Thomson Reuters: 91% of Firms Say They're Falling Short of AI's Potential — "Illusion of AI Impact" Identified

Thomson Reuters' new analysis, published July 6, identified what it terms the "illusion of AI impact" — the gap between leadership belief that AI transformation is underway and the actual daily behavior of lawyers who are not using the tools. Key figures: 91% of professionals say their organisations are falling short of AI's potential value delivery; 35% say their firm's AI ambitions are not reflected in day-to-day work; 46% of lawyers report they do not know enough about AI to answer basic client questions about its potential benefits. The competitive consequence is concrete: 78% of clients see AI-enabled quality improvements as essential, but only 6% believe most providers are delivering them, and 32% of clients have reconsidered or plan within 12 months to reconsider relationships with firms they view as falling behind. The illustrative scenario from the report: a firm that had invested in AI tools and announced firmwide adoption found six months later that only a fraction of attorneys had logged in more than once — and lost a client opportunity to a competing firm that used AI to deliver a preliminary case assessment, strategic options, cost estimates, and key risks before the engagement letter was signed. For mid-sized managing partners, this is the gap to close: not tool ownership, but the daily workflow change that produces client-visible results.