How Viant's Legal Team Uses AI to Work Smarter and Lead Strategically

How Viant's Legal Team Uses AI to Work Smarter and Lead Strategically

Viant Technology operates in one of the fastest-moving industries in advertising. Its six-person legal team supports the business across commercial, corporate, HR, and privacy matters. For Chief Legal Officer Ritesh Patel, GC AI has become a core part of how the team researches, analyzes, and communicates legal guidance with speed and confidence. Ritesh and his six-person legal team rely on GC AI across both commercial and corporate legal work.

Customer Snapshot

• Company: Viant Technology
• Industry: Advertising Technology (AdTech)
• Legal function: Six-person in-house legal team supporting commercial, HR, and corporate legal work
• Use case: Legal research, issue spotting, contract drafting
• Result: Faster analysis, reduced outside counsel reliance, improved internal efficiency and accuracy
• Functionality: Easy Prompt, Word integration, company context, citations

The Challenge: Managing Complexity at Scale

As Viant's business and regulatory environment grew more complex, Ritesh wanted a way for his legal team to handle more internally without slowing down. Simple questions often required outside counsel or time-consuming research, taking focus away from strategic work.

“I use it for research and issue spotting. If there's an HR or privacy question, I'll run it through GC AI first. Before, I'd call outside counsel and pay by the hour for a generic answer. Now, I can analyze it myself, see where it gets me, and call outside counsel if I'm truly out of depth.”

The Solution: A Smarter First Step

GC AI now serves as the legal team's first line of analysis. Ritesh and his team use it for legal research, issue spotting, and regulatory interpretation across commercial and corporate work. It helps them quickly distinguish between what can be handled internally and what needs escalation.

“The biggest change is how we work. It enables us to take that first step of internal analysis. If it's straightforward, we're done. If it's complex, we take it to an expert — but we have a foundational understanding of the issue.”

He says GC AI has also replaced what used to be general online searching.

“It's also replaced Googling. Now my first stop is GC AI. I describe the setup, get an answer with citations, and use that to brief my team or our business partners.”

The Outcome: Efficiency, Confidence, and Strategic Focus

For Ritesh, GC AI has become an essential tool that blends speed with reliability. His team saves time on each review while improving accuracy and confidence.

“If a contract review takes 45 minutes less, that's real time back in my day. I can get to emails and Slacks more frequently or read legal alerts I get and not always feel like I'm behind the 8-ball.”

Features like Easy Prompt, Word integration, and company context make the platform fit naturally into their workflow, while citations build trust across the team.

“Having sources and links right there builds trust. You can check the law yourself, and that trust drives adoption across the team.”

Ritesh says that time saved compounds, creating more room for strategic thinking and leadership.

“It's opened up space for the things that make me a better GC, like understanding our industry, thinking ahead, being more strategic.”