Clio Manage review: case management with built in AI

What it does: Clio Manage is cloud case management software for law firms: matters, calendars, documents, time tracking, billing, and payments. On Core plans and up, it includes AI features that can draft bills, suggest client updates, pull dates from documents, summarize a matter, and answer questions about your matters (Clio pricing, Clio help: AI Features in Clio Manage, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Who it fits: Solo and small firms that want one main system for cases and billing, with AI built in rather than bought separately (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Price

(Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026)

• Plans start at $49 per user per month (Starter).
• Higher plans are Core, Signature, and Elite. Elite bundles Clio Manage with Clio Grow.
• AI features and conflict checking are included on Core and above.
• Clio Grow is an add on for Core and Signature (contact sales).
• A Personal Injury add on includes HIPAA compliance and a BAA (contact sales).
• Card payment fees: 2.95%, or 3.75% for American Express. eCheck and ACH: 1%.
• Support is offered 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Where your client data goes

Data Trail card

Question	What Clio says	Source
Where is data stored?	On Amazon Web Services. Firms can be hosted in Canada, the US, Europe, or Australia.	Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Where are AI requests processed?	Clio's own pages differ. The security page says AI data is "encrypted and processed in your region." The help center says AI features "may process your queries on servers located outside your home jurisdiction," and that resulting data is then stored in your region.	Clio security, Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026
Is it used to train AI?	The pricing page says your firm's data "is never used for AI training." The help center says it is "never used to train external AI models." The security page says AI tools process data in real time and do "not store or reuse it."	Clio pricing, Clio help, Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Can I turn AI off?	Admins can turn off AI for the whole firm with one setting that covers Manage and Grow. Doing so also limits document search to file names and metadata. But the same article says that if your license includes AI features, firm level AI access "stays on," and to contact Clio support for options.	Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026
AI record keeping	An AI Event Log shows AI actions from the last 90 days, with time, user, and description.	Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026
SOC 2 or other audit	SOC 2 Type II and SOC 1 Type II audits every year. Reports are available through Clio's trust center at trust.clio.com.	Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Encryption	TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, AES 256 at rest.	Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Staff access	Clio support needs your explicit permission to access your account.	Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Export and leave	You can export your data in open formats while active, or within 90 days after you cancel.	Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026
BAA	Included with the Personal Injury add on.	Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026

Integrations

Clio has its own app directory (for example, Ruby's listing, checked Oct 19, 2026). Several tools in this directory connect to it, including Ruby, Smith.ai, Abby Connect, CallRail, and Lawmatics (see each listing for sources). Our guide Connecting intake, phones and Clio explains what those connections actually send.

Setup effort and hidden costs

• AI is not on the Starter plan, so the entry price does not include it (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Grow and Grow AI cost extra unless you are on Elite (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Payment processing fees apply to every card and bank payment (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Contract traps

• You can cancel any time, but it takes effect at the end of your current monthly or annual term (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Export within 90 days after cancelling (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Questions to ask Clio

1. For my region, are AI requests processed only in-region, or can they leave? Which is correct, your security page or your help center?
2. Which outside AI providers process my AI requests?
3. My plan includes AI. Can I still turn it off for the whole firm, and how?
4. Can I read your current SOC 2 Type II report through trust.clio.com before signing?

Strengths

• Published annual SOC 2 Type II and SOC 1 Type II audits (Clio security, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Clear no training statements and a 90 day AI Event Log (Clio pricing, Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Choice of hosting region and a defined 90 day export window (Clio security, Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Limits

• Mixed messages on where AI requests are processed (Clio security, Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Turning AI off may not be possible on licenses that include AI without contacting support (Clio help, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Support is 24/5, not 24/7 (Clio pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Our take

This is our opinion, based on the sourced facts above. Clio publishes more security detail than most tools on this list, and its no training promise is clear. The two things we would get answered in writing are where your AI requests are processed, since Clio's own pages disagree, and whether you can switch AI off if your plan bundles it. For firms with strict data location rules, those answers matter.

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Last checked: Oct 19, 2026. Published by the team behind The Small Firm Stack, who also build phone and intake systems for law firms. See our About page for the full disclosure. We never list, rank, or review ourselves. No vendor paid for this page and it has no affiliate links. Not legal advice. Vendors can send corrections through our About page.