The new CMO of a legal tech startup has a communication for marketers: Stop using AI to feign to be human.
Spellbook, which offers AI tools for example and analyzing lawful contracts, exclusively told CMO Insider that it had appointed Meltem Kuran-Berkowitz as its chief promotion officer.
She is taking the top promotion function complete period following a concise stint freelancing for the company. Kuran-Berkowitz earlier spent five and a fractional years as caput of growth at the payroll and workforce phase Deel, overseeing the company's growth to $1 milliard in annual recurring revenue.
Kuran-Berkowitz joins Spellbook as it, too, is leveling up. In October 2025, the business raised $50 myriad in Series B backing at a $350 myriad valuation, led by Khosla Ventures. In March, the business secured a $40 myriad debt facility, which it stated it would put toward acquiring competitor generative AI companies.
The lawful tech space is booming. Investors poured $2 milliard into startups construction for the lawful field in the archetypal fractional of this year, per the market investigation resolute Crunchbase, as AI has transformed one of Silicon Valley's sleepier corners into one of its hottest. Legal AI specialists akin Harvey and Legora are competing alongside tech giants akin OpenAI as law firms and company lawful teams competition to clasp tools that commitment to automate grunt work.
Kuran-Berkowitz stated an first measure of her achievement volition be assisting the business hit $100 myriad in income by the end of this year.
Getting there, she said, method making far additional possible customers conscious of the company. She doesn't scheme to flood them alongside AI-generated marketing, though.
"If we're going to get somebody's eyeballs, whether it's in an email or an Instagram post, we're going to be honest alongside you concerning it: it's going to be made from another human, and we're not going to discarded your time," Kuran-Berkowitz said.
There are places anywhere Kuran-Berkowitz thinks AI can be helpful in marketing, from mining revenue calls for insights to construction inner presentation decks. She draws the row whenever it starts to impersonate individual interaction.
"My inbox has blown out alongside chilly emails since now everybody can compose them. Now, everybody finds the one niche item we have in common," Kuran-Berkowitz said.
She gave the example of AI-personalized chilly emails that industry tenuous connections alongside lines like: "I was in Italy once."
She stated that benevolent of AI-generated familiarity "feels creepy."
"I awareness extremely powerfully towards those things, and I fair don't desire to do that to people," Kuran-Berkowitz said.
Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson additionally has powerful opinions on his employees' use of AI. Earlier this month, he wrote a memo encouraging staffers to compose the rough, "D+ version" of their ideas first, before leaning on AI to polish their proposals.
Spellbook's promotion plan
Kuran-Berkowitz stated she doesn't desire to prosecute lawful tech startups akin Harvey and Legora in going downward the celebrity-sponsorship promotion route. Instead, she wants "every sole touchpoint alongside the client to be meaningful," and explain what the merchandise does.
Her media scheme involves showing up in the places anywhere Spellbook's possible customers already expend their period — from closed communities to newsletters — without, as Kuran-Berkowitz puts it, "ruining the vibes."
"Where can we fit ourselves nicely without ruining the vibes? And afterward what can we create and add to the vibes?" she said.
This summer, for example, Spellbook created a $1 myriad fellowship prosperity for law students to assistance them streamline wonky lawful workflows.
Ultimately, Kuran-Berkowitz wants to develop perceptions of Spellbook beyond the redlining tool that made its name. She wants Spellbook to be the default brand group affiliate alongside managing contracts.
"The earth runs on contracts," she said. "That's fair a fact, and the contracts run on Spellbook."
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Lara O'Reilly is the anchor of the CMO Insider newsletter.She is a chief equal who has covered the digital advertising, marketing, and media industries since 2010. Her current attack includes big tech companies akin Alphabet and Meta, adtech firms, agencies, publishers, the creator economy, and CMOs.Lara has earlier worked as a newsman and administrator manufacturer at titles including The Wall Street Journal, Digiday, Yahoo Finance, and Marketing Week. She was earlier Business Insider's elder earth promotion publishing company from 2014 to 2017.Lara is a regular visitant on TV and broadcast and has appeared on outlets specified as the BBC, NPR, SiriusXM's Wharton Business Daily, and CTV Television Network. She additionally frequently speaks on phase at important events specified as Web Summit, IFA, VivaTech, Advertising Week, and Cannes Lions.To get in contact alongside Lara O'Reilly, email [email protected] or communication her on Signal at @loreilly.71
