For decades, legal professionals have relied on rigid keyword and Boolean search syntax to navigate case files, evidence, and discovery. It’s familiar, dependable, and deeply ingrained. But with Matey AI’s Ask AI Anything feature, criminal defense teams are discovering a better way to work: by simply asking their case data questions in plain English. For many attorneys and paralegals, it’s not just a new tool, it’s a mindset shift.
Old habits die hard, especially when those habits involve search logic built on AND, OR, and NOT. Legal professionals have been trained to fish for information using exact-match keywords and structured queries. This approach requires a mental map of where evidence lives, how it might be phrased, and how to construct the right combination of terms to surface it.
But real-life cases are messy. Witnesses contradict themselves. Facts live in footnotes, attachments, and multiple versions of the truth. A Boolean search can only get you so far, and often misses what truly matters.
With Ask AI Anything, we’ve removed the limitations of keyword-based searching. Built specifically for the complexity of criminal defense, this feature empowers attorneys to interrogate their case materials using the most powerful interface available: plain language.
Instead of typing:
("John Smith" AND "night of the arrest") OR ("JS" AND "incident")
They can simply ask:
“What did John Smith say about the night of the arrest?”
Matey understands the intent behind the question, sifts through all available documents, and returns the relevant answers, no syntax gymnastics required.
For many users, the first time they use Ask AI Anything is revelatory. The mental model shifts from "How do I find this file?" to "What do I want to know?" The AI becomes more than a search tool; it becomes a trusted case assistant, one that already knows everything about the case and is ready to deliver answers on command.
It’s not just more efficient. It’s more powerful. Attorneys can:
In case after case, we've seen how Ask AI Anything dramatically improves speed, comprehension, and courtroom agility. One paralegal told us, “I was still thinking like Westlaw, I didn’t realize I could just ask for what I needed.” That realization saved her hours of prep time. Another public defender called it “a Google for my case, but smarter, and focused only on what I need.”
This isn’t about replacing legal expertise. It’s about enhancing it. As more attorneys embrace AI-powered tools like Ask AI Anything, the legal field is entering a new era, one where understanding your case no longer depends on how well you can construct a search string but on how well your tools can listen, learn, and respond.
At Matey AI, we’re not just building features. We’re helping legal professionals unlearn outdated limitations and unlock new ways of thinking.
Matey AI brings attorneys from evidence to answers in minutes, not months.
