Quick Start - Reviewing Contracts in Word

This guide gets you from zero to your first AI-powered contract review in about 10 minutes. By the end, you’ll understand how Pactly Assist helps you review third-party contracts faster and more consistently.

• Install Pactly Assist in Microsoft Word
• Run a playbook review on a contract
• Understand and act on the AI’s findings
• Insert suggested language into the document

You need:

• Microsoft Word (desktop app, not the web version)
• A Pactly account — Ask your administrator if you don’t have one
• A contract to review — Any Word document will work for learning

Pactly Assist is a Word add-in. You install it once; it’s available in every Word document after that.

1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Click Insert → Get Add-ins (or My Add-ins → More Add-ins)
3. Search for Pactly
4. Click Add next to Pactly Assist

After installation, you’ll see Pactly Assist in your Home ribbon.

Already have it? Your IT team may have pre-installed Pactly Assist. Check Insert → My Add-ins → Admin Managed.

1. Open any Word document
2. Click Pactly Assist in the ribbon
3. A panel opens on the right side
4. Click Sign In
5. Enter your email and password (or use your company’s single sign-on)

Once signed in, you’ll see the Pactly Assist home screen with three main options:

• Review — Run a playbook review
• Clauses — Browse your clause library
• Chat — Ask AI questions about the contract

Open the contract you want to review. This should be a document from a counterparty (third-party paper)—something you need to check against your organization’s standards.

For this quick start, any contract will work. If you don’t have one handy, try a vendor agreement, NDA, or service contract.

A playbook review is where the AI reads your contract and compares it to your organization’s negotiation standards.

1. In the Pactly panel, click Review
2. Select a playbook from the dropdown

Which playbook? Choose one that matches your contract type. A vendor agreement playbook for vendor contracts, an NDA playbook for NDAs. If you’re unsure, ask your legal team which playbook applies.

3. Click Start Review

The AI now reads the contract and evaluates it against each position in your playbook. This takes 30–90 seconds depending on document length.

When the review completes, you see a list of positions from your playbook. Each position covers one topic (like “Limitation of Liability” or “Governing Law”) and shows a compliance status:

Focus on red and yellow. Compliant positions are fine. Non-compliant and uncertain positions need your attention.

Click any position to expand it. You’ll see:

• Guidance: Your organization’s rule for this topic (what you’re looking for)
• Contract Clause: The text the AI identified as relevant
• AI Analysis: Why the AI reached its assessment
• Fallbacks: Suggested alternative language you can propose

For each non-compliant position, decide what to do:

If your playbook includes fallback language (most do), you can insert it directly:

1. Expand the non-compliant position
2. Review the suggested fallback text
3. Click Generate to create an adapted version that matches the contract’s terminology
4. Review the adapted text
5. Click Insert to add it to your document

The fallback is inserted with track changes enabled, so the counterparty can see your proposed edit.

If you disagree with the AI’s assessment:

1. Click the status indicator (Compliant/Non-Compliant/Uncertain)
2. Select the correct status
3. Add a justification explaining your decision

Why justify? Justifications create an audit trail. Future reviewers (and auditors) will understand why you accepted something the AI flagged.

Click Chat within the position to ask questions:

• “Why is this non-compliant?”
• “What specific change would make this acceptable?”
• “What’s the risk if we accept this as-is?”

The AI has context about your playbook guidance and the contract clause.

Use the arrow keys or click through each position. Focus on:

1. Non-compliant items first—these need changes
2. Uncertain items second—these need human judgment
3. Not found items if important—the clause might exist under different wording

When you’ve addressed all issues, your contract is reviewed.

You just completed an AI-powered contract review:

• ✓ Identified clauses that don’t meet your standards
• ✓ Got specific guidance on what to change
• ✓ Inserted negotiated language with track changes
• ✓ Documented your decisions with justifications

This same process that might take hours manually now takes minutes.

Use the right playbook. A vendor agreement playbook won’t give useful results on an NDA. Match playbook to contract type.

Review before inserting. AI-generated fallbacks are adapted to the contract’s style, but always read them before inserting.

Document overrides. If you accept something the AI flagged, explain why. Your future self will thank you.

Ask questions. The AI chat is there to help. If something is unclear, ask.

• Running Playbook Reviews — Full guide with advanced features
• Using AI Chat — Get more from the AI assistant
• Using the Clause Library — Find and insert approved language
• What is a Playbook? — Understand the concepts behind reviews

Add-in won’t load? Check your internet connection, restart Word, or see Word Add-in Not Loading.

No playbooks available? Your organization may not have created playbooks yet. Contact your administrator.

Review stuck or failing? Very long contracts can take several minutes. If it fails, try again or contact support.