South African startup My AI Lawyer has launched a digital legal assistance platform aimed at making basic legal guidance more affordable and easier to access. Available through the web and WhatsApp, the service uses artificial intelligence to help people deal with everyday legal matters while providing access to qualified lawyers when human advice is required.
The platform costs R99 a month and offers a free trial for new users. It allows people to submit questions by text or voice and request automated legal letters on issues including tenant rights, employment disputes, arrests and maintenance orders. By making the service available through a mobile phone, the company is targeting people who may struggle to afford traditional legal services or do not qualify for state-funded legal aid.
Darren Cohen, Head of Distribution and Marketing at My AI Lawyer, said the initiative is designed to address the gap between the need for legal information and the cost of obtaining it. “Access to justice should not be a privilege, but a right,” he said, pointing to expensive hourly rates and legal language as barriers that prevent many South Africans from understanding and protecting their rights.
Technology built around South African law
A key feature of My AI Lawyer is its focus on the local legal system. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, the platform has been trained by South African lawyers on the country’s legal framework and is regularly updated to reflect developments in the law. This allows the system to provide guidance that is relevant to the South African context rather than relying on general legal information.
The platform has also been designed with data protection in mind. It operates as a closed system in line with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Users’ personal information and legal questions are not used to train external large language models.
Its backend runs on Microsoft Azure, with information stored in encrypted databases within a logically isolated multi-tenant environment. These measures are intended to give users greater confidence when using the service for sensitive legal questions.
The platform is not intended to replace lawyers. For more complex or sensitive matters, users can be transferred to qualified human legal advisors. Cohen said this combination of technology and professional support is central to the service. “It is digital when you want it, human when you need it,” he explained.
This approach could make the platform particularly useful for people who need quick guidance before deciding whether a matter requires formal legal representation. It also gives users an opportunity to understand their situation in plain language before taking further action.
Recognition for expanding inclusion
The initiative has also received international recognition. Microsoft awarded My AI Lawyer its Global Inclusion Changemaker award, making it the first African project to receive the specific designation.
The recognition highlights the wider potential of technology to improve access to essential services. In South Africa, where the cost and complexity of legal services can place them beyond the reach of many people, a low-cost digital platform could help more citizens obtain basic information about their rights and available options.
For My AI Lawyer, the focus remains on combining accessibility, local legal knowledge, data protection and human support. By bringing these elements together through a service that can be accessed from a phone, the startup is seeking to make legal assistance more practical for ordinary South Africans.
