Spellbook, a leading AI solution for transactional lawyers, has released its inaugural State of Contracts 2026 report, providing statistical insights from hundreds of thousands of contracts across 30 countries to democratize market intelligence previously exclusive to large legal firms.
Spellbook’s report delivers AI-powered contract analysis at a scale previously unachievable, aiming to shape a future of data-driven negotiation within the legal industry. This initiative brings market intelligence to smaller practices and in-house teams, who often negotiate without comprehensive market data, addressing a significant need given that 60% of small businesses cannot afford traditional legal services.
Scott Stevenson, CEO and co-founder of Spellbook, stated that the speed and quality of contracts have been limited by the ability to determine what is considered normal. He emphasized that by enabling lawyers to instantly benchmark their contracts against thousands of similar deals, filtered by industry, deal size, and geography, they can negotiate based on concrete knowledge rather than intuition or outdated precedents, leading to faster deal closures and improved terms.
To further enhance data transparency, Spellbook is developing its new Market Comparison feature, currently in beta. This feature employs an opt-in “give to get” model, allowing lawyers to contribute anonymized deal statistics in exchange for access to real-time market intelligence, empowering them with data-driven negotiation strategies.
Stevenson also highlighted the industry’s dissatisfaction with “AI slop,” referring to outputs that appear correct but lack verifiable data. He expressed excitement about combining Spellbook’s leading market intelligence with its existing AI contract review capabilities to provide lawyers with inspectable data.
The 2026 Contract Trends Report provides statistics on over 250 deal points across 14 agreement types and identifies several key trends. Notably, mentions of tariffs in procurement agreements increased by nearly 50% between June and October, with phrases like “threatened tariff” appearing in pricing clauses to allocate risk for anticipated trade policies.
Another significant finding is the rapid emergence of “AI Usage Policy” as a standalone clause type in software agreements within just two years. This trend reflects growing concerns around AI output ownership and the implications of using confidential information in training data.
The report also challenges conventional assumptions regarding liability caps, revealing that 50% of master service agreements do not specify a calculation method for caps, and only 30% link them to fees paid, contrary to the common assumption of a “12 months of fees” default.
Furthermore, the analysis of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) indicates hidden risks: one in three NDAs demand perpetual confidentiality and carry unlimited liability, while 85% omit residuals rights, potentially restricting executives from utilizing general knowledge acquired during business discussions.
In the context of subscription models, the report notes a trend towards increased restrictiveness in B2B software agreements. Sixty percent auto-renew for another year, and 40% do not permit termination for convenience during the initial term, suggesting that contract terms have become a “sticky feature” of SaaS offerings.
The full 2026 Contract Trends Report is available for download on Spellbook’s website. The company plans to launch its Market Comparison feature into General Availability in early January, with legal teams able to request early access via a demo.
Spellbook, which launched the first Generative AI tool for lawyers in 2022, is recognized as a leading provider of legal AI for transactional law. The company has supported nearly 4,000 legal teams in optimizing contract workflows and reducing administrative burdens. Utilizing large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-5, Spellbook applies legal-specific approaches to achieve superior contracting performance. Spellbook is backed by investors including Khosla Ventures, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Inovia Capital, The Legaltech Fund, Bling Capital, and Moxxie Ventures.
