In February 2026, the Artificial Intelligence company-Anthropic, released a new set of specialized tools to execute legal tasks. For many, it signaled great productivity but in reality, it triggered a brutal sell-off in the stock market, wiping out nearly $300 billion in value almost in a single night.
The Rise Of The “Digital Worker”
The main reason for the panic is that Anthropic did not just release another chatbot; they launched a “digital worker” that can actually perform tasks. This new tool, which is part of the Claude Cowork suite., is designed to automate high-level professional chores like reviewing long contracts, sorting through legal documents and checking for compliance. For decades together, companies such as RELX and Thomson Reuters have earned billions by selling their access to these types of data and services. Now that an AI can do all the complex tasks single handedly that too in no-cost, the market is reasserting how much these older giants are actually worth.
Consequences Faced By European Data Giants
According to the sources, European Data companies felt the sharpest sting of this announcement. In London, the shares of "RELX," parent company of "LexisNexis" plunged by 14%, marking its worst day in over thirty years. Other companies weren't spared either: The London Stock Exchange Group saw its stock drop by 13%, while the Dutch firm “Wolters Kluwer” fell over by 10%. Till now, these companies were considered a “safe bet” because they own massive amounts of specialized information, but the sudden rise of AI agents suggests that simply owning data might not be helpful anymore, as an AI can also do it with more efficiency.
The Power Of Autonomous Action
The most significant reason behind making this shift appear so different from the earlier AI hype is the “agentic” nature of the software. Previously, you asked AI to help you in writing an email, today, Anthropic’s new agents of AI can be given a specific goal to complete like “onboarding this new client,” and they will autonomously navigate flies, updating spreadsheets and drafting the necessary legal paperworks without human hand-holding. This kind of “hands-free” automation is a direct threat to the traditional business model of charging per human user. If one person with an AI agent can now do the work of five people, the demand for expensive, per-user based software subscriptions could vanish.
The Big Shifts
Despite the presence of chaos in the market worldwide, there is still a silver lining for human professionals. Anthropic was quick to point out that their tool is a “co-pilot” and not a replacement for human judgement and explicitly stated that all legal outputs must still be reviewed by licensed lawyers. Nevertheless, the message to the corporate world is clear: “Intelligent Service” has officially begun and is now the future. In this race, only those who can automate the most action out of the data collection can prosper.
