Contract review with Claude: how to verify every clause it cites
Claude is a strong contract reviewer, but its summaries still need checking. How to ask clause-level questions and confirm each answer against the agreement.
Key takeaways
- Ask clause-level questions and require the section number and exact wording in each answer.
- Most errors come from defined terms, cross-references, exceptions elsewhere in the agreement, and amendments.
- A clause that is not in the agreement should be reported as missing, not inferred.
- Checking against a playbook works the same way: each position becomes a claim to verify.
Claude reads contracts well. It can summarise a 60-page services agreement, find the termination rights, and compare two drafts in minutes. For a lawyer or contract manager, the question is not whether to use it but how to check what it says before relying on it.
Where AI contract summaries slip
- Defined terms. "Confidential Information" or "Losses" may be defined far more narrowly or broadly than their everyday meaning.
- Cross-references. "Subject to Section 12.3" can change the answer entirely.
- Exceptions elsewhere. A liability cap with carve-outs in a different section, or a schedule that overrides the main terms.
- Amendments and order of precedence. The amendment, the order form or the statement of work may govern.
- Modal verbs. "May", "shall" and "will use reasonable efforts to" are not interchangeable.
A clause checklist for commercial agreements
| Term | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Term and renewal | Initial term, automatic renewal, notice period to prevent renewal |
| Termination | For convenience or cause, notice periods, cure periods, effects of termination |
| Liability | Cap amount and basis, exclusions, carve-outs from the cap |
| Indemnities | Scope, procedure, whether capped |
| Assignment and change of control | Consent requirements, termination rights on a change of control |
| Payment | Fees, increases, payment period, late payment |
| Data protection and confidentiality | Obligations, duration, breach notification |
| Governing law and disputes | Law, forum, arbitration |
Prompts that produce checkable answers
- "For each item below, give the answer, the section number, and the exact clause text you relied on. If the agreement does not address it, say so."
- "List every defined term used in the limitation of liability clause, with its definition quoted."
- "Does anything in the schedules or amendments change the termination rights? Quote the relevant text."
Verifying the answers
- Open each cited section and confirm the quoted text is there.
- Read the defined terms that the clause uses.
- Follow every cross-reference in the clause.
- Check amendments, schedules and order forms for anything that overrides it.
- Record the section and your conclusion for each item.
Comparing drafts and amendments
Comparing two versions of an agreement is a different task from reviewing one. A redline shows every textual change, including the many that do not matter. What a reviewer usually needs is the answer to a narrower question: did any of the terms we care about change, and how?
- Ask about each key term in both versions, and require the clause text from each.
- For an amendment, ask which provisions it replaces, adds or deletes, and quote the operative language.
- Check the amendment's effective date and whether it applies to obligations already incurred.
Each answer can then be confirmed against both documents, side by side.
Contract review in Claude with CiteLLM
Add CiteLLM to Claude from the connectors directory, attach the agreement, and ask your questions. Every answer opens at the clause it relies on, highlighted in the original PDF, and is marked supported, contradicted or not in the document.
The same works for a playbook review: paste your standard positions, such as a 30-day termination notice or a liability cap of 12 months' fees, and each position comes back met, contradicted or missing, with the clause on screen. Up to 20 contracts fit in one review, each in its own tab.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude or ChatGPT better for contract review?
Both are capable. The bigger difference comes from how answers are checked; CiteLLM works the same way in Claude and ChatGPT.
Can I check a contract against our playbook?
Yes. Paste each playbook position as a claim to check. Each one comes back supported, contradicted or not in the document, with the clause highlighted.
Are my contracts used to train AI models?
CiteLLM never uses documents for training and deletes them 30 minutes after upload by default. For Claude itself, check the data settings of your Anthropic plan.