Adobe Acrobat AI now reads and explains your contracts in minutes — here’s how it works

Adobe is expanding its push into artificial intelligence with new features that aim to demystify complex contracts and legal documents for both businesses and consumers, as the company seeks to maintain its dominant position in the document management market.

The software giant announced today that its Acrobat AI Assistant can now automatically detect contracts, summarize key terms, and compare differences across multiple versions — capabilities that Adobe says could help address a widespread problem: Most people don’t fully read agreements before signing them.

According to Adobe’s research, nearly 70% of consumers have signed contracts without understanding all the terms. The problem extends into the business world, where 64% of small business owners have avoided signing contracts due to uncertainty about the content.

“Control F is dead,” said Lori DeFurio, a product executive at Adobe, referring to the traditional way people search documents. “Why would I ever search again when I can just ask?” The shift from keyword searching to conversational AI reflects Adobe’s broader vision for making complex documents more accessible to everyone.

How Adobe’s AI actually reads your contracts

The new features represent a significant enhancement to Adobe’s AI capabilities, but notably stop short of providing legal advice. Instead, the system acts more like an intelligent research assistant, helping users locate and understand important contract terms while providing clear citations back to source material.

“This is not a replacement for legal advice,” emphasized Michi Alexander, vice president of product marketing at Adobe, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “This is just to help you understand as a starting point your contracts and then where you potentially might want to ask questions.”

The technology works by analyzing contract text and presenting information in more digestible formats. For example, users can compare up to 10 different contract versions in a table that highlights specific changes. The system can also process scanned documents, even if they’re wrinkled or imperfectly captured.

A key differentiator, according to Adobe executives, is the system’s ability to provide specific citations for its analyses. “The answer AI Assistant gives you is your guide on where in the document you should find the answer,” Alexander said.

Your documents are safe, Adobe says: Inside the security architecture

As AI features become more prevalent in enterprise software, questions about data security take center stage. Adobe emphasizes that all contract analysis happens in a transient fashion — documents are processed in the cloud but aren’t stored or used to train AI models.

“Your data is always your data,” explained Lori DeFurio, a product executive at Adobe, during a product demonstration. “We do not look at any of the documents that you don’t tell it to…your content is never used to train AI models.”

The feature integrates into Adobe’s existing Acrobat ecosystem, which the company says serves over 650 million monthly active users. It’s available for an additional $4.99 monthly fee for individual users, with enterprise pricing available for larger organizations.

The real-world impact: How businesses are already using contract AI

The release comes at a time when companies are increasingly looking to AI to streamline operations. According to Adobe’s survey, 96% of technology leaders believe AI would make them more confident in employees’ ability to handle contracts responsibly.

In interviews with three dozen early users, most reported cutting their contract review time by 70-80%. “I used to spend 45 minutes on initial contract reviews. Now I typically finish in under 10 minutes,” said Austin Bailey, a real estate development executive who has been testing the feature since January.

While Adobe isn’t the first company to apply AI to contract analysis, its massive user base and deep integration with existing document workflows could give it an advantage in the growing market for AI-powered business tools.

The move also reflects a broader trend of traditional software companies embedding AI capabilities into their core products, rather than treating them as standalone features. For Adobe, which has invested in AI development for over five years, the strategy appears to be paying off — the company reports that customer conversations with its AI assistant doubled quarter over quarter in late 2024.

The future of contract analysis may increasingly rely on AI assistance, but human judgment remains crucial. As Alexander puts it, the tool is meant to “guide you to the parts of the document” rather than replace careful review entirely.

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