As the crowded naming landscape shows no sign of abating, trademark protection continues to become more data-driven, naturally lending itself to AI-driven assistance. In-house legal teams and law firms are tentatively exploring the scope for AI to help streamline their workflows, while maintaining the high accuracy and trust the industry demands.
Over half of trademark professionals are embracing AI and the latest automation technology to help protect their brands, reveal findings from the Corsearch State of Trademarks Report 2026.
A hybrid approach takes hold
Exploring current attitudes amongst trademark professionals and evolving trends in the
adoption of innovative AI technology across the industry, the independent research asked 231 leading trademark practitioners globally how AI is being utilized in their daily work. Some interesting trends were uncovered.
The majority of practitioners would like to embrace a hybrid approach to AI use. 78% believe a balanced mix of AI automation with human oversight is the ideal model. Used this way, AI can very effectively streamline trademark workflows, reduce risk and crucially, increase the time professionals have available for decision-making. 59% are already actively implementing this approach, with adoption continuing to grow.
Over half of practitioners are now actively investigating AI’s potential through exploration and experimentation, a jump of 10% on last year. This indicates an industry becoming more ready to evolve and adapt. Meanwhile, the proportion not using AI at all has fallen, from 27% in 2025 to 23% today, as more legal teams look to harness its potential.
AI in daily practice is making a difference
As AI technology advances, it is becoming increasingly popular with both bad actors and those using it as a force for good. Although it is streamlining legal processes, it also enables faster creation of infringing content. With the crowded naming landscape remaining the biggest trend across the sector, legal teams are deploying AI in targeted and effective ways.
AI is used for search and clearance by 28% of professionals, speeding up what has
traditionally been a highly laborious process. Other popular uses include drafting correspondence (18%) and workflow support (17%). Looking ahead, the greatest appetite for new AI adoption lies in monitoring and enforcement, with 37% of respondents saying they plan to adopt AI-driven monitoring and enforcement tools in the next 12 months. This is the most significant area of intended growth in the survey.
Investment grows as efficiency gains become clear
As the sheer volume of work increases for trademark practitioners, AI is increasingly being recognized as the answer to doing more with same resources. 52% of practitioners mentioned budget constraints as a key challenge, second only to managing enforcement complexities across jurisdictions (57%). This is encouraging legal teams to turn to AI for improving efficiencies.
Monitoring resources are also becoming increasingly stretched. In 2025, only 23% of practitioners cited this as a concern, compared with nearly a third (32%) today. This rise is driving greater interest in AI-assisted monitoring and enforcement, marking the most significant shift in AI use from trademark clearance and search to enforcement and dispute management. Almost two-thirds (64%) of practitioners now say they spend the majority of their resources on this area, overtaking clearance and search as the primary focus for the first time.
Momentum behind investment
With competing pressures of tight budgets and a crowded naming landscape trademark practitioners are looking to trademark technology to help ease the burden. 15% say they plan to increase their investment in trademark tools or services over the coming 12 months. Notably, this is a jump of 10% on 2025, indicating a growing realization that investment in AI can help maximize stretched resources.
The direction of travel is clear. Those with no plans to boost investment have fallen from 42% in 2025 to 33% today. Law firms are moving particularly quickly. The proportion of those who are familiar with AI has jumped from 38% to 58% in a single year and 18% plan to increase investment in the next 12 months. In-house teams are following suit, with planned investment more than doubling year-on-year from 5% to 11%.
The future of trademark AI is collaboration
As bad actors accelerate the use of AI, threatening brands across the globe, there’s a growing need for trademark practitioners to use AI to combat AI-driven threats. The fact that greater numbers of practitioners are already integrating AI into their workflows is encouraging.
The message is clear. Success will depend on integrating AI into existing workflows to support, not replace, human oversight and that is the model the industry is transitioning on to. As more trademark professionals invest in AI and experience the results firsthand, trust will continue to grow, helping to futureproof trademark management.
