Thomson Reuters launches AI-assisted research and intelligent workflow tools on Westlaw New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – October 9, 2025 – Thomson Reuters (TSX/Nasdaq: TRI), a global content and technology company, today launched a suite of intelligent workflow enhancements on Westlaw New Zealand, headlined by AI-Assisted Research.  Legal professionals will benefit immediately from the provision of responsible legal AI embedded into Thomson Reuters authoritative content and developed specifically for the New Zealand legal system and profession.

"Generative AI holds immense promise for the legal sector, and lawyers must be able to rely on the sources behind every conclusion,” said Vishal Bali, Managing Director for Asia and Emerging Markets. “Thomson Reuters remains steadfast in its mission to provide New Zealand’s legal professionals with advanced generative AI technology and information they can trust to enhance their expertise and support their clients and organisations with confidence.”

Built for New Zealand law and practice

Thomson Reuters develops its legal research solutions to reflect the unique practice, procedure, and primary law of each jurisdiction in which it operates. In New Zealand, this approach ensures that Westlaw New Zealand is developed to support the way local lawyers think, research, and interpret the law in accordance with New Zealand’s statutes, case law, and professional obligations.

“New Zealand’s legal community expects precision, reliability, and contextually relevant insight,” said James Jarvis, Vice President for Product Management, Westlaw, Thomson Reuters. “Our goal is to ensure that Westlaw New Zealand operates in harmony with how local lawyers work - providing research tools that reflect their professional standards and uphold the integrity of the legal process.”

Alongside AI-Assisted Research, the release introduces six complementary tools designed to streamline research and improve productivity:

• Outline Builder: Create structured, hyperlinked research outlines.
• Keep List: Bookmark relevant materials instantly.
• Hide Details: Filter out non-essential results.
• Search Snippets: Review context without leaving the search interface.
• Search Highlighting: Visually emphasise key terms for faster analysis.
• Getting Started Bar: Customisable shortcuts to frequently used content.

Trusted technology to support a changing profession

Legal professionals in New Zealand are facing increasing pressure to adapt, compete, and differentiate their services in a rapidly evolving market. To do this, the majority (72%) are looking to accelerate digital transformation in their organisation in the next 12 months, according to the 2025 ROI of Legal Tech and AI Report.

Thomson Reuters continues to advance its commitment to responsible AI development, embedding the technology into Westlaw New Zealand with AI-Assisted Research. This enables lawyers to ask complex legal questions in natural language and receive authoritative, verifiable AI responses, which include footnotes linking directly to primary law passages on Westlaw New Zealand.

Every aspect of Westlaw New Zealand is designed to meet the exacting standards of the profession. All queries are processed through a zero-retention agreement with third-party AI providers, where Thomson Reuters expressly prohibits the storage or use of customer data for model training. The platform also maintains SOC 2 Type 2 assessment compliance and ISO 42001:2023 verification for AI management systems.

The newly launched Westlaw New Zealand is available now, with further AI capabilities planned for release throughout 2026. This follows the rollout of CoCounsel, the professional-grade generative AI assistant, to New Zealand in March 2025 and represents another step in the company’s global commitment to advancing the trusted innovation in legal technology required to make informed decisions.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters (TSX/Nasdaq: TRI) informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organisations need to make the right decisions. The company serves professionals across legal, tax, audit, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Its products combine highly specialised software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news. For more information, visit tr.com.