Each action in SimpleAI is useful on its own. The real power comes from combining them in sequence. Ask to understand, Redline to fix, Draft to fill gaps. Once you know when to use each action, the question becomes how to chain them together for the work you actually do.

This chapter walks through the situations that come up most often for in-house lawyers, with the prompts that go with them.

The principle behind every workflow

Understand first, then act.

Ask before you Redline. Draft to fill what's missing, then Redline to tighten what you've added. Every workflow in this chapter follows some version of that logic. Going straight to editing without understanding the contract first is the most common source of poor output.

Workflow 1: A contract lands on your desk

The counterparty has sent their paper. You need to understand what you're dealing with before you start marking it up.

Step 1. Ask: "Give me a high-level summary of this agreement: parties, purpose, key obligations, and anything that stands out."

Step 2. Ask: "What are the key risks to us in this agreement?"

Step 3. Ask: "What protections are missing based on typical market practice for this type of agreement?"

Step 4. For each risk or issue identified, highlight the relevant clause and switch to Redline.

     Highlight the liability clause, switch to Redline: "Cap liability at 12 months' fees and add a carve-out for fraud and gross negligence."

Step 5. For anything missing entirely, switch to Draft.

     "Draft a data security clause requiring the Supplier to notify us within 48 hours of any security incident."

Step 6. Once you've finished, Ask: "Summarize all tracked changes in this agreement and the likely rationale for each."

Use that summary to brief the business before you send the redlines back.

Workflow 2: The business asks you to review something urgently

A stakeholder needs a quick read on a contract before a meeting or a call. They don't need a full redline. They need to know if there's anything they should be worried about.

Step 1. Ask: "What are the three most important things the business should know about this agreement before signing?"

Step 2. Ask: "Are there any clauses that are unusual or more aggressive than market standard?"

Step 3. Ask: "What would a Customer typically want to negotiate in this type of agreement?"

Step 4. Ask: "Summarize this for a non-lawyer in plain English. Focus on what we're committing to, what the risks are, and what's missing."

Send that output directly to the stakeholder as your briefing note. Edit it as needed before sending.

Workflow 3: You've sent redlines and need to explain them

You've marked up a contract and need to tell the counterparty or an internal stakeholder what you've changed and why. Writing that covering note or email from scratch is slow. Let Ask do the first draft.

Step 1. Once your redlines are complete, Ask: "Summarize all tracked changes in this agreement, clause by clause."

Step 2. Ask: "For each tracked change, give me a brief plain-English explanation of why it might have been made."

Step 3. Ask: "Draft a short covering email to the counterparty summarizing the key redlines and the commercial rationale behind them. Keep it professional and constructive."

Step 4. Ask: "Draft a separate internal summary for the commercial team explaining what has been pushed back on and what an acceptable fallback might look like."

Edit both outputs before sending. The AI gives you a strong first draft. The judgment on what to share and how to frame it stays with you.

Workflow 4: You're negotiating back and forth

A contract has been going back and forth for a few rounds. You need to understand where it stands and prepare for a negotiation call.

Step 1. Ask: "What are the key issues in this agreement that carry risk or are likely to be contentious?"

Step 2. For each open issue, Ask: "What is the risk to us if we accept the counterparty's current position on [clause]?"

Step 3. Ask: "Give me three positions on [clause]: a strong position for us, a commercially reasonable compromise, and a fallback we could live with."

Step 4. Ask: "Summarize the key issues and the risk on each in plain English, suitable for a briefing note to the CFO before a call."

Step 5. After the call, for each point agreed, highlight the relevant clause and switch to Redline with the specific change.

     Highlight the payment clause, switch to Redline: "Update payment terms to 45 days."

Workflow 5: You need to get a contract over the line quickly

The deal is done commercially. The contract just needs to be finalized and there isn't much time. You need to move fast without missing anything important.

Step 1. Ask: "What are the key issues in this agreement that carry risk or need attention?"

Step 2. Ask: "Which of these are likely to be deal-critical and which are lower priority?"

Step 3. For the high-priority issues, go straight to Redline with precise instructions.

     Highlight the termination clause, switch to Redline: "Add a mutual termination for convenience right with 30 days' notice."

Step 4. For lower-priority issues where you're considering accepting the counterparty's position, Ask: "If we accept their current language on [clause], what is the practical risk?"

Step 5. Once finalized, Ask: "Summarize the key commercial terms in this agreement for our contract management system."

Workflow 6: Onboarding a new supplier

Procurement has found a new supplier and sent over their standard terms. You need to review them, push back on what matters, and get the deal signed without holding up the business.

Step 1. Ask: "This is a supplier's standard terms. What is the overall risk profile and how do the key commercial terms compare to market standard?"

Step 2. Ask: "What would a Customer typically push back on in these terms?"

Step 3. Ask: "What's missing that you would normally expect to see in an agreement of this type?"

Step 4. Prioritize the issues by risk. For high-priority items, Redline with specific instructions.

     Highlight the IP clause, switch to Redline: "Ensure we retain ownership of all data we provide to the Supplier and any outputs generated from it."

Step 5. For anything missing, Draft.

     "Draft a clause requiring the Supplier to maintain appropriate insurance and provide evidence of cover on request."

Step 6. Ask: "Draft a short email to the Supplier's legal team explaining our key positions and the rationale. Keep it collaborative in tone."

Workflow 7: Adapting a template for a specific deal

You're starting from a standard template but the deal has specific requirements that the template doesn't cover.

Step 1. Ask: "What information do I need to fill in to complete this template?"

Step 2. Ask: "Which clauses are most likely to need adapting for a [SaaS / professional services / distribution] agreement?"

Step 3. For each clause that needs adapting, highlight it and switch to Redline.

     Highlight the payment clause, switch to Redline: "Update to reflect a monthly subscription fee payable in advance with a 30-day payment term."

Step 4. For anything the template doesn't cover, Draft.

     "Draft a clause giving the Customer the right to conduct an annual audit of the Supplier's security controls with 10 business days' notice."

Step 5. Once complete, Ask: "Are there any inconsistencies in the defined terms or cross-references across this agreement?"

The habits that make workflows faster

Ask before you edit. It takes two minutes and the editing instructions you produce afterwards are significantly better. The time cost is negligible.

One action per step. Resist the urge to combine instructions. Each prompt should do one thing. The sequence is the workflow, not the prompt.

Use Ask to communicate. Covering emails, stakeholder briefings, negotiation summaries, plain-English explanations for the business: Ask can draft all of these. It is one of the most underused parts of the tool.

Use Ask to close the loop. At the end of any review, Ask: "Are there any remaining issues or inconsistencies in this agreement?" It catches things that clause-by-clause review misses.

You have reached the end of the AI Assistant guide. Next: Playbooks

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