Writing Descriptions for Smart Data Capture

What are Metadata Descriptions?

SpotDraft AI uses the latest Generative AI technology to extract all kinds of information from your contracts. This process doesn't require any conventional training. Instead, SpotDraft AI relies on metadata descriptions to understand what you're trying to accomplish with Smart Data Capture. Metadata descriptions tell SpotDraft AI what to look for and how to interpret the relevant data. 

How to Add or Edit Metadata Descriptions

  1. Go to the "Contract Metadata" Section: Hover over "Manage" in the left sidebar and click "Contract Metadata."

  1. Select the Contract Type: Choose the relevant contract type (e.g., Employment Agreement, Master Service Agreement).

  1. Choose the Metadata Field: Select the specific metadata field you want to edit (e.g., Term Length, Termination Date, Governing Law). Hover over the metadata field and click the three dots on the right. Click on "Edit Field."

  1. Write Your Description: Use the guidelines below to craft a clear and accurate description.

  1. Save: Click "Save" to update the description.

Guidelines for Writing Descriptions

Metadata descriptions are crucial for guiding SpotDraft AI to extract the right information from your contracts. They tell SpotDraft AI what to look for and how to interpret the relevant data.

Here are some tips for writing effective metadata descriptions:

  • Be Descriptive: Avoid short descriptions that may not fully capture the essence of the metadata field.
    • ✅ Do: "Jurisdiction: The location of the courts where any disputes arising out of this contract will be heard."
    • 🚫 Don't: "Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the contract."
  • Be Specific and Accurate: Ensure your descriptions accurately describe the data you want to extract. If the description sounds ambiguous or doesn't make sense to a human, there's a good chance SpotDraft AI will struggle to provide accurate results.
    • ✅ Do: "Payment Term: The time period after an invoice is generated within which a payment needs to be made."
    • 🚫 Don't: "Payment Term: The time period to complete a payment."
  • Use Contract-Specific Language: If your contracts use unique terms, definitions, abbreviations, or acronyms, include and explain them in your description. This will help SpotDraft AI understand the contract language.
    • ✅ Do: "SDC Credits: This is the amount of Smart Data Capture credits included in the order form. Smart Data Capture is an add-on that might be present optionally in the list of services."
    • 🚫 Don't: "SDC Credits: This is the amount of credits included in the order form."
  • Identify Relevant Parties: If your contracts use specific identifiers for parties (e.g., "Supplier," "Vendor," "Customer"), include those identifiers in the description. This will help SpotDraft AI correctly identify the relevant party.
    • ✅ Do: "Liability Cap: The maximum amount up to which the vendor is liable to compensate the customer for any damages or losses."
    • 🚫 Don't: "Liability Cap: The maximum amount the parties are liable to compensate for any damages or losses."
  • Provide Formatting Instructions: If you're using a short answer or paragraph field, specify the desired format in the description and provide examples. This can improve the quality of the output.
    • ✅ Do: “Customer POC Details: This is the name and email address of the customer point of contact as mentioned in the order form. Output the answer like ‘Name (email address)’. For example: John (john@website.com)”
    • 🚫 Don’t: “Customer POC Details: This is the name and email address of the customer point of contact as mentioned in the order form.”

Using "Ask SpotDraft AI"

The "Ask SpotDraft AI" button can be a helpful starting point for creating your descriptions. It automatically generates a description based on the contract type, metadata type, and label. However:

  • AI-generated descriptions are more generic and may not work well for unique or complex metadata fields.
  • Sometimes, AI-generated descriptions miss the point or phrase the question differently than intended.

It's always better to use a manual description whenever possible.

 

Using Structured Data

Whenever possible, use structured data types (like dates, durations, and categorical data). These fields are easier to search and filter, providing more consistent answers across contracts. Structured fields also tend to perform better than free-form data (e.g., short text or paragraphs).

Here are suggestions along with examples of when structured data can be used to organize your metadata:

Metadata Suggested field type Sample description Notes
Exclusions to limitation of liability Multi-dropdown, with options like "Breach of Confidentiality Obligations," "Breach of Applicable Law," etc. The specific cases, or types of breach under which liability is not capped for the supplier. For multi-dropdown fields, you don’t have to mention the list of available dropdown options in the description. The AI is given those as input from the list associated with this field.
Assignment conditions Dropdown, with options like “Cannot assign to a third party at all”, “Consent-based for all circumstances”, “Consent is not required in the event of a merger” The conditions under which responsibilities and duties related to the supplier can be transferred or assigned as per the agreement. This captures whether assignment is possible and if consent is required, and in what cases. For dropdown fields, you don’t have to mention the list of available dropdown options in the description. The AI is given those as input from the list associated with this field.
Perpetual Term? Checkbox (Yes or No) Whether the contract has a perpetual/evergreen term. if the contract does not expire, it is perpetual, and the answer is “Yes”. Clearly define when the answer should be “Yes” or “No”. If malphrased, the AI may misrepresent positive answers as “No”, and vice-versa.
Quote Expiration Date Date The date on which the offered quote expires. This is distinct from the expiration date of the service agreement. -
First Year Subscription Fee Currency The total amount of fees paid towards the services purchased. This is the amount to be paid for the first year, after applying all applicable discounts. This is usually in USD, but INR, and GBP can also be used. -

 

Using the AI Explanation to Your Advantage

To help you understand how SpotDraft AI makes its decisions, there's an additional output with every metadata extraction that explains the AI's reasoning. This adds a layer of transparency and makes the AI generated results more explainable, so that you can trust them better.

You can find this explanation in the tooltip by hovering over the extracted value.

You can use this explanation to your advantage to get more context around certain fields:

  • Include clause numbers: To see the specific clause where a certain value was found, add something like "Output the relevant clause number in the explanation" at the end of your description.
  • Output calculation logic: For calculated values, like expiration dates, add "In the explanation, output the calculation logic being used."
  • Explain why a certain answer was picked, especially in the case of checkboxes or dropdowns.
  • Summarize contract language
Note: Generative AI is experimental and can make mistakes. Smart Data Capture is built to help you significantly reduce the time it takes to extract information from contracts, but any information should be reviewed manually to ensure correctness.

 



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