Microsoft, Anthropic, Perplexity AI and OpenAI are all moving into the legal tech market as Big Tech accelerates its push into law firm and in-house workflows

Microsoft, Anthropic, Perplexity AI, and OpenAI have all launched or expanded legal technology solutions since the start of 2026, marking a structural shift in how legal services technology is being built and delivered. Google is focusing on key partnerships and funding promising legal tech startups. The development is tracked in an ongoing Law.com analysis updated on 28 June 2026. Anthropic sent what the source describes as shockwaves through the legal tech market in early 2026 with its first direct foray into legal, and has since doubled down on its focus on the legal space and found eager partners in legal tech providers. Microsoft has also launched legal tech solutions this year, leveraging its position as a provider of productivity software already embedded in most law firm infrastructure. The entry of Big Tech players — companies with the resources to develop and distribute at scale — fundamentally changes the competitive dynamics of the legal tech market, which had previously been dominated by specialist vendors. For law firms and in-house teams, this raises questions about vendor selection, data governance, technology licensing terms, and the scope of AI tools being embedded into client-facing workflows. Austria is separately pushing the European Union to consider hosting Anthropic AI infrastructure within EU borders, after the US restricted foreign access to the company's most advanced models — a development with direct implications for EU data sovereignty and AI governance frameworks.