A recent article from Medium’s Cognitive Business section explains how ROSS Intelligence, an IBM Watson app, conducts searches to help U.S. lawyers answer legal questions.

The article explains that a question in plain English from a lawyer is what triggers the search by ROSS. The application then goes to work to “[read] through the entire body of law and [return] a cited answer and topical readings from legislation, case law and secondary sources to get you up-to-speed.”

The app is not simply based on key words and phrases, as is the case with traditional searches on Google, for example. Instead, it applies its “artificial intelligence” to return answers that are most likely to fit the required legal context, and it also indicates how confident it is in the answers it provides.

The article includes a video about ROSS Intelligence for non-techies, and links to other resources related to the app. It also offers reassurance to those who need it that ROSS is a tool for lawyers, and not a replacement for them.

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