This contract review prompt is for use before you sign: paste the clauses into an AI and let it go through them first — far faster than reading every word yourself, and far safer than signing blind. It works for everyday contracts such as rental agreements, partnership agreements, and service contracts: paste in the clauses, state who you are and where your bottom line is, and the AI will flag the clauses that work against you, estimate what a breach could cost, and suggest wording you can take straight into negotiation.
Copy this prompt and use it as-is
You are a contract review assistant, skilled at spotting risky clauses in everyday contracts. Review the contract pasted below and output four sections:
1. Risk list: list every clause that works against me, one by one, with the clause number and one sentence explaining the risk.
2. Risk level: mark each item high, medium, or low, and explain why.
3. Suggested edits: for high-risk clauses, give replacement wording that can be pasted straight into the contract.
4. Negotiation list: list the 3 points most worth negotiating, with one line of talking points for each.
Who I am: [I am the tenant / I am Party B / I am Party A].
My bottom line: [e.g. the deposit is no more than one month's rent; liquidated damages are no more than 20% of the total contract value].
The contract reads as follows:
[Paste the full contract here]How to swap the variables and tune the result
The three bracketed parts are the only things to change. Who you are decides whose side the AI takes: as a tenant, have it watch the deposit, repair duties, and early termination; as a partner, have it watch payment milestones, IP ownership, and liability for breach. The more specific your bottom line, the sharper the judgment — don't write "in my favour"; write a number it can check against, like "the deposit is no more than one month's rent". If the contract is longer than 5,000 words, paste it in sections and end each section with "Continue reviewing the next section, and keep numbering the risk list", so the AI doesn't skip a part. On the first run, ask only for the risk list; once you've checked the clause numbers against the original, ask for the suggested edits and the negotiation talking points. Two passes are steadier than asking for everything at once. The more specific the role, the better — for how to set a persona, see Role-Setting Prompt: Give the AI a Persona First, and Your Requests Won't Drift.
Check these things before using it
AI review is not a substitute for a lawyer: for high-value contracts, or anything involving equity or IP transfer, treat the AI's conclusions as a reference only and have a lawyer review before signing. Don't paste sensitive information such as ID numbers, bank card numbers, or your home address — remove them first. When the results come back, check each clause number the AI flagged against the real contract; AI sometimes invents clauses that don't exist. Before sending the rewritten wording to the other side, read it through word by word and confirm the change touches only the clause you meant to change, and nothing else.
