silo integrates your internal corpus, with case file analysis to follow.
