Texas attorneys’ AI use more than doubled since 2024, State Bar of Texas survey finds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2026

Media Contact:
Rebecca Johnson
Public Affairs Director, State Bar of Texas
512-427-1714, [email protected]

Texas attorneys' AI use more than doubled since 2024, State Bar of Texas survey finds

AUSTIN - The State Bar of Texas has released the results of its 2026 AI in the Practice of Law Survey. Chief among these, the survey found that AI use among Texas attorneys rose significantly from the bar's last such survey in 2024, from 30% to 62%.

The complete survey report, including all questions and answers as well as all attorney comments, is available at texasbar.com/2026AISurvey.

Additional findings include:

Among attorneys who reported using AI, ChatGPT is the most widely used AI tool, used by 63%, while Westlaw/CoCounsel is the most widely used legal-specific AI tool, at 30%. The most common use of AI was for legal research (53%). For attorneys who choose not to use AI, ethical concerns were the most commonly cited reason (59%).

As the largest legal occupation group in Texas, private practitioners make up the highest percentage of AI users overall (67%). However, corporate/in-house counsel remain the highest adopting legal occupation group (87% in 2026, up from 51% in 2024).

Attorneys licensed 15 years or fewer reported an average AI adoption rate of 73%, compared to 60% for those licensed longer. The AI adoption rate also varies by firm size, with 87% of firms with 25 attorneys or more adopting AI into their practices, compared to 64% for smaller firms.

The 2026 AI in the Practice of Law Survey is a project of the State Bar of Texas Emerging Technology Committee and was conducted by the bar's Research and Analysis Department. It was sent to a random sample of 30,000 licensed Texas attorneys, and 1,553 responded. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2%.

For Texas attorneys, judges, and other legal professionals interested in learning more about AI in the law, the State Bar has created a number of resources including the State Bar of Texas AI Toolkit (at texasbar.com/aitoolkit) and the Ask a Human series of webinars and how-to videos (at texasbarpractice.com).