CanLII launches generative AI Search+ to recenter primary law in legal research
The Canadian Legal Information Institute has released CanLII Search+, a generative AI-powered assistant built to make primary law easier to find, read, and verify. It runs on infrastructure from Lexum and keeps results grounded in CanLII's database.
For legal teams, the promise is simple: ask a question in plain language, get structured, source-linked answers from Canadian case law, legislation, and commentary-without leaving the CanLII ecosystem.
What it does
CanLII Search+ accepts questions in everyday language and converts them into structured legal queries. It supports legal terminology and expects essential context so results are on point.
- Include: jurisdiction, time period, document type, and legal issue.
- Results are drawn exclusively from CanLII to reduce AI hallucinations and keep citations verifiable.
A contextual analysis feature reviews decisions, surfaces significant passages, and assigns relevance scores. This helps you scan authority faster and decide what to read in full.
Safeguards, validation, and ethics
A team of legal experts regularly validates the system's processes, but the usual AI error risks remain. It is not a substitute for professional judgment or client-specific legal advice.
CanLII urges users to verify findings against the cited sources-original legal documents are authoritative. Avoid sharing personal or confidential information; data protection measures are in place, and queries are not used in public language model training.
Access and current limits
CanLII Search+ is available to all myCanLII account holders, including students and the public. Daily usage limits currently stand at 4 analyses and 10 search query generations and may change over time.
You can upload documents through myCanLII, but the analysis function works only on CanLII documents. Search histories will be linked to user accounts in an upcoming update.
Leadership perspective
CanLII president and CEO Francis Barragan emphasized that the tool supports human experts by recentering primary law in legal research. He credited the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and its 14 members for the support that enables CanLII to offer reliable, free legal services and strengthen access to justice nationwide.
Practical tips for your workflow
- Frame queries with a clear issue statement plus jurisdiction, timeframe, and document type (e.g., "Ontario, 2019-present, appellate decisions, limitation period for professional negligence").
- Use domain terms where helpful; the system handles plain English and legal phrasing.
- Rely on the contextual analysis to triage, then read the underlying decisions before citing.
- Keep client data out of prompts; store sensitive facts in your own matter systems.
- Track daily limits and batch lower-priority queries to avoid mid-day cutoffs.
Explore CanLII and its open legal resources here: CanLII. For broader context on AI in legal practice, see AI for Legal.
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