The American Arbitration Association Unveils Gen AI-Powered Panelist Search Tool

On Thursday, the American Arbitration Association and its international division International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) launched a gen AI-enhanced version of its panelist search function for case managers.

The latest version of the search tool, AAAi Panelist Search, was created to simplify the panelist search for case managers looking to compile tailored rosters for arbitration and mediation cases.

The AAAi Panelist Search is currently accessible to AAA-ICDR case managers. In December, parties will also get access to the tool with a link provided by their case manager.

Earlier this year AAA acquired Resourceful Internet Solutions Inc., a parent company of ODR.com, which has bolstered AAA’s technology developments and capabilities.

What is it: The AAAi Panelist Search is the improved version of the AAA’s original panelist search tool which allows case managers to find the right mediators and arbitrators for the alternative dispute resolution cases they’re working on.

AAAi Panelist Search was created with generative AI, specifically OpenAI’s models. The tool allows case managers to look up arbitrator resumes using semantic search — which understands their queries intent— as opposed to being restricted to searching resumes using keywords.

“If the parties wanted an arbitrator experienced in football stadium construction, I could search ‘stadium,’ but semantic search would find ‘stadium,’ ‘sports,’ ‘arena,’ ‘sports facilities,’ it would find related terms that are gonna relate to that expertise,” explained AAA vice president of innovation Linda Beyea.

Why it’s needed: The latest version of Panelist Search gives case managers more specialized options needed for their case and more quickly identifies the right candidates.

“It really gives the parties more control over arbitrator selection and they will get the benefit of better identifying, quickly identifying the best candidates for their case,” Beyea said. “It’s going to be faster for them to review our roster just like it’s faster for our case managers too.”

Competition: Other dispute resolution providers such as JAMS also feature gen AI-powered panel searches for their users. On Thursday, JAMS also launched JAMS Next, an initiative that will implement AI in its dispute resolution services.

Beyea noted that AAA’s arbitrator and mediator database holds information of over 5,000 panelists. AAA has recently launched other gen AI-powered tools, such as ClauseBuilder AI, which simplifies arbitration and mediation clause drafting.