Content Marketing: How great lawyers can be invisible to AI and why it matters

By Edith Reinhardt

Lawyers work hard to build their reputation. They earn impressive credentials, achieve excellent results for clients, stay current on developments in their practice area and cultivate referral sources who speak highly of them. 

Yet when a prospective client or referral source researches them using AI, many of these great lawyers have a mediocre online presence or barely appear at all. It’s not because they lack experience or expertise. It’s because they haven’t created enough digital content and visibility for AI tools to find, understand and recommend them. As a result, they may be losing business without ever realizing it.

Why AI visibility is important

Increasingly, contacts and prospects are using AI to research an attorney before a conversation or visiting their website. That’s true even if they were referred to the attorney. The reason is that AI has made this incredibly easy to do. Rather than googling an attorney’s name and scrolling through search results, someone can simply ask an AI platform such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini specific questions like: 

• What is this lawyer known for?
• What types of matters do they handle?
• How experienced are they?
• What types of clients do they work with?
• How do they compare to other attorneys?
• Who are the top lawyers in this area?

In seconds, the searcher will get an AI-generated answer that summarizes what is available online. If the response is incomplete, incorrect, generic, or less impressive than competitors’, the attorney may not ever hear from that prospect. The lead is lost before a conversation even occurs. 

The same is true if the searcher hasn’t been referred and is simply researching a legal question online. An attorney or firm won’t show up in AI search results if they haven’t published online content that answers those questions, and AI doesn’t deem them a credible source. 

In both cases, it doesn’t matter that the attorney is highly accomplished and well-known in the real world. They are barely visible in AI-generated results, so a competitor gets the call.

What is the most AI-friendly info?

AI platforms gather information from websites, attorney biographies, articles, directories, media coverage, social media profiles, speaking engagements, reviews, and other online sources. They use this to determine who a lawyer is, what they do, and why someone would consider choosing them.

When there is little information online, an AI result may provide only basic credentials or nothing at all, depending on the type of search the programs are responding to. 

In contrast, a competitor with similar experience may look much more impressive simply because there is more online evidence of their expertise.

The difference is often the lawyer’s digital visibility, not legal ability. But prospects don’t know that and will make choices based on what they see when searching online.

What lawyers should be doing

Lawyers and firms should ask AI platforms the same questions a prospect would ask about an attorney and their practice areas to understand the story AI is telling internet users about them. The results should then be reviewed to determine: 

• How much information shows up?
• Is the information accurate and complete?
• Does it describe them the way they want to be known? 
• Does it distinguish them from competitors?

If the results are limited or provide only a generic description that could apply to dozens of other firms, they need to rejuvenate their online presence.

Closing the visibility gap

Lawyers and firms need to focus on a few basics to be more visible to AI-assisted search tools: 

• Develop clear and consistent messaging. They must specifically define their expertise, client base, and competitive differences and communicate them widely on their website, bios, LinkedIn profiles and directory listings. Broad or vague descriptions must be avoided.
• Publish useful content regularly. Articles, FAQs, videos, blogs, LinkedIn posts, and other content should be produced frequently to help build a stronger digital footprint and demonstrate expertise to AI search platforms.
• Build content with AI in mind. In-depth content should be developed that answers real-life questions and is well-structured for both traditional Google and AI searches. Creating content around niche topics can help a firm stand out. 
• Earn third-party validation. Media coverage, speaking engagements, reviews, awards, and podcast appearances show professional authority and credibility to AI platforms, making it more likely that responses will highlight those results.

A strong “real-world” reputation is still essential for every lawyer and firm. But maintaining an online reputation that AI platforms can identify and communicate in response to searches is a must, too.

The firms that recognize this will have an advantage. They use strong online presences and AI to help sell their firms to prospects. AI will deliver the evidence that the firm is credible, trustworthy, and the right fit. No lawyer or law firm can afford to ignore that.

 

Edie Reinhardt, Esq. is principal of RDT Content Marketing, which specializes in helping attorneys showcase their expertise and target their marketing to attract more clients. She can be reached at [email protected].