Most AI contract review demos look alike: upload a contract, get a list of risky clauses. The differences show up on a real contract set: the scanned addendum, the clause the owner struck by hand, the same indemnity rated differently by two reviewers.
How we compared. On October 15, 2026 we read each vendor's product, pricing and security pages, plus the Trimble and AIA announcements cited, and recorded what they state. We did not test the products, and one of them is ours. "Not published" means we couldn't find it, not that it doesn't exist. For what to check in the contract itself, see our construction contract review checklist.
What to ask every vendor
1. Does it read the whole contract set?
The costly clause is often in an exhibit or an addendum. Plain text extraction can fail on scanned and hand-marked pages, and legible struck-through text can be read as live.
Ask: Can we run a set we've already negotiated, scanned addendum included? Will it know which clauses were struck?
2. Your playbook, or a generic ruleset?
A finding only means something against your positions: the indemnity you'll accept, your LD cap, your notice period. Nearly every product below describes playbooks or custom standards; the differences are setup and upkeep.
Ask: Who builds our playbook, how long does it take, and can we have one per client?
3. Who decides severity: the model or rules?
A model that rates each finding can weigh context, but ask whether the same clause gets the same rating twice. Rules applied after the model finds the clause score the same finding the same way every time, and you can read them.
Ask: If we run the same contract twice, do the severities match?
4. How are citations checked?
Citations are now common. Document Crunch says "If we can't cite it, we don't say it," Provision says it has "100% citation-backed outputs," and Procore says its explanations are "linked back to the source."
Ask: Is each quote checked against the cited page before we see it? What happens when the quote isn't on that page?
5. What do you get back?
Expect some mix of a risk list, a summary, answers to questions and a redline. Check the redline's format (Word tracked changes or PDF comments) and whether internal notes can reach the owner's copy.
Ask: Show us the exact file we would send the owner.
6. Is there human review, and whose?
In Procore's agent, your team can "accept or reject every change." At BlackBoiler, the reviewer decides what to accept, change or reject. Superlegal says its attorneys review and approve every contract.
Ask: Who checks the output before we act on it, and is that legal advice?
7. What happens to our documents?
Get it in writing. Trunk Tools says "we will never train AI models with your documents," and First Rule says uploaded documents are "never used to train First Rule's models."
Ask: Is our data used to train any model, including the AI provider's? How long do you keep it after we leave, backups included? What keeps other customers out of it?
8. Does it connect to what we already use?
If projects run in Procore or a Trimble product, an integration saves an upload step and puts obligations in front of the field team. Some integrations move data one way only.
Ask: Is it live today, which way does data flow, and is it in our price?
9. Can you show us a SOC 2 report?
A SOC 2 report is a CPA firm's examination of a vendor's controls over security and related areas. Six vendors below say they have SOC 2 Type II. We don't have one. If your IT team or a client requires one, it's a gate.
Ask: Can we see the Type II report under NDA, and what's in scope?
10. Is the price published?
First Rule, Provision, Superlegal, ThoughtRiver and BlackBoiler publish prices, on different bases; the table links each pricing page. Document Crunch, Procore, LegalOn and RivetData don't publish prices. Compare quotes on what your annual contract volume would cost.
Ask: What would 40 contracts a year cost, setup included?
11. Software you run, or a service run for you?
Self-serve software fits a team with time to run reviews and maintain a playbook. If you want the output without operating the tool, a managed service fits better. A law-firm model adds an attorney's sign-off.
Ask: Each week, who does the work: us, you, or a lawyer?
12. Is it built for your side of the table?
A GC reviewing an owner's prime contract needs different positions from a subcontractor reviewing flow-downs. Mastt, for example, says it's "Built for Owners & Consultants."
Ask: Whose positions do your default playbooks take: the owner's, the GC's or the subcontractor's?
The tools compared
Each sourced cell links to the vendor page it comes from (for Document Crunch's ownership, Trimble's own releases). This category changes fast, so check the link before relying on a cell.
What each tool is
Vendor information as published on vendors' websites, checked October 15, 2026. Products change; confirm with each vendor.
Price, trial, security and integrations
Vendor information as published on vendors' websites, checked October 15, 2026. Products change; confirm with each vendor.
Mastt and the AIA Contract Documents AI Assistant ("in-app contract guidance" in AIA's contract editor, announced August 26, 2026) do a different job, so they aren't in the table.
RivetData: strengths and gaps
What our product pages say RivetData does:
- Reads the base agreement, general conditions, exhibits and addenda together, including scanned and redlined pages, and detects struck-through text so a deleted clause is never scored as a live term.
- Scores severity in deterministic code against your playbook, so two reviewers land on the same answer. A term that breaches a position you've marked non-negotiable raises a hard block.
- Points each finding to the page and section it comes from, usually with the quoted language. Code checks that the quote appears on the cited page, corrects the page number when it doesn't, and drops findings with no source. Others cite too; ask how the check works.
- Puts only the items a person marks Ready into the Word redline. Internal notes never reach it.
- Runs as a managed service. The agent never sends anything: your reviewer decides what to act on, and on a free review someone on our team checks the report before we send it.
Where we're behind:
- No SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certification today.
- No published pricing.
- No published integrations.
- No published customer case studies or reviews. Judge us on a review of your own contract.
For data handling, see our security page; for the process, see how the review works.
Which tool fits which firm
- You run projects in Procore or a Trimble product. Start with what's native or connected: Procore's own agent; Document Crunch, which integrates with Procore and, per Trimble, with Trimble ProjectSight; or First Rule, which lists a Procore integration in its FAQ and has a Trimble Marketplace listing for Vista.
- You want legal advice included. Superlegal describes itself as an AI law firm and says its attorneys review and approve every contract. RivetData and First Rule both say their output isn't legal advice.
- Your counsel or contract managers negotiate in Word. LegalOn, BlackBoiler and ThoughtRiver name legal teams among their users and work in Word. LegalOn and BlackBoiler also publish construction pages.
- You want construction software your own team runs. Document Crunch, First Rule and Provision. Provision reviews drawings, specs and contracts together and prices per project.
- You want to try AI on one contract first. Trunk Tools is free, First Rule's first upload is free, and Document Crunch, ThoughtRiver and BlackBoiler offer trials. RivetData reviews your next contract free.
- You want the review run for you, against your positions, with a person approving what goes into the redline. That's the model RivetData offers. If SOC 2, published pricing or a Procore integration is a requirement today, pick another vendor for now.
- You're a subcontractor. Check whose positions the default playbook takes. Document Crunch names specialty contractors, First Rule names specialty subcontractors, Provision has a subcontractor review checklist, and Pelles, a platform built for trade contractors, lists AI contract review. RivetData is built for general contractors.
FAQ
What is the best AI contract review software for construction?
It depends on your side of the contract, whether you have in-house counsel, the platforms you run, and whether you need SOC 2. Procore users can start with Procore's agent. For an attorney's sign-off, look at Superlegal; for legal teams working in Word, LegalOn, BlackBoiler or ThoughtRiver; for construction software your team runs, Document Crunch, First Rule or Provision; for a review run for you, RivetData. Test two or three on the same executed contract.
Is AI contract review legal advice?
Usually not. RivetData and First Rule, for example, say their output isn't legal advice. Superlegal is different: it describes itself as an AI law firm, says its attorneys review and approve every contract, and says it takes part in a Utah regulatory pilot that allows the practice of law through technology-based services. For material risk, ask a construction attorney licensed in the project's state.
How should I test an AI contract review tool?
Use a contract set you've already negotiated, so you know where the problems are, with its exhibits, addenda and any scanned or struck-through pages. Run it twice to see whether severities change, check three citations against the page, and open the redline you'd send.
Can I use a general AI assistant like ChatGPT instead?
For explaining a clause, often yes. For a review you can repeat across contracts, you would supply the playbook, the severity rules and the citation check yourself. Read the plan's data terms before you upload a contract.
Does RivetData have SOC 2, published pricing or integrations?
Not today. RivetData has no SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certification and publishes no pricing or integrations. It's a managed service that scores severity in code against your playbook, and it will review your next contract free.
Sources
- Document Crunch: homepage, contract review, security, trial sign-up, Procore integration, integration partners.
- Trimble news release, "Trimble to Acquire Document Crunch" (April 2, 2026).
- Trimble news release on Document Crunch (June 9, 2026).
- Procore: Contract Review Agent, Digital Coworker packages (July 23, 2026), AI plans, security.
- First Rule: homepage, pricing, about, FAQ, security; Trimble Marketplace listing.
- Provision: Risk Review, pricing.
- Superlegal: homepage, pricing, AGC partnership.
- Trunk Tools: free contract review, homepage.
- LegalOn: construction, security, pricing.
- ThoughtRiver: homepage, pricing.
- BlackBoiler: homepage, construction, pricing.
- Mastt; AIA Contract Documents, AI Assistant announcement (August 26, 2026); Pelles.
- AICPA, SOC suite of services.
- RivetData: home, how the review works, security.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Vendor details are as published on October 15, 2026, and change often; confirm them with each vendor. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here only to identify the products; no endorsement or affiliation is implied. If you represent a vendor and a cell is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] and we'll correct it.