The verdict in three sentences
In a firm, value isn't lost in production but in searching: finding the right precedent, the right clause, the right file. An internal semantic-search AI assistant — indexing your documents, RAG, source citations — costs 15,000 to 45,000 EUR in 2026 and cuts search time by 50%. Confidentiality (EU hosting, access partitioning) isn't an option: it's the condition of deployment.
What the budget covers
Scope varies with document volume and confidentiality requirements. Here are the 2026 tiers.
| Tier | Budget (EUR) | Scope | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | 15,000 – 22,000 | Indexing, search, citations | 6 – 8 wks |
| Firm + | 22,000 – 34,000 | + per-matter rights, history | 8 – 9 wks |
| Multi-site | 34,000 – 45,000 | + dedicated EU hosting, access audit | 9 – 10 wks |
Semantic search understands the meaning of queries, not just keywords: "non-compete clause in an executive contract" surfaces the right documents even without an exact textual match.
Time savings by role
Recovered time depends on the role. Here is an estimate for a 20-person firm.
| Role | Searches/day | Current time | Gain -50% | Savings/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner (95 EUR/h) | 6 | 90 min | 45 min | 1,496 EUR |
| Associate (55 EUR/h) | 12 | 150 min | 75 min | 1,443 EUR |
| Assistant (35 EUR/h) | 15 | 120 min | 60 min | 735 EUR |
| Paralegal (45 EUR/h) | 10 | 100 min | 50 min | 788 EUR |
Over 20 working days, a single partner recovers the equivalent of 15 hours/month. Firm-wide, the total far exceeds the monthly run (200 – 600 EUR).
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Mini case study
Ms. Rousseau, partner at an 18-person law firm, deploys the Firm + offer: 28,000 EUR, run 450 EUR/month. Her 4 partners and 8 associates search documents an average of 2 hours/day. A 50% cut frees 1 hour/day per person, i.e. 240 hours/month total over 20 days. Conservatively valued at a 55 EUR/hour average, that's 13,200 EUR/month of recovered capacity. Net of the run, the annual gain exceeds 150,000 EUR of reinvested billable time: the investment pays back in under 3 months.
FAQ
Are our confidential documents exposed? No: indexing stays on dedicated EU hosting, access is partitioned by matter and data isn't used to train the model. An access audit is included from the Multi-site offer.
Does the assistant cite its sources? Yes, every answer links to the exact documents with the page or paragraph. That's essential in a firm where every claim must be verifiable.
Which formats are indexed? PDF, Word, emails, scans (via OCR) and existing document bases. Older scans sometimes need cleanup, included in the framing.
How long for the initial indexing? Depending on volume, indexing 50,000 to 500,000 documents takes from a few days to two weeks, in parallel with tuning the semantic search.
Can access be limited per user? Yes, the Firm + offer manages per-matter rights: an associate only sees the matters assigned to them, a common condition for compliance and professional secrecy.
Let's scope your project. Specify your document volume, your confidentiality constraints and your budget (15,000 – 45,000 EUR): we frame the indexing and the gains by role. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
