An ex-operator has just agreed to advise your startup two hours a month in exchange for a small equity stake, and you want something signed before the first call rather than after the third. You draft an advisory agreement with AI using a clause-assembly drafter, answering a short set of questions about the role, the term and whether the adviser is paid in equity, a fee, or both. The drafter builds the equity vesting or fee wording either way, in minutes, and a review still matters once real equity is involved.
> Quick answer: Draft an advisory agreement with AI by using a clause-assembly drafter that asks whether the adviser is paid in equity or a fee, then assembles the matching wording from a vetted library rather than generating it fresh. It handles both routes, including a vesting schedule for equity, and produces a complete draft in minutes. A general chatbot can draft something similar, but it invents the equity mechanics, which is the part most worth getting right.
Equity or fee: the decision that shapes the whole document
Before you draft anything, decide how the adviser is paid, because the two routes produce genuinely different documents, not just different numbers in the same template.
| Payment route | What the agreement needs | Common structure |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | A vesting schedule, a strike or grant mechanism, and clarity on what happens if the adviser stops advising early | Options vesting monthly over the advisory term, often one to two years |
| Fee | Payment amount, frequency and method, and what triggers non-payment | A fixed monthly or quarterly retainer, sometimes with an hours cap |
| Both | Both sets of clauses above, plus a rule for how the two interact | A smaller equity stake alongside a modest retainer |
Getting this wrong at the drafting stage is expensive later. An equity grant with no vesting schedule means an adviser who does one call and then disappears keeps their full stake. A fee arrangement with no defined trigger for non-payment leaves both sides guessing whether a missed invoice ends the engagement. Our advisory agreement template guide covers what belongs in each version in more depth.
What a chatbot does differently from a drafter
Ask a general-purpose AI chatbot to write an advisory agreement and it will produce something that reads competently. The problem is how it gets there. It predicts the next likely word based on patterns across huge amounts of text, so the vesting clause it writes for you is not one that has been checked by anyone. It exists only because it seemed statistically plausible in the moment. It can also blur the advisory relationship into something that reads closer to employment, a mistake with real tax and status consequences.
A clause-assembly drafter starts from the opposite direction. It holds a library of clauses that a person has already reviewed, and its job is to select the right ones for your answers, not to compose new wording. AI Legal Drafting in 99 Data Rooms works this way across every template in the library, including the Advisory Agreement. It never invents legal wording. It assembles a draft from vetted clauses, and it states plainly, every time, that the advisory relationship is not employment. For the deeper argument on why that distinction is worth caring about, see assembled clauses versus invented ones.
Walking the equity route and the fee route inside the drafter
Open the Advisory Agreement template in the People and Founders group of the template library and describe your situation in plain language. For an equity-based engagement, something like "adviser, 0.25% vesting over two years, no fee." For a fee-based one, "adviser, £750 a month, two hours available, no equity." The assistant asks the questions that follow from whichever route you describe: the adviser's role and time commitment, the term, and either the vesting schedule or the payment terms.
It assembles a complete draft in a couple of minutes either way, including the IP assignment and the explicit no-employment statement by default. Read the consideration clause carefully before anything goes further. Whichever route you chose, treat the draft as a strong starting point, and have a genuine equity grant checked before the adviser signs, since a mistake there is harder to unwind than a fee dispute.
From a signed off draft to a document both sides trust
Once the draft is right, share it with the adviser as a tracked, revocable link rather than an attachment sitting in an inbox. Gate it behind a verified email and a one-time code, so you know it was your adviser, not a forwarded copy, who opened it. Page-by-page analytics show whether they actually read the equity or fee clause and how long they spent there, useful before someone signs an agreement that shapes your cap table.
When both sides are happy, send it for signature in the browser. The adviser signs without an account, you can nudge them if they go quiet, and the finished PDF returns with an audit certificate recording who signed, their IP address, intent to sign, timestamps and a SHA-256 fingerprint, evidence that backs up an equity grant rather than leaving it to memory. Electronic signatures are admissible for most commercial documents in England and Wales, with exceptions that include deeds and land transfers. This is general information, not legal advice. From there, the signed agreement and its vesting start date sit in the same place as the rest of your paperwork, which is exactly what our guide on keeping track of all your contracts in one place is built to solve once you have more than one adviser on the books.
What to check before an equity grant goes out
Whichever route you took, check five things before you send the final draft: the adviser's name and role are stated in plain, specific terms rather than vaguely, the term and any renewal option are correct, the equity percentage or the fee amount matches what was actually agreed on the call, the vesting schedule or payment trigger is spelled out rather than assumed, and the no-employment statement is present and unambiguous. An advisory agreement that gets these five right rarely causes a problem later.
Frequently asked questions
Can the drafter handle an adviser paid in both equity and a fee?
Yes. Describe the mixed arrangement in your brief, for example a small equity stake alongside a modest monthly retainer, and the assistant assembles both sets of clauses and the rule for how they interact, rather than forcing you to choose one structure.
Is it safe to let a chatbot draft the vesting schedule?
Treat that as a real risk rather than a convenience. A chatbot invents the vesting mechanics with no fixed source to check against, and a vesting error is the kind of thing that surfaces only when the adviser leaves early and the numbers do not match what was agreed. A vetted clause library removes that specific risk.
Does the agreement make clear the adviser is not an employee?
Yes. The assembled draft states plainly that the relationship is advisory, not employment, and does not create a partnership or agency, which matters for tax and status reasons. If your situation is genuinely borderline, that is worth a professional check rather than assuming the template covers it.
How fast can I get this drafted before a first call with an adviser?
A few minutes, once you know whether the adviser is paid in equity, a fee, or both. The assistant assembles a complete draft from your answers, and you can gate, share and sign it the same day, well before most solicitor turnaround times.
Is the drafted agreement enough on its own for a large equity grant?
Treat it as a strong starting point rather than the final word. A modest advisory stake is often fine to send as drafted, but a larger or unusual equity grant is worth a quick review, since the numbers in this document affect your cap table directly.
Draft your advisory agreement for free
Assemble an advisory agreement, on equity or on a fee, from vetted clauses, then gate, track and sign it without switching tools. The free tier is a genuine tier: three rooms and twenty-five active links, forever, no card. Start for free and have a reviewable draft ready before your adviser's first call. If you are appointing a board-level adviser instead, see drafting a non-executive director agreement with AI, and if the two of you are still setting the founding equity split, drafting a founders' agreement with AI covers that separate document.
Sources
- Copyright first ownership (the IP point an advisory agreement addresses by assigning rights to the company): Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s.11, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/11
- Electronic signatures, validity and witnessing of deeds in England and Wales: Law Commission, Electronic execution of documents (2019), https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/electronic-execution-of-documents/ ; HM Land Registry Practice Guide 82, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electronic-signatures-accepted-by-hm-land-registry-pg82