Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This Article examines how consumers can use generative artificial intelligence to write their own contracts. Popularized by “chatbots” such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that uses statistical models trained on massive amounts of data to generate human-like content such as text, images, music, and more. Generative AI is already being integrated into the practice of law and the legal profession. In the context of contracting and transactional law, most generative AI tools are focused on reviewing and managing large volumes of business contracts. Thus far, little attention has been given to using generative AI to create entire contracts from scratch. This Article aims to fill this gap by exploring the use of “generative contracts”: contracts that are written entirely by a generative AI system based on prompts from the user. For example, a user could ask a generative AI model to, “Write me a contract to sell my used car.” The Article uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 to generate drafts of a wide range of contracts from an employment agreement to a residential lease to a bill of sale. While relatively simple, the contracts written by GPT-4 are functional and enforceable. These results suggest that generative contracts present an opportunity to improve access to justice for consumers who are currently underserved by the legal system. To examine how consumers might use generative contracts in practice, the Article engages in a proof-of-concept case study of two hypothetical consumers who use GPT-4 to write and modify their own car sale contract. Drawing on this case study, the Article analyzes the implications of generative contracts for consumers, lawyers, and the practice of law. While generative AI holds great promise for consumers and access to justice, it threatens to disrupt the legal profession and poses numerous technological, privacy, and regulatory challenges. The Article maps the benefits and risks of generative contracts as the world approaches a future of automated contracting.

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