The American Arbitration Association (AAA) said in a press release on Monday 9 November that its AI Arbitrator service is no longer limited to construction disputes. The service launched for construction disputes on 3 November 2025.

The service can now be used in all disputes between two businesses that are decided on documents alone, the release said. However, the news site Unite.AI reported that it does not cover cases involving complex questions of fact. Unite.AI says its article was written by AI and checked by its editors. An article on the Business Bearings site summarises the Unite.AI piece.

AI drafts, arbitrator decides

The AAA said the AI evaluates the merits of claims, gives reasons for its recommendations and prepares a draft award. A specially trained AAA arbitrator reviews the analysis, amends it as needed and issues the final award at the arbitrator’s own discretion.

Unite.AI describes the process in more detail, citing AAA material. The parties submit their positions, evidence and legal authorities. The AI summarises them, and each party can correct the summary of its own submissions. The parties do not see the AI’s analysis of the key issues or the draft award. The AAA said the tool does not make decisions on its own: the arbitrator is responsible for correcting any shortcomings and for the outcome.

Both parties must consent. Otherwise the case proceeds under the AAA’s standard arbitration process.

The AI was trained for commercial disputes on cases from more than 20 industries, including healthcare, financial services, energy and technology, the release said. Unite.AI reported that, according to the AAA, case data and AI outputs are not used to train the model, and OpenAI’s foundation models do not absorb case material.

Price and timetable

Unite.AI reported that under the amended AI-Led Arbitration Rules, effective 18 February 2026, the cost is $2,500 per claim and the same amount separately for a counterclaim. The price covers AAA administration and the arbitrator’s compensation. The parties can also agree at the outset that the award is advisory only and not binding on them.

The final award is due within five business days after the deadline for party feedback. The five-business-day limit applies only to this final stage, not to the handling of the whole dispute.

Unite.AI reported that the AAA’s FAQ page cites early results of 20–25 per cent faster resolution and cost savings of at least 35 per cent. The figures apply only to documents-only construction disputes, so they say nothing about how the new commercial cases will go. Nor does the Unite.AI article say what process the figures are compared against.