How Should a Private Credit Firm Choose AI Software?
Dr. Leigh Coney
Founder, WorkWise Solutions
November 5, 2026
7 min read
TLDR: A private credit firm should choose AI software by testing each vendor on its own credit agreements and borrower reports before signing, after checking whether Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan already does the job. Buy specialist software when you need a system of record, the official copy of the numbers: covenant tests across the whole book, borrower data that feeds loan administration, or an audit trail behind every extracted figure. Score every vendor on the same seven criteria. WorkWise Solutions runs these evaluations on the Plus tier of its AI Operating Partner retainer, from $15,000 a month.
On the Plus tier of my AI Operating Partner retainer at WorkWise Solutions, $15,000 a month for firms of up to 25 people, you get vendor evaluations on demand. I build the test set from your own credit agreements, sit in the vendor demos and score them with you, and no vendor pays me: I sell no licenses and take no referral fees. The rest of the work for direct lenders and BDCs is on the AI Consulting for Private Credit Funds page.
Table of Contents
1. The Short Answer
A private credit firm should choose AI software by testing each vendor on its own credit agreements and borrower reports before signing, after checking whether Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan already does the job. Buy specialist software when the work needs a system of record, the official copy of the numbers: covenant tracking across the whole book, borrower data that feeds loan administration, or an audit trail behind every extracted number.
Claude and ChatGPT are AI assistants that read and draft from documents you give them. A business plan is the paid company subscription, such as Claude Team or ChatGPT Business.
A demo runs on documents the vendor picked. Your agreements were negotiated deal by deal, and the PwC Global Private Credit Survey 2026 notes that "contracts are bespoke."
2. Do You Need Software at All?
Start with the cheaper test: three redacted credit agreements in Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan, with an analyst checking each answer against its page. Anthropic and OpenAI both say they do not train their models on business-plan data by default.
For a few deals a quarter, that is often enough. Software earns its fee when the job outgrows one analyst and one chat. Vendors below are listed in no order, quoted from their own sites; none publishes a price.
- Credit agreement review. Litera Kira is "Purpose-built for high-volume, high-stakes review and due diligence"; Luminance, Legora and Harvey also sell AI contract review for lawyers. Worth it when many agreements are reviewed at once. See AI underwriting software.
- Spreading and borrower reporting intake. Oxane Partners lists "Financial Extraction & Spreading with AI"; Lumonic calls itself "The self-monitoring portfolio for credit and equity funds." See AI tools for borrower monitoring.
- Covenant tracking and testing. Allvue: "Track portfolio KPIs, covenant status, and borrower-level detail"; 73 Strings offers "Covenant monitoring and credit valuations that hold up to scrutiny." Worth it when tests must run across the whole book with history and alerts. Claude can recheck a compliance certificate but keeps no test history. See covenant compliance software.
- Portfolio and borrower monitoring. S&P Global: "iLEVEL is your private markets software for portfolio monitoring." Allvue, Oxane Partners and Chronograph sell monitoring too. Worth it when many people and the auditors rely on one record. See portfolio monitoring software and, for BDCs, BDC portfolio monitoring software.
- Credit memo drafting. Moody's says its AI-powered credit memos are "ready for expert review and refinement"; S&P Global sells a Credit Memo Builder. A house memo usually works in Claude or ChatGPT with your template. See AI credit memo software.
- Loan administration. The official loan records sit with an administrator or in a system such as S&P Global's WSO, SS&C, Versana or Hypercore ("the loan management platform for private credit"). AI reads the exports, or the system itself through a read-only link.
- Data rooms. Datasite, SS&C Intralinks, Ideals and Ansarada hold deal documents through closing. See AI loan origination software.
If the assistant passes your test at your volume, wait on software and start with the first three workflows for a lean credit team.
3. The Scorecard
Score every vendor on these seven rows with the same test set.
| Criterion | How to test it | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy on your own credit agreements | Run five redacted agreements and a quarter of borrower reports through every tool, against your analysts' answer key. | Demos only on the vendor's own files |
| Custom covenant definitions and EBITDA add-backs | Have the tool test covenants on two deals with unusual terms, such as capped add-backs, exactly as written. | One EBITDA definition for every borrower |
| Integration with your loan and fund administration systems | Follow one loan from your administration system to a report, and count the manual steps. | A spreadsheet upload each quarter |
| Security and data use | Ask in writing whether your documents train any model, how long they are kept and who sees them. | Answers kept out of the contract |
| Pricing model | Get a written first-year total: licenses, setup, data feeds, support and your team's hours. | A seat price that leaves out setup and data fees |
| Implementation and support | Get the setup team's names and timeline, and call two lenders your size. | No reference at a lender your size |
| Data ownership and exit | Ask who owns your documents, loan records and extracted data, and how you get them back. | Exit terms left for renewal |
Accuracy leads because doubt about it is common: in Allvue's 2026 GP Outlook Survey of 102 senior leaders at private markets firms, 59% cited accuracy or reliability concerns.
On pricing, Hypercore, a loan administration vendor, warns that "The true cost of a loan administrator is its fee plus the internal work your team still carries."
4. Questions to Ask Every Vendor
Each heading is a real 2026 search question, lightly edited; below it, the question to send every vendor in writing.
How should a private credit firm evaluate AI software for credit agreement analysis?
Ask: how many terms in our test agreements needed a correction, and which clauses does your tool get wrong most often?
How do private credit firms evaluate covenant AI extraction software options?
Ask: for each covenant your tool pulled out, which page and clause did it come from, and which did it miss?
What should credit funds ask covenant tracking vendors about custom, deal-specific definitions?
In Proskauer's 2026 survey (January 14, 2026), "46% of U.S. lenders say they will not do deals without covenants, up from 35% last year." Ask: where do you store a definition that differs from our standard, such as a capped add-back, and how does the test change when we edit it?
How do lenders choose AI software for automated covenant tracking?
Ask: which tests run without a person, which need an analyst's sign-off, and where is every past result kept?
How do private credit firms compare real-time covenant AI monitoring software?
Ask: when a borrower's package arrives, how soon does the test update, and who checks it first?
What kinds of platforms help private credit teams detect borrower financial deterioration before covenants breach?
Monitoring platforms track borrower financials; covenant trackers track headroom, the cushion before a breach. Ask: take one of our past borrowers whose numbers slipped; which signal would your tool have raised, and how many weeks before the breach?
How do private credit firms compare AI debt monitoring software?
Ask: which of our systems do you read, how often, and what do we keep if we leave?
5. A Four-Week Selection
One owner runs it, usually the COO or head of portfolio management; the analysts who will use the tool score it.
- Week 1, the test set: five redacted agreements with your oddest definitions, a quarter of borrower packages, and an answer key your analysts trust.
- Week 2, demos on your files: every vendor runs the same set, scored against the answer key.
- Week 3, references and security: two calls per finalist, while your compliance lead reads the security answers.
- Week 4, pilot and exit terms: a paid pilot with a written success measure, and exit terms signed first.
Without the answer key, you are admiring a demo instead of measuring it.
6. Who Can Help You Choose
- The vendor's own team knows the product best and is also selling it.
- Your fund administrator knows how your loan data moves. Ask whether it partners with any vendor on your list.
- Peers at other lenders know what broke after signing. Ask each finalist for two and call them yourself.
- An independent advisor who takes no vendor or referral fees can build the test set and score the demos with you (for example WorkWise Solutions, which publishes this guide).
If nobody inside owns AI yet, read Does a Private Credit Fund Need a Head of AI?
7. Where to Start
- Write down the job: which documents, how many deals a quarter, who checks the output.
- Try Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan with three redacted agreements.
- If the job needs a system of record, send the seven questions to two or three vendors.
- Score them on the table, call references and sign a paid pilot with exit terms agreed.
WorkWise Solutions, which publishes this guide, runs vendor evaluations for credit funds on the Plus tier of its AI Operating Partner retainer, $15,000 a month for firms of up to 25 people; its published scope lists "connector and vendor evaluations on demand." Core costs $10,000 a month; every tier has a three-month minimum. A fixed first step is the AI Readiness Sprint, $12,500 for firms of up to 20 people.
WorkWise sells no licenses, takes no vendor or referral fees and publishes every price. Not a fit if you have already signed with a vendor and need only its implementation team.
"If a task is document grounded and verifiable, AI is usually ready now."
PwC, Global Private Credit Survey 2026, more than 120 credit portfolio managers surveyed January to March 2026 (May 26, 2026)
- •A private credit firm should test every AI vendor on its own credit agreements and borrower reports before signing, against an answer key its analysts already trust, because a demo shows only documents the vendor picked.
- •Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan can handle a few credit agreements a quarter, read one at a time with an analyst checking each term against its page, so test the general assistant before buying specialist software.
- •Specialist credit software earns its fee when the work needs a system of record: covenant tests across the whole book with history and alerts, borrower data that feeds loan administration, or an audit trail behind every extracted number.
- •A fair scorecard for private credit AI software covers seven criteria: accuracy on your own agreements, custom covenant definitions and EBITDA add-backs, integration with loan and fund administration systems, security and data use, pricing, implementation and support, and data ownership at exit.
- •In Proskauer's 2026 private credit survey, 46% of U.S. lenders said they will not do deals without covenants, up from 35% a year earlier, so exact handling of each deal's own covenant definitions is a first test for any vendor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a private credit firm look for in AI software?
A private credit firm should look for accuracy on its own credit agreements and borrower reports, exact handling of each deal's covenant definitions and EBITDA add-backs, a working link to its loan and fund administration systems, and written answers on data use, total cost, support and exit. Test every vendor on the same redacted documents, against an answer key your analysts trust, and check each extracted number against its page. First check whether Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan already does the job at your volume.
Can Claude or ChatGPT replace covenant tracking software?
Claude or ChatGPT can cover part of the job for a small book. On a business plan, either can read a few credit agreements a quarter one at a time, with an analyst checking each term against its page. Claude can also list every covenant with its definition and recheck a borrower's compliance certificate, but it keeps no history of past tests. Covenant tracking software earns its fee when tests must run across the whole book, every period, with history, alerts and one record your team and auditors rely on.
Who can help a private credit fund choose AI software?
A private credit fund can get help from four places: the vendor's own team, which knows its product and is selling it; the fund administrator, which knows how the loan data moves; peers at other lenders, who know what broke after signing; and an independent advisor who takes no vendor or referral fees. WorkWise Solutions, which publishes this guide, is one such advisor: on the Plus tier of its AI Operating Partner retainer, $15,000 a month for firms of up to 25 people, it builds the test set from the fund's own credit agreements and scores the demos.
Related Guides & Articles
AI Consulting for Private Credit Funds
A boutique AI advisor for direct lenders and BDCs: the AI Operating Partner retainer from $10,000 a month, or a $12,500 AI Readiness Sprint as a fixed first project.
How to Evaluate AI Vendors for Private Equity
Security requirements, integration criteria, pricing models and a scoring template for firms comparing AI vendors.
Where Should a Private Credit Firm Start With AI?
The first three workflows for a lean credit team: borrower package intake and spreading, covenant tests and the first draft of the credit memo.
AI Consultants for Private Credit Funds
Large advisory firms, fund administrators, software teams, specialists and fractional help, compared on cost and fit.
Want a fair test for every vendor on your shortlist?
Send me your shortlist and the job you want done, and I'll tell you how I would test each vendor on your own documents. On the Plus tier of the AI Operating Partner retainer, $15,000 a month for firms of up to 25 people, you get vendor evaluations on demand, and no vendor pays me anything. Every WorkWise Solutions price is on the pricing page.