OpenAI's Astra for Law targets legal work with GPT-6 Astra boost

OpenAI is extending its GPT-6 Astra model into the legal sector with Astra for Law, which combines the model with a specialized legal search index. The index covers US case law, statutes, and regulations across more than 230 million URLs, drawing on data from the Free Law Project, which says it covers over 99.9 percent of published US precedents. OpenAI ran its own test using Vals AI's Legal Research Bench, where Astra for Law passed 54 percent of the 200 questions, compared to 38.7 percent for GPT-6 Astra with plain web search.

OpenAI is not alone in targeting legal work; Anthropic is also expanding its presence in that market. For law firms, the Trusted Access program offers privacy controls like zero data retention, addressing a key concern for confidential legal work. API customers like Harvey and Legora can build on Astra for Law, and OpenAI is launching 26 plugins for tools such as Relativity and Clio. The outcome may hinge on how legal professionals weigh these privacy features and integrations against alternatives.