It turns out that South Africans asking an AI lawyer for help are far more worried about the boss than the police or the landlord. Not that those are too far behind.
Workplace problems are the leading source of questions submitted by South Africans to an artificial intelligence legal advice service, with salaries, employment contracts, dismissals and CCMA procedures prominent among the concerns.
Labourlaw accounted for 37% of queries handled by My AI Lawyer during the first six months of 2026. The service, available through WhatsApp and the web, uses AI to provide legal information at any hour and can refer complex cases to a human legal adviser.
The figures reflect use of the My AI Lawyer platform, however, and should not be read as a national survey of South Africans’ legal problems. They do, though, provide a view of the issues raised by people seeking low-cost legal guidance online.
Criminal law was the second-largest category at 15%, including questions about arrests, police procedures and assault. Financial and debt issues made up 12%, while family law and property or rental disputes each accounted for about 10%.
My AI Lawyer was developed by legal services company Legal&Tax and legal technology business Legal Interact. It operates on a subscription model and promotes itself as an option for people who cannot afford conventional legal services but do not qualify for legal aid.
“Every day, numerous South Africans type a legal question into the My AI Lawyer chatbot on WhatsApp or the web and get an answer back in seconds,” said Michael Visser, head of services at My AI Lawyer. “The sharp growth in the queries we process on our platform reflects a growing need in the South African market for solutions that make legal advice accessible to people who can’t afford a lawyer yet don’t qualify for legal aid.”
The company did not provide the total number of queries behind the percentages or comparative figures showing the rate of growth. The category breakdown nevertheless suggests that many users turn to the service when a dispute has immediate consequences for their income, home or personal safety.
Visser links the prominence of labour questions to weak economic conditions and an unstable employment market. Retrenchments, disciplinary procedures and salary freezes can leave employees trying to work out their rights while their employers have access to professional legal resources.
“The questions we see show that employers hold a lot of the power in the relationship with their employees, often because they have access to legal resources,” he said. “Even when the law is on the employee’s side, many people do not fully understand their rights in terms of job security, leave or disciplinary processes.
“Conversely, it is not unusual for an employee to feel mistreated, even when the employer’s actions are completely legal.”
The queries also reveal how one problem can lead to several different areas of law. Someone who loses a job may seek advice about restructuring debt or dealing with a landlord, followed by a family-law question if the loss of income puts pressure on a marriage.
That pattern suddenly presents a tough task for an automated legal service, which is well-geared to answering an isolated question. In such cases, users can request help from a human adviser, who can review the issue and contact the user during office hours.
“This suggests that legal problems are rarely isolated and often sit within wider financial or personal instability,” said Visser. “Because our platform is curated by real lawyers checking the answer base, we can spot these connections. If a user needs help with a complex query, they can turn to one of our human advisers to get holistic advice about their situation.”
The company has also identified changes in the mix of questions during the year. Debt and tax queries increase around tax-filing season, while criminal and family-law questions tend to follow urgent incidents.
Instant access does not remove the distinction between general legal guidance and advice based on the full facts of an individual case. As a result, disputes involving dismissal, criminal charges – or cases that need closer examination – should be handed over to a human adviser.
Visser said users often know that they have rights but remain unsure about the procedure for enforcing them, the time limits involved and the likely costs. Many of the questions submitted to the chatbot never progress to a formal case.
“But a conversation about what the law says and what the options are can make all the difference,” he said. “The right advice helps people act earlier, make better decisions and approach difficult situations with greater certainty. When people know where they stand, they can protect their interests, meet their obligations and resolve problems before they escalate.”
* For more information, visit http://www.myailawyer.co.za
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.