Search behavior is changing fast and for the first time in over a decade, Google’s dominance is showing signs of decline. One reason may be that more people are turning to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other conversational assistants to research their legal issues and explore attorney options. For law firms, understanding this shift is key to staying visible where today’s clients are actually looking for help. How AI Apps Work When someone types a question into an AI app, say, “How do I file for divorce in Massachusetts?”, the system doesn’t just pull a list of links like a traditional search engine. Instead, it uses a large language model (LLM) trained on vast amounts of web data, articles, and sometimes proprietary databases. The