iManage links legal AI to Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise

iManage has launched new artificial intelligence features built on Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Legal, giving users access to iManage content from within Google's legal AI product.

The integration is aimed at legal work, but it can also be used by teams in financial services and life sciences. It links structured records, including matter, client and personnel data, with unstructured content, allowing users to ask questions in natural language and receive answers based on information held under existing access controls.

At the centre of the announcement is an effort to address a recurring problem in corporate AI projects: copied or exported content being used outside the systems where it is normally governed. According to iManage, Gemini Enterprise for Legal can retrieve current information directly from its platform rather than rely on static datasets, a model that can reduce risks around accuracy and compliance.

For customers already using Google Cloud, the integration extends Gemini Enterprise for Legal into content that often sits at the core of regulated work. That includes legal matters, client records and deal documents, which are typically subject to strict rules on confidentiality, audit trails and access permissions.

The product pairing reflects a wider push by software suppliers to anchor generative AI tools in internal knowledge systems rather than open-ended document stores. In sectors such as law and finance, the commercial appeal of AI often depends less on general text generation than on whether answers can be traced to approved, current records.

iManage, which specialises in document and knowledge management software, is widely used by law firms and corporate legal departments. Its platform is used by more than one million professionals across 4,000 organisations worldwide.

Google Cloud has been expanding Gemini-based tools for business users, including versions tailored to specific industries. Legal work has emerged as an early testing ground because it involves large volumes of documents, repetitive review tasks and a need to search across precedent and matter history.

Use cases

The new integration allows legal professionals to work with precedent, matter context and institutional knowledge without leaving their existing AI workspace. In practice, users can query deal files, e-discovery material and internal know-how while staying inside Gemini Enterprise for Legal.

That design may appeal to firms trying to avoid the operational burden of moving sensitive information into separate AI environments. By keeping retrieval tied to the same permissions already applied in iManage, organisations can maintain established controls over who can see which materials.

Demand for that model has increased as clients and regulators scrutinise how AI systems are trained, what data they access and whether outputs can be trusted. Law firms in particular have faced pressure to show that any use of generative AI does not weaken client confidentiality or create undocumented work processes.

Google Cloud framed the tie-up as a way to make AI tools more useful for legal professionals handling complex and confidential material. "Legal professionals handle vast amounts of complex information and need AI tools that respect strict confidentiality while accelerating daily tasks. Bringing iManage into Gemini Enterprise enables teams to analyse deal documents, e-discovery files, and precedent with speed and confidence," said Satish Thomas, Vice President, Google Cloud.

Partner strategy

The launch also highlights iManage's effort to position itself as a knowledge layer that can connect with multiple AI providers rather than lock customers into a single approach. That matters for large firms and regulated companies that may already have cloud and software commitments in place and want to add AI tools without moving core repositories.

David Zember, Vice President, Global Channels and Alliances, iManage, said the Google Cloud agreement is part of that broader ecosystem strategy. "This integration underscores our strategic commitment to building the industry's best ecosystem. This approach gives our clients choice in how they use AI to connect to the knowledge they already trust. Gemini Enterprise can securely draw on matter context, precedent and institutional knowledge in iManage while preserving the permissions, controls and auditability organisations already rely on," he said.

He added: "It is a practical example of how enterprise AI and governed knowledge systems can work together to deliver more useful outcomes without compromising trust."