AI Is Changing How Clients Find Lawyers Online – Is Your Law Firm Ready?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people search, evaluate, and choose lawyers online. Features like Google’s new AI Overview are transforming search results into curated “answer engines,” changing how prospective clients find and select legal representation. For law firms, the message is clear: visibility strategies that worked a year ago may not work today.

Ignoring the change is not an option. In this update from the team at Bardorf Legal Marketing, we’ll help you understand this shift and outline what we’re doing (and recommending our clients do) to stay ahead.

Understanding the shift in search behavior and visibility

  • For years, Google held well over 90 % of the desktop search‐engine market in the U.S., but recent data shows it has dipped below that threshold for the first time in a decade. While Google still remains dominant, the fact that share is slipping signals that user behavior and platform dynamics are shifting.
  • Simultaneously, AI tools (think ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other LLM-powered assistants) are becoming integral to how people search, explore, and resolve questions. For law firms, that means visibility is no longer just about rankings, it’s about being the source AI chooses to highlight and recommend.
  • One of the sharper disruptions we’re seeing: Google’s AI Overview feature. For queries like “fraud defense lawyers DC” or “DUI attorney Los Angeles”, Google may present a curated list of attorneys and firms at the top of the page, complete with AI-generated descriptions and the “Show more” prompt. This “answer‐first” presentation means fewer clicks, less scrolling, and dramatically different visibility dynamics for law firms.
  • In our client work we’re also seeing early impacts on ad formats, notably the Google Local Services Ads (LSA) on desktop devices. These were traditionally strong when messaging “call now” on mobile; yet on desktop this format is under pressure as user behavior shifts.

In short: the channel is changing, the format is changing, the framing is changing. As with all change, the firms best positioned are those who anticipate it and act early with proven best practices.

What law firms need to focus on right now

  1. Master your Google Business Profile

Your profile underpins trust and visibility in your local landscape. Some key actionable steps:

  • Make sure every field is fully completed: services, hours, attributes, practice areas.
  • Build reviews consistently.  You don’t need thousands, but you do need regular, recent ones. A competitor with 10 new recent reviews per month may outperform one with 100 old reviews and nothing new.
  • Keep your data clean: the business name, address, phone number and website URL (NAP-U) must be consistent across your profile and your network of online citations.
  1. Add rich schema markup (JSON-LD) to your website

Schema is the machine-readable code that tells Google exactly who you are, what you do, where you are.

  • LocalBusiness schema: address, geo-coordinates, hours, contact.
  • LegalService/PracticeArea schemas: clearly specify each service you provide (DUI defense, estate planning, business litigation).
  • FAQ schema, Article schema, Review schema: help Google and AI systems ingest targeted content.
  • The more explicit you are, the less you rely on Google guessing what your site is about, especially important now that AI features use structured data heavily.
  1. Reinforce your business through strong citations

Directories and online profiles still matter and likely will even more in an AI-aware environment. Here’s what to watch:

  • Large general directories: Better Business Bureau (BBB), chamber of commerce listings, etc.
  • Legal-specific directories (bar association listings, attorney directories).
  • Other platforms: Apple Maps, Bing Places, etc, since many AI tools pull data from multiple sources.
  • Consistency matters: if your firm moved location, changed name or URL, make sure all citations reflect the current info. Google and AI systems track discrepancies.
  1. Structure your website for focused, geo-targeted content

General page like “Practice Areas” are no longer sufficient. You must demonstrate relevance at the intersection of what you do + where you are.

  • Create a dedicated page for each significant practice area (e.g., “DUI Defense in Boston”, “Estate Planning for High Net-Worth in Connecticut”).
  • Incorporate localized language and context (city, county, state references where relevant).
  • Internally link: your blog or article content should link to these practice pages to establish topical authority and distribute page-rank in an AI-friendly way.
  1. Embrace question-and-answer content + FAQ schema

People now search in conversational, question-form (“What is the divorce process in Connecticut?”, “How much does a DUI lawyer cost in Houston?”). Your website should mirror that.

  • Write Q&A style article/blog sections.
  • Use FAQ schema for those questions and answers.
  • You’re positioning your site as the answer engine, not just the search result.
  1. Display reviews and embed them on your website

Reviews serve a dual purpose; social proof for prospective clients and credibility signals for search/AI systems.

  • Embed your best Google reviews on your site.
  • Use Review schema so AI systems can more easily interpret the feedback.
  • Keep gathering reviews; fresh, topic-relevant ones help your visibility and trust signals.
  1. Leverage your About page + embedded map + articles for topical authority
  • Ensure your About page clearly outlines your firm’s identity, mission, practice areas, geographic focus, year founded.
  • Embed a map (in footer or contact page) for added location signal.
  • Publish blog content consistently: the more you talk about a consultant topic (e.g., “business litigation for tech founders in Massachusetts” or “forming an LLC for small businesses in New York”) the more you build authority. Each article can link back to your authoritative practice pages.

What we’re seeing & planning for with clients

From our work at Bardorf Legal Marketing, we’re executing client programs that include:

  • Full audit of Google Business Profile + citation map + review acquisition plan.
  • Schema rollout across client sites: LocalBusiness, PracticeArea, FAQ, Review, Article.
  • Website content structure: hyper-focused topical, geo-targeted pages.
  • Content schedules built around questions our clients’ prospects are actually asking and optimized for AI answer-engines.
  • Review-embedding + trust signals built into site architecture for both users and AI.
  • Monitoring of SERP changes: we’re tracking how often AI Overview features appear for attorney search queries, noting decreases in traditional paid ad slots, and adjusting budgets/mix accordingly.

That said — we emphasize that we don’t yet know how this will fully unfold. The algorithm behavior of Google’s AI features is evolving. The “perfect” formula doesn’t exist yet. What we are doing is future-proofing: positioning our law firm clients to thrive no matter where the AI pendulum swings.

Final takeaway: act now, iterate constantly

AI isn’t coming, it’s here. And the search landscape is shifting before our eyes. For law firms, “doing what we did last year” is insufficient. To compete effectively, you need to:

  • Embrace structured data (schema).
  • Focus your content (practice-area + geo-targeting).
  • Build consistent trust signals (reviews, citations, sufficient profile listings).
  • Think of your website as an “answer engine” well suited for AI-first discovery, not just a “find us page”.

If you wait until the landscape is “stable”, you’ll be playing catch-up. Our recommendation is to begin now, monitor results, adjust your approach, and stay agile. With the right foundation, you’ll position your firm not just to survive but to lead as the AI-driven search frontier continues to unfold.