01
How long is the free trial and what does it include?
The free trial lasts 7 days and gives you full access to all Silex features, with no credit card required. You can run legal research queries, upload documents, use Source Search, and explore all available modes. It is the fastest way to see how this legal AI assistant fits into your workflow and supports day-to-day legal work.
02
I have already had a free trial. Can I try Silex again?
Each email address is eligible for one free trial. If your trial has expired and you would like to re-evaluate Silex, especially given how much the platform has evolved, please contact our team at [email protected] or through our contact page. We regularly work with returning users on a case-by-case basis, particularly after significant product updates.
03
Can I get a longer trial period before committing to a subscription?
The standard trial lasts 7 days and is designed to give you enough time to run real legal research queries in your practice area. If you need more time to evaluate Silex properly, for example, for a firm-wide assessment or a specific use case, reach out to our team and we will discuss options together. You can also review our pricing plans before choosing a subscription.
Document Upload & File Limitations
04
Can I upload scanned documents, such as PDFs from a scanner or photocopied court decisions?
At the moment, Silex only accepts text-based PDFs. Scanned documents, meaning image-based PDFs where the text has not been digitally extracted, are not yet supported. If your court decisions or submissions exist only in scanned form, Silex will not be able to read their content.
We are aware this is a real limitation for many practitioners, and OCR, or optical character recognition, support is on our roadmap. In the meantime, you can use tools like Adobe Acrobat or free alternatives, such as ilovepdf.com, to run OCR on your scanned files and convert them into searchable PDFs before uploading. For readable documents, Silex helps legal professionals analyze legal documents in a secure AI workspace.
05
What is the maximum document length I can upload?
Silex currently supports documents up to 60 pages, or approximately 180,000 characters. This covers the vast majority of legal documents, including full contracts, court decisions, and legal opinions. If your document exceeds this limit, we recommend uploading the most relevant sections.
06
What file formats does Silex accept for document upload?
Silex accepts text-based PDFs. The document must contain selectable text, not just a scanned image. Word upload support, in .docx format, is planned for a future release. The goal is to help you analyze legal documents and connect their content to relevant Swiss legal sources.
Answer Quality & Accuracy
07
Why does Silex sometimes cite outdated versions of laws?
Silex's legal database is updated regularly, but there can be a delay between a law being amended and the new version being fully indexed. This is a known and actively tracked issue. If you receive a response referencing a law version you believe is outdated, please report it using the feedback button in the interface. Each report helps us prioritize updates to legal sources.
For critical submissions, always verify cited legislation against official sources, such as Fedlex or cantonal official gazettes, before relying on it.
08
Silex cited a court decision that does not seem to exist. What happened?
Like all legal tools based on artificial intelligence for lawyers, Silex can occasionally generate references that appear plausible but are not accurate. This phenomenon is known as hallucination. It can include incorrect ATF numbers, non-existent circulars, or fabricated case identifiers.
This is our most serious ongoing quality challenge, and we are actively working to reduce it. Here is what we recommend:
Always verify cited decisions directly in the original source, for example through the Federal Supreme Court, Fedlex, SWISSLEX, or cantonal court portals, before using them in a submission.
If Silex gives a response you cannot verify, push back directly in the chat and ask it to confirm the source. If it cannot, treat the answer with caution.
Use the feedback button to report any hallucinated references. Each report goes directly to our product team.
Silex is designed to assist your research, not replace your professional judgment. Cross-checking sources remains good practice for lawyers, legal teams, and other legal professionals.
09
Silex gave me a confident answer, but I could not find the source it cited. Is there a way to verify it?
Yes. Every answer in Silex includes source citations. Click on a citation to open the original document. If a cited source cannot be opened or returns an error, please report this via the feedback button. A reliable answer in Silex is one where the source opens correctly and the cited passage matches the response.
10
I am an expert in a specific legal area and Silex's answers feel too generic. How can I get more precise results?
For specialist queries, we recommend the following:
Use Intelligent, or Smart, mode for complex legal questions. It produces more thorough, step-by-step reasoning.
Be specific in your prompt: include the legal domain, the canton, the relevant statute, and the specific legal question. The more precise your prompt, the more targeted the response.
Specify the sources you want: you can ask Silex to focus on Federal Supreme Court decisions, cantonal court decisions, or doctrine from specific areas.
We continuously work on improving depth and nuance for expert-level queries. If you feel answers in your practice area consistently lack precision, please share examples via feedback. These examples directly influence our quality roadmap.
11
Does Silex cover cantonal law and cantonal court decisions?
Yes, but coverage varies by canton. Swiss federal law and Federal Supreme Court jurisprudence are covered comprehensively. Coverage of cantonal jurisprudence, such as cantonal courts of appeal or labour courts, varies and is being expanded progressively. Geneva, Zurich, Vaud, and Bern currently have the broadest coverage.
If you find systematic gaps in your canton, please report them. We use this information to prioritize the indexing of new sources.
12
Can Silex handle cross-border or international law questions?
Silex is currently focused on Swiss law. It covers Swiss federal legislation, Federal Supreme Court jurisprudence, and selected cantonal sources. It is not designed for questions requiring analysis of foreign national law or cross-border private international law. For questions involving both Swiss and foreign law, such as Franco-Swiss succession or international contracts, Silex can assist with the Swiss law component but cannot reliably address the foreign law dimension.
13
Why does Silex always show exactly 20 sources, even for broad queries?
The number of sources displayed corresponds to a current interface setting. It does not reflect the number of sources Silex actually analyzed. The search engine evaluates a much larger set before surfacing the most relevant citations. We understand that this can feel arbitrary and are working to make source selection more transparent and dynamic. In the meantime, if 20 results feel insufficient for a query, try refining your prompt to make it more specific, or ask Silex to focus on a particular court level or legal domain.
14
Can I choose which courts or sources Silex searches?
You can guide source selection within your prompt, for example by asking for an answer “based only on Federal Supreme Court decisions” or “focused on Zurich cantonal courts”. More granular source filters, for example, the ability to choose between the Federal Supreme Court, cantonal high courts, and district courts, are a frequently requested feature and are on our product roadmap.
15
Does Silex have access to legal doctrine, such as Schulthess or Stämpfli commentaries?
Not yet. Doctrine integration is the most requested feature from our advanced users. We are in discussions with major Swiss legal publishers, and access to doctrine is a priority on our roadmap. When it becomes available, all users will be informed.
Technical Issues & Performance
16
Silex loads very slowly or the browser freezes when I open a long conversation. What can I do?
If you have a conversation with many exchanges, roughly 50 or more, loading it can currently put significant strain on the browser. This is a known performance issue that we are actively working to resolve.
In the meantime:
Try opening Silex in a fresh browser tab rather than navigating from a previously loaded session.
Consider starting a new conversation for new research topics instead of continuing very long threads.
Chrome and Edge tend to perform better than other browsers for long sessions.
17
Silex is not responding or remains stuck loading in Intelligent mode. What should I do?
If Intelligent mode hangs and does not produce an answer, please do not refresh the page immediately, as refreshing will cause the current conversation to be lost. Instead:
Wait up to 2 minutes, as complex queries can take time to process.
If it remains stuck, copy your conversation text before refreshing.
Refresh the page and submit your query again.
We are aware that hangs in Intelligent mode can result in lost conversations on refresh, and a fix to preserve conversation state on reload is in progress.
18
The PDF I exported does not look right. Some content is missing, such as bullet points or lists. Why?
There is a known issue where certain formatted elements, particularly bullet points and numbered lists, do not render correctly in PDF exports. The on-screen version and the exported PDF may differ. We are working on a fix.
In the meantime, if you need a precise copy of the answer, use the copy-to-clipboard function, then paste the content into Word or another editor before formatting it.
19
When I paste Silex answers into Word, there are extra spaces around citation badges. How can I fix this?
This is a known formatting issue affecting copy-paste into Word. Citation badges, or source tags, leave residual spacing. While we work on a permanent fix, you can:
Use “Find and Replace” in Word to remove double spaces after pasting.
Paste as plain text first, with Ctrl+Shift+V, then reapply formatting.
20
I cannot find my previous conversations. They all look the same in the sidebar.
Currently, conversations are titled automatically based on their first message, and long conversation lists can become difficult to navigate. The ability to rename and tag conversations is a planned improvement. Until then, we recommend starting a new conversation for each distinct matter or research topic, and using a clear opening prompt that describes the subject. This prompt becomes the conversation title.
Account & Access Issues
21
I cannot log in to my account or my account appears inactive.
If your account appears inactive or you cannot access it:
Check whether your email address was added to a colleague's organization account. This can sometimes create a conflict with an existing personal subscription.
Try resetting your password at app.silex.legal/login.
If the issue persists, contact [email protected] with your email address and a description of what you see. Our team resolves account access issues within one business day. You can also reach us through the contact page.
22
A colleague accidentally added my personal email address to their organization trial. Now I cannot access my individual subscription. What should I do?
This is a known edge case. Contact [email protected] immediately with your account email, and we will separate the accounts to restore access to your individual subscription. This will not affect your billing or subscription period.
23
How do I recover my login credentials?
Use the “Forgot password” link on the login page at app.silex.legal/login. If you no longer have access to the email address associated with your account, contact [email protected] and we will help you recover access.
24
Can I get an invoice for my subscription for accounting purposes?
Yes. For annual subscriptions, invoices are available on request. Contact [email protected] with your billing details and we will issue a formal invoice. Monthly subscribers can also request an invoice. Please include your account email and the billing period concerned. For plan details, visit our pricing page.
25
What payment methods do you accept?
Silex accepts payment by credit card. Annual subscribers can also request payment by invoice. If your firm or organization requires a different billing arrangement, please contact us to discuss options. Available plans are listed on our pricing page.
26
Can I cancel my subscription at any time?
Yes. You can cancel at any time with 30 days' notice directly from your account settings. Your access remains active until the end of the current billing period. You will not be charged again after cancellation.
27
Is my data used to train AI models?
No. Your queries and documents are never used to train an AI model. Silex processes your requests to generate responses, but does not retain or share your data for training purposes.
28
Where is my data stored?
All data is processed and stored on servers located in Switzerland. Silex is Swiss-hosted and operates under Swiss data protection law, including the nFADP and GDPR. Your conversations are stored locally on your device, in your browser session, and are not retained on our servers beyond the processing of your query. Learn more about our approach to data security and digital sovereignty.
29
Is Silex compliant with professional secrecy obligations?
Yes. Silex is designed with professional secrecy in mind. Your client data and queries are not stored on our servers, not shared with third parties, and not used for model training. The platform is hosted in Switzerland, which means it operates within Swiss legal jurisdiction. For enterprise clients, we can provide a data processing agreement, or DPA, on request. Visit our security page for more information about our protocols.
30
Can Silex be used within a law firm or corporate legal department with multiple users?
Yes. Silex offers organization plans for law firms and corporate legal departments. Each member of your team gets an individual account. Book a demo to discover pricing tailored to your organization's size and needs.
31
How do I report a wrong answer, a hallucinated source, or a missing legal reference?
Use the feedback button directly in the Silex interface, available on every answer. This sends the issue directly to our product team with the full context of your query. For urgent issues, you can also write to [email protected].
Every report is reviewed and helps us improve source coverage and answer quality.
32
I have a question that is not answered here. How do I reach your team?
Contact us at [email protected] or via the contact form on our website. Our team typically responds within one business day. You can also explore the Silex blog for practical articles on legal AI and legal research workflows.
