Chat mode

Chat mode lets you ask legal research questions in plain English and get answers drawn from CourtAid's database of 2 million+ up-to-date judgements and legislation across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Chat response with source citations

How Chat mode works

Unlike traditional keyword search, Chat mode uses semantic contextual search — it understands the meaning of your question and searches across the entire database to find relevant authorities.

1. Type your question in natural language

2. CourtAid searches judgements, decisions, and legislation

3. You receive a structured answer with clickable source citations

4. Click any source to open the original document

Thinking Agents

For complex or multi-part questions, CourtAid's Thinking Agents handle your query with greater depth. Instead of a single search, the agent automatically:

1. Breaks your question down into up to 8 targeted searches

2. Applies the relevant filters for each search

3. Runs the searches in sequence

4. Synthesises the results into a single, comprehensive answer

This significantly improves answer reliability for nuanced or multi-part legal questions — you don't need to do anything differently, just ask your full question.

Where to use Chat

Entry point	How
New Chat (landing page)	Type your question and press Send
Search page	Toggle to Chat mode at the top of the input
History	Reopen a previous conversation from the sidebar

What you get in a response

Each chat response includes:

• Structured answer — a clear explanation of the legal issue with references

• Documents referenced — clickable links to the cases and legislation used

• Follow-up questions — suggested questions to explore the topic further

• Action buttons — Export, Retry, Citation Map, Copy, and feedback

Editable answers

Click Edit in the top-right of any response to reformat or adjust the text before copying or downloading. See Editable answers.

Click sources to verify

Every citation in a chat response links to the original source document. Click a case name to:

• Open the full document

• Start a Chat PDF conversation focused on that case

• View the AI summary

This gives you a verifiable paper trail — you can always check the primary source behind every answer.

Chat vs Search

	Chat mode	Search mode
Output	Conversational answer with citations	Scrollable list of matching summaries
Best for	Getting an answer, synthesis, exploration	Browsing many documents, building a reading list
Search type	Semantic contextual chat	Smart or Boolean summary feed

See Semantic search for the Search side of this.

Combining with filters

Apply filters before or during chat to narrow the database:

• Set Jurisdiction to NSW only

• Restrict to Judgements or Legislation

• Select a specific Court

Filters apply to your chat query so answers focus on the relevant jurisdiction and document types.

Example questions

What factors do NSW courts consider when granting interlocutory injunctions?
Show me NCAT cases about retail leases under the Retail Leases Act 1994.
What is the test for unconscionable conduct under the ASIC Act?
How have Australian courts interpreted "casual employee" for unfair dismissal?

Tips

• Ask follow-up questions to drill deeper — chat maintains conversation context

• Click Documents referenced to verify every citation

• Use the Citation Map button to see how cited cases relate to each other

• Apply filters when you need jurisdiction-specific answers

• Save key cases to a Project for ongoing matter work

• Click Edit on a response to polish it before exporting to a client memo