Summarising contracts manually can be time-consuming and repetitive.
Plexus AI-generated summaries provide lawyers with an instant starting point, automatically extracting key details from a document. Users can then refine or amend the summary as needed to support executive review, approval, and signing.
Creating an a document summary
For those organisations with AI features enabled, Plexus AI will automatically generate a summary of any new documents when they are uploaded via Approve and eSign, Store a Document, Advertising Wizard, or Plexus custom applications!
And for those organisations who do not use Plexus AI-enabled features, you will be able to write your own summary.
Viewing a document summary
All document summaries are visible from the Summary tab for a given document. To access the Summary tab, head to the Document list and select your desired document from the view.
The Summary for that document is shown immediately on the resulting page. AI will highlight specific key facts for that document within the summary.
Top tip!
Where an AI summary is available, it will be automatically included in the email notification sent to internal reviewers, approvers and signers.
Regenerating an AI-generated summary
With Document Summary Regeneration, teams can quickly adapt summaries without starting from scratch—saving time and ensuring critical information is always up to date.
Once a summary exists, users can refocus summaries on their most pertinent questions, ensuring the extracted insights remain relevant, dynamic, and tailored to evolving priorities.
To do so, use the field to Provide instructions to refine the document summary. Examples may be:
Summarise the Intellectual Property obligations
Highlight the Termination clauses
Focus on the details for Procurement
Rewrite the summary in Spanish
Then using the dropdown, nominate the tone of the summary, and click Generate.
Confirm that you would like to Replace the current summary, and wait for the new summary to load.
Top tip!
In order to Generate a new summary, ensure that tracked changes are resolved on your document.
Plexus will create visual references to reflect when changes have been made to the summary including:
The details of who regenerated the summary;
The instructions that they provided; and
An activity feed entry showing when the summary was regenerated
You may also Reset with default prompt to regenerate the summary again using the automated prompt.
Top tip!
Use the Regenerate functionality to keep the summary up-to-date between contract versions.
Summaries empower teams to surface the right details at the right time, reducing manual effort while maintaining clarity and efficiency in contract review, approval and signing.
Editing an AI-generated summary
All summaries can be edited by anyone with access to the document. This allows lawyers to review and modify the summary as required. It also allows general users to highlight where changes may have occurred on the document, during the course of negotiations.
Hover your mouse over the text area, and click to edit the summary.
Make any required changes to the summary as required, or use the empty-text box to create your own summaries, where AI features are not enabled. Then click Save.
Any changes to the document summary will be logged in the Activity feed.
Frequently asked questions: AI-enabled summaries
When is a document summary generated? |
A document summary is automatically generated for any organisation who has AI features enabled for their organisation, whenever a new document is uploaded via Approve and eSign, Store a Document, Advertising Wizard or Plexus custom applications. |
Who can see a document summary? |
All internal users with access to the document can see the summary from the Summary tab. Any internal user approving or signing a document will receive a copy of the most up-to-date version of the summary, if one is available at the time of sending. External users cannot see a document summary. |
Who can edit a document summary? |
Anybody with access to the document can edit the summary from the Summary tab. Any changes will be logged in the Activity feed. |
How long does a summary take to generate? |
This depends on the length of your document. Most AI summaries are generated anywhere between 3 and 10 minutes of submitting the file. |
How accurate is my AI summary? |
Plexus AI-generated summaries are designed to capture key details from your document with a high degree of accuracy. However, the summary reflects the most relevant information based on the AI’s interpretation and may require refinement or adjustments depending on your specific needs. To ensure accuracy:
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Are the contents of my documents confidential if I'm using AI? |
Yes, your documents remain confidential when using Plexus AI. Our AI processes data securely within the platform, ensuring that your contract contents are not shared, stored externally, or used to train external AI models.
Plexus maintains strict security and privacy controls to protect your data, aligning with industry best practices for confidentiality and compliance.
Plexus uses data that has been input by you, including your documents and their contents, solely for the purpose of providing services to you.
Where we use third parties for processing, we do so on the basis that your data is safely protected by confidentiality obligations and is not used for any other purpose.
For example, we use OpenAI services on the basis that none of your data will be used for training AI models or otherwise retained by OpenAI beyond their 30-day abuse detection period: https://openai.com/policies/api-data-usage-policies |
What does it mean if a document summary is not available? |
Documents will be summarised for new documents only. Any existing documents before September 2023 will not have a document summary attached to the file by default. However, you can Regenerate a summary for any existing documents. |
What do I see if I have AI features turned off? |
If AI features are turned off, you can write your own document summary from the Summary tab. |
Need support? Reach out to [email protected], or email your Customer Success Manager to access this AI-feature.