Why OpenAI’s Legal Advice Policy Isn’t New — and Why It Still Matters

While this clarification didn’t introduce any new restrictions, it may have caught some users by surprise. For small business owners who rely on AI tools, it’s a timely reminder that while AI is a powerful productivity aid, the most reliable guidance on contracts, compliance, or legal rights still comes from real legal experts—not from a chatbot.

If you’ve been using ChatGPT to help draft agreements, answer legal questions, or seek advice, you may occasionally notice more cautious or limited responses. But that doesn’t necessarily mean OpenAI has introduced new limits. This policy update was made to ensure users understand that the model isn’t licensed to offer professional advice—and that OpenAI complies with regulations designed to prevent the unauthorized practice of law or medicine.

For small business owners, this highlights a growing reality: AI can accelerate your work, but it can’t replace a licensed professional when real legal guidance is needed. Understanding where those boundaries lie will help you use AI responsibly—and avoid costly mistakes.

What This Change Means for Your Business

1. You Can Still Use AI—Just Not for Personalized Legal Advice

AI tools remain powerful for brainstorming, writing marketing content, and explaining general business concepts. For example, you can ask AI to:

• “Brainstorm social media posts for Small Business Saturday.”
• “Explain how to build a pricing margin to prepare for future sales promotions.”
• “Write a thank-you response to a customer review.”

But you can’t rely on the tool to interpret, draft or review a contract or tell you how a clause affects your legal rights. In other words, generic AI can help you with a lot of things, just not those that require professional legal judgment.

2. Relying on AI Alone Could Create Risks

Even before this clarification, it was risky to depend on general-purpose AI for legal documents. Multiple incidents have shown that “AI-drafted” legal filings can contain serious errors.

Models like ChatGPT are trained on data from across the internet—ranging from credible sources to misinformation and fiction. That means their responses may blend facts with inaccuracies. For legal issues, it’s best to use information verified by experts in the U.S. legal system.

For example, in Mata v. Avianca, Inc., an attorney used ChatGPT to help draft a motion, and the AI generated fake legal citations. The court dismissed the case and fined the attorneys for submitting fabricated precedents.

If you do trust generic (non-legal trained) AI tools to handle your legal tasks and questions, you could end up with contracts that aren’t enforceable or filings that don’t meet state or federal requirements. And if a dispute ever arises, “AI told me so” won’t protect you in court.

This clarification is a timely reminder: when legal decisions affect your business, licensed professionals remain the only reliable—and legally safe—option.

3. Get legal information from Rocket Copilot — an AI trained exclusively by licensed legal experts — then get quick help when it’s time to call in a human expert

The good news is that AI can still make legal processes faster and easier—when used responsibly. 

Rocket Copilot is a free AI-powered business solution, backed by Legal Pros, that blends AI’s speed with the expertise of real lawyers and paralegals familiar with U.S. law. If your questions require professional judgement, Rocket Copilot can connect you directly with a Rocket Lawyer Legal Pro for personalized help.

That means you can keep using AI to streamline your operations—without crossing compliance lines or risking inaccurate advice.

Questions SMBs Should Ask About AI And Legal Advice

Before using generic AI for business paperwork, take a moment to clarify what it can and can’t do for you:

• Is my question considered “legal advice”? Am I asking AI to explain how a law applies to my specific situation?
• What is my risk tolerance if something from a generic AI turns out incorrect? Where am I least tolerant of risk and will want to talk to an expert?
• What’s my safety net if AI guidance is wrong? Do I use something that can easily escalate me to a real person when needed?
• Can I still use AI to answer questions and draft legal documents? Yes—but am I using an AI tool trained only on US-specific legal information from legal experts?

What to Do Next

If OpenAI’s clarification has you rethinking your approach to AI, that’s a good thing. Here’s how to move forward safely and confidently:

1. Only use generic AI tools for non-legal matters, like communication and marketing efficiency.
2. For legal information, use an AI tool trained on proprietary legal expertise, created and vetted by Legal Pros. Try Rocket Copilot for a compliant AI experience that can seamlessly escalate complex questions to licensed experts.
3. Rely on Rocket Lawyer Legal Pros to share information or review contracts; you can also retain a network attorney for legal advice.
4. Always keep a record of any AI-generated work and verify its accuracy before acting on it.

AI can be a powerful business ally—but it works best alongside real human expertise. Use smart tools, ask smart questions, and let licensed professionals guide the decisions that matter most.