[author: Spencer Shaak]
Gone are the days when traditional SEO tactics could guarantee visibility. AI-driven search technologies and large language models (LLMs) like Google’s AI Mode and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are drastically reshaping how users find information on the web. This poses both new challenges and opportunities for lawyers and legal marketers looking to engage with potential clients online.
What will it take to keep your content ranking well and your law firm competitive? Follow along as I detail the strategies and tactics that will allow your firm to thrive in the era of AI-powered SERPs and LLMs.
AI-Powered Search Could Mean Less Organic Traffic
Generative AI is rapidly reshaping the future of search and SEO, a shift recently highlighted at Google I/O 2025, where two new products took center stage.
AI Mode
AI Mode is now an opt-in experiment in Labs, and Google is getting feedback internally from trusted testers. The premise of AI mode is its ability to offer a conversational interface separate from traditional search results. In AI Mode, users can input detailed, multi-part queries, and also ask continuous follow-up questions to refine what they are looking for. Powered by Google’s Gemini 2.5, AI Mode is able to break down complex questions and synthesize detailed responses, potentially keeping users within the Google ecosystem. AI Mode uses a query fan-out technique, which means it breaks your question into smaller parts and searches for many things simultaneously to help you.
In the above example for the search “best antitrust law firms”, AI Mode pulls its citations in the right panel from legal ranking sources as Vault and Chambers and Partners.
AI Overviews
First introduced in 2024, AI Overviews display AI-generated summaries at the top of search result pages for specific queries. These overviews aggregate and synthesize information from multiple sources to deliver a direct answer while linking back to cited websites. Recently expanded on a global scale, AI Overviews are now available in more than 200 countries and over 40 languages.
In the above example for the search “commercial litigation”, the AI Overview categorizes “commercial litigation” as a definition-based query. The citations and content pulled into the AI Overview originate from sites breaking down the meaning of commercial litigation.
Because both AI Overviews and AI Mode are designed to provide users with immediate answers, they often reduce the need to click through to external sites. In fact, studies already show significant drops in click-through rates when AI-generated results are present, with some publishers experiencing declines up to 56%1.
If your practice depends on organic traffic to connect with its target audience, this could greatly limit opportunities to generate leads—unless you adapt.
Content Optimization for an AI-Driven World
To help our clients stay visible in AI-powered search, we track more than just keyword rankings. AI Overviews don’t always focus on a single term like “personal injury lawyer”—they scan for passages that answer related queries across the topic. That means a general practice area page can be cited if it clearly explains subjects like “car accident settlement timelines” or “slip and fall compensation.” Google’s AI surfaces this kind of detail to build useful sections for users like “Common Areas of Practice,” so structured, informative content has a higher chance of being featured.
To show up in AI search results, law firms need to incorporate some of the following tactics into their content marketing strategies:
Create Broader and Deeper Content
LLMs like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews prioritize content that provides in-depth, comprehensive answers to user queries. Focus on covering legal topics thoroughly but concisely, addressing a range of related subtopics within a given post.
For example, instead of simply writing about “how to set up a business in New York,” include sections on business entity types, licensing requirements, and tax obligations.
Optimize for Mentions, Not Just Clicks
AI-driven systems often rely on brand mentions rather than direct clicks to gauge authority. But even being quoted in a respected publication like “Law360” or “The American Lawyer” can increase the chances of your firm being cited within an LLM’s training data.
In my experience, lawyers and their firms are better positioned to earn those mentions when they:
- Frequently publish legal articles backed by research or actual experience.
- Actively participate on platforms like LinkedIn and in industry-specific Q&A forums, where LLMs often pull data.
- Build relationships with journalists and contribute quotes for articles in high-authority publications.
Focus on Long-Tail Keywords and Detailed Descriptions
Research from Ahrefs found 99.2% of keywords that trigger AI Overviews are informational in intent2. Because LLMs analyze language contextually and through passage indexing rather than relying solely on exact keywords, AI-powered SERPs prioritize clear, structured content that provides concise answers to user questions.
- Focus on descriptive, long-tail keywords that align with users’ intent and directly answer their questions.
- For instance, when users searched “tort reform Georgia” after Georgia enacted major tort reform legislation, and our client focused on tort litigation, we tracked an insights article describing the new law and how it impacts businesses, property owners, and legal proceedings in the state. This approach ensured the content ranked not just for “tort reform Georgia” but also for specific questions like “Georgia negligent security law changes,” “bifurcation rules Georgia,” and “litigation funding disclosure Georgia” – capturing the various ways potential clients searched for this information.
- Use descriptive headings and subheadings to logically structure your content.
- For instance, instead of “Overview” as the first scannable heading/title for an article about filing workers’ compensation claims, it would be better to use How to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in ‘+ State’. This helps AI systems quickly identify and extract relevant information for user queries.
- Incorporate keywords naturally into body text, summary sections, and metadata.
- For example, in a summary section for a guide on antitrust compliance, provide a synopsis that naturally includes relevant terms: “This guide covers federal antitrust compliance requirements, common competition law violations, and steps to take during regulatory investigations.”
Showcase Expertise and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
Google’s AI Mode and AI Overview both prioritize content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). I’ve found this to be especially true for legal insights and other topics that fall into the “Your Money or Your Life” category.
- Add author bios to all blog posts detailing attorneys’ credentials and experience.
- Establish credibility and highlight expertise with client testimonials, case studies, and insights drawn from real-world experience.
- Showcase authority with pillar pages and topic clusters.
Leverage Google Discover
Launched in 2018 for mobile devices, Google Discover presents users with a personalized feed of articles, videos, and other online content based on their interests—and it’s now coming to desktop. Publishing a single, well-optimized article to Google Discover can earn millions of clicks, resulting in far more visibility than what might have been possible through organic search alone.
Platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, and podcasts are becoming more important for boosting organic visibility in AI-driven ecosystems. A strong multi-channel presence will ensure your law firm stays relevant.
- Share videos explaining complex legal topics in simple terms on YouTube.
- Publish carousel posts on LinkedIn summarizing legal tips.
- Optimize transcripts for any brand-owned podcast episodes.
Takeaway
The rise of LLMs and AI-powered SERP isn’t just a disruption; it’s also an opportunity to redefine your law firm’s online presence. By being proactive and incorporating the approaches I’ve outlined into your overall content marketing strategy, your firm can remain competitive in this rapidly shifting landscape.
