LexisNexis Unveils Protégé General AI with Multi-Model Support
LexisNexis has commenced the US customer preview of its new ‘Protégé General AI’ offering, a significant expansion of its existing AI capabilities designed to empower legal professionals with enhanced flexibility and control. This latest iteration integrates state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) into a unified, secure platform, aiming to streamline complex legal research and analysis.
At its core, Protégé General AI provides a privacy-encrypted solution that eliminates the need for users to switch between disparate tools. With a simple toggle, legal professionals can engage sophisticated AI for high-complexity legal issues requiring advanced reasoning and deep research, or for more straightforward tasks like topic exploration. A key differentiator is the user’s ability to select from the latest AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-5, GPT-4o, and o3, alongside Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4, tailoring the AI’s capabilities to specific tasks. This means users can leverage the distinct strengths of various leading models directly within the LexisNexis environment, bypassing the need to engage with multiple AI providers independently.
Data privacy is a paramount concern, and LexisNexis asserts that its fully encrypted Lexis+ AI environment offers data protection standards that significantly exceed those found in consumer-grade AI tools. Furthermore, Protégé General AI incorporates a Shepard’s Citation Agent, an advanced feature that proactively checks included legal sources for accuracy, thereby mitigating the risk of AI-generated inaccuracies or “hallucinations” and ensuring greater reliability for human review. Control over AI usage is also granular, allowing individual users to toggle Protégé General AI on or off, while firms can implement organization-level policies to disable the general AI features entirely, ensuring compliance with internal or regulatory guidelines.
Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America, UK, and Ireland, emphasized that Protégé General AI was developed in direct response to customer requests for secure access to general-purpose models and greater control. He stated the company’s goal is to provide legal professionals with a personalized AI assistant that supports uninterrupted workflows and access to the full spectrum of LexisNexis AI capabilities within a single, secure environment, a vision powered by the agentic AI innovation LexisNexis has been advancing since 2024.
The integrated models each bring unique strengths to the platform. OpenAI’s GPT-5, the latest offering from the company, is characterized by its Unified Reasoning capabilities, combining strong general and domain knowledge with both reasoning and non-reasoning functionalities. LexisNexis highlights its position among the first to integrate GPT-5 through a direct collaboration with OpenAI. Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4, lauded for its Natural Fluency, is designed to deliver thoughtful and well-structured responses, making it ideal for everyday tasks, communication, and brainstorming. GPT-4o excels at General Exploration, proving adept at tasks such as brainstorming, drafting, and integrating web-based information into real-time conversations. Lastly, OpenAI’s o3 is optimized for Advanced Reasoning, suited for deep research, strategic decision-making, intricate problem-solving, specialized workflows, and nuanced understanding.
The Protégé General AI U.S. Customer Preview Program is currently underway, with approximately 200 law firms, corporate legal departments, and law schools participating. The preview phase commenced in the third quarter of this year, and general availability is anticipated later in the year.