Adobe's survey reveals that fewer than 40% of consumers and business owners read and understand contracts and terms before signing them

When signing a contract, including agreeing to the terms of use for a web service, it has been found that not many people read the details of the contract. In a survey conducted by Adobe in January 2025, it was found that 69% of consumers responded that they had signed a contract without reading the contents.

Top 5 Takeaways from New Contracts Survey: Most People Don't Read Before They Sign | Adobe Blog

According to Michi Alexander, head of Adobe's product marketing team, many people in the United States sign some kind of contract, including online, at least once a month, but not many people read and understand the content of the contract before signing or pressing the 'Agree' button.

When Adobe asked consumers how they felt about reading a contract, 70% responded with a negative emoji: 44% chose the '😤' emoji (a triumphant face, but because it looks angry, it is used to express dissatisfaction or dissatisfaction), and 24% chose the '🤢' emoji (a nauseous face).

Additionally, 69% of consumers surveyed admitted to signing contracts without carefully reading them, and 66% said they discovered unknown terms after the contract was signed.

This situation is not limited to consumers, but also exists on the business side. More than 90% of small business owners say they come into contact with some kind of contract at least once a month, and 20% say they come into contact with some kind of contract every day, but 62% admit that they sign contracts without understanding the details. Also, just like consumers, 60% of small business owners say they discover 'surprising clauses' after signing a contract. Perhaps for this reason, 64% of business owners say they avoid signing contracts because they are not confident that they understand the terms of the contract.

According to Adobe, this is not the case for large companies, with 62% of knowledge workers and 63% of leaders saying they have signed contracts without fully understanding the details. And 32% of workers have faced disciplinary action, loss of credibility, or even dismissal because they signed a contract they did not fully understand. In addition, 63% of technology leaders said that difficult interpretation of contracts or confusing clauses have caused business delays.

To address such situations, Adobe is introducing 'contract intelligence' to its Acrobat AI assistant, which summarizes contract and policy information simply, quickly, and in an easy-to-understand way.