In our previous post, CDS’ Mark Anderson examined the rapid growth of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) — not only in volume but also in the sheer scale of data organisations must process. Modern communication and collaboration platforms continue to expand the complexity of these requests, creating operational and regulatory pressures for businesses of all sizes.

This follow-up explores how Generative AI is helping organisations address these challenges. Building on our earlier discussion, we look at how AI is reducing cost, accelerating timelines, and improving accuracy across DSAR workflows, with real-world examples from recent CDS engagements.

How AI Is Lifting the Burden

In a previous blog, we touched on how Generative AI is reshaping DSAR response processes. Today, these solutions are no longer theoretical, they are delivering measurable, repeatable gains for clients every day.

The most significant improvements we’re seeing come from automating first-level document review through the combined power of Relativity aiR for Review and CDS Vision AI.

• Relativity aiR for Review can analyse up to 3 million documents per day, identifying materials relevant to DSAR criteria.
• This means that the bulk of DSAR review can be completed in minutes, not days.
• Layered with CDS Vision AI – Personal Data Detection, organisations can automatically identify and redact key personal data such as names, email addresses, job titles, and physical addresses.
• With this combined approach, first-level review can typically be completed within a single day, leaving only human quality control checks.

Real-World Impact

A large proportion of AI use cases discussed at industry events or on social media remain hypothetical. In contrast, Relativity aiR for Review paired with CDS workflows, CDS Vision AI, and Relativity’s analytics suite has been delivering tangible results for over two years.

Below are two recent examples demonstrating how organisations are achieving major efficiencies across their DSAR, litigation, arbitration, and investigation matters.

Case 1: Major Cost Reduction for a Financial Services Organisation

A financial firm approached CDS after receiving a £90,000 review and redaction quote from a law firm for a DSAR containing 30,000 documents. The law firm had already attempted to filter the data using its own tools.

CDS determined that starting again with AI-assisted workflows would dramatically reduce time and cost.

What CDS achieved:

• CDS reprocessed and filtered the dataset within 24 hours, reducing 41,700 documents to 17,209 using Relativity analytics and custom workflows.
• Relativity aiR for Review analysed those documents, identifying 4,131 documents containing personal data after iterative refinement and QC.
• These documents were sent to CDS Vision AI – Personal Data Detection, which automatically identified and redacted personal information.
• A team of paralegals conducted quality control processes and applied any additional business-confidentiality redactions.

Client outcome:

By using CDS workflows, Vision AI, Managed Document Review, Relativity Analytics, and aiR for Review, the client produced the data on time and saved more than £73,000 compared to their traditional method.

Case 2: Large DSAR with Limited Internal Resources

A manufacturer received a DSAR resulting in more than 75,000 documents. Without external support or advanced technology, meeting the regulatory deadline would have been impossible.

CDS stepped in to support the matter end-to-end.

What CDS achieved:

• Proprietary workflows and Relativity analytics reduced the dataset from 75,000 document to 11,671 documents.
• After only two small validation samples, the client was comfortable applying the review criteria, and Relativity aiR for Review processed the entire set within minutes, flagging 2,222 documents as relevant or borderline.
• From these documents, CDS Vision AI – Personal Data Detection identified 221,278 unique personal data points including: 35,120 names, 67,643 phone numbers and 25,010 addresses
• Using Relativity Redact, nearly 9 million redactions were applied to images and Excel files overnight.
• The client’s internal resource only needed to perform the final QC on the 2,222 documents.

Client outcome:

The entire process, from data receipt to final production was completed in just seven days, requiring only one internal staff member to perform validation samples and QC the final output.

Beyond Review: Additional Generative AI Applications

While aiR for Review and Vision Personal Data detection provides the most immediate impact, DSAR workflows benefit from a broad ecosystem of AI-driven enhancements. Our 2025 Relativity Innovation Award-nominated tools, CDS Vision AI Toolkit and CDS Vision AI-Empowered DSARs, expand automation and insight across several areas:

• AI OCR: Converts handwriting and difficult-to-read scans into searchable text, critical for public bodies, charities, and organisations handling unstructured historical records.
• Search Excerpts: Quickly and in bulk obtain contextual information for search term results, identifying documents which may contain false positives relating to third party data subjects.
• Audio/Video Transcription: Transforms multimedia files,  such as call recordings and meeting videos into searchable text for targeted review.

The Road Ahead

Generative AI is still in its early stages, but its impact on DSAR management is already transformational. As these technologies continue to evolve, they will offer greater speed, accuracy, and automation across even more data types.

The future of DSAR compliance lies in combining intelligent automation with expert human oversight. For organisations facing increasing pressure to respond quickly, transparently, and cost-effectively, AI is no longer a competitive advantage, it is becoming a necessity.

And as the results demonstrate, these solutions are not only transforming DSAR workflows but also driving efficiency across litigation, investigations, and broader information governance processes.