A practical walkthrough of what happens when a citizen with a matter opens the platform for the first time. Plain language, no jargon, no acronyms left undefined.
Open app.sheriasmart.com. The home screen shows a tile labelled LexAI. Tap it. Type a question in English or Kiswahili. The assistant returns a plain language answer, cites the relevant Kenyan statute or constitutional provision, and instructs you to verify the underlying source at kenyalaw.org. The free tier covers three questions per day, which is sufficient for most everyday queries about Kenyan law. Topup packs and subscriptions are available for users who need more.
Where a matter calls for more than a one paragraph answer, the briefings library offers long form essays on the questions Kenyans most often face. The library is free to read and requires no registration. Each piece cites the operative statute and sets out the procedure the legislature itself prescribed. Salary withheld, arrest without warrant, eviction, small claims, constitutional rights, all rendered in language a non lawyer can use.
For a matter that requires a specific procedural step, the Self Representation Toolkit walks the user through the templates and forms the relevant statute itself provides. The Small Claims Court for civil matters up to the jurisdictional ceiling. The tenancy tribunals. The Employment and Labour Relations Court for wage recovery. The user completes the template, prints it, and walks into the court station to file in their own name. At no point does the platform appear, file, or speak on behalf of any user.
Where a matter exceeds what self representation can responsibly handle, where deadlines are imminent, where the user is in custody facing criminal charges, where expert evidence is decisive, the platform escalates. Two routes are open.
For users who can afford professional fees, the platform links to the Law Society of Kenya public directory of admitted advocates. The user selects an advocate and engages them directly on terms they negotiate themselves. The platform does not vet, does not refer for commission, and takes no part in the engagement.
For users who cannot afford private fees, the platform points to the National Legal Aid Service, the statutory body established under the Legal Aid Act, No. 6 of 2016 to deliver free legal assistance to qualifying applicants. The service operates a toll free line at 0800 720 640.
LexAI conversations are stored locally in the user's browser, for the user's own reference. The content of those conversations is not sent to a server for storage. Account level data, email address, subscription state, billing record, is held on the platform's server, in compliance with the Data Protection Act, Cap. 411C of the Laws of Kenya. The full disclosure is set out in the Privacy Notice.
Sheria Smart works in any browser, but installing it to your home screen gives you a faster, full screen experience that works exactly like a native app.
Important: use Install app, not Add to Home screen. The second option creates a browser shortcut with a badge on the icon. The first gives you the clean app icon.
Do not use Create shortcut from the browser menu, that creates a browser badged shortcut. Use the install icon in the address bar for the clean app experience.
Three free questions every day. Unlimited reading of the briefings. No card, no registration, no commitment to anything beyond that.