With generative AI searches growing exponentially, it’s adapt or die. Luckily, law firms have a lot of tools and data to inform next steps.
AI searches are the default for many American searchers. AI summaries now appear at the top of the Google SERP. Many people use AI chatbots as search engines, rather than Google or Bing.
The changes wrought by AI search require firms to make a major pivot in their content strategy to stay visible online. It’s time to set yourself up for success in 2025.
So here’s a quick overview of how AI is impacting online searches, challenges and opportunities for law firms, and how firms can optimize for AI searches.
4 things to know about AI searches
1. AI is affecting search results.
AI is changing the way people search online, sending people to AI-supported platforms to the detriment of the SERP. As a result, organic traffic is decreasing for tons of websites—even for established sites with excellent SEO.
You’ve probably seen the AI-powered summaries at the top of Google. In 2023, AI Overviews in the SERP started appearing on Google. In 2024, it evolved and expanded. Now, generative search is the norm on Google. It will continue to impact search functionality and performance.
2. AI search will continue to grow.
AI is more than a trend. Many tech companies are developing and releasing generative AI tools (or incorporating them into their search engines). From DeepSeek to ChatGPT and BingAI, you can expect AI to become more and more popular across the Internet. Growth projections for 2027 regarding the use of AI search are for 6x the usage compared to 2023.
3. AI search has advantages (and drawbacks) when compared to the traditional SERP.
AI overviews and AI chatbots are streamlined, delivering instant customized results for your search. AI search is scannable and easy to understand. That’s a huge advantage compared to the non-personalized traditional SERP, without summaries or bullet-point lists for finding quick answers.
4. AI search is constantly changing.
There’s no roadmap here. All we can do is anticipate audience needs and guess at what Big Tech will do. We do know, however, that AI searches will negatively impact certain types of searches. Adapt well, and you’ll lose less traffic.
Constant change means we have to be nimble. A successful growth strategy will require adapting, learning as updates roll out, and staying persistent.
2 challenges and 2 opportunities of AI searches
Challenge: Less visibility for top organic search results
Before AI search, the top of the SERP included featured snippets, photos, news articles, ads, and the top few organic search results. After AI search, everything is bumped further down the page to accommodate the AI summary at the top. A person may only see the first website on the SERP above the fold.
Moreover, many people are using AI chatbots like Google’s Gemini and GPT-4o as search engines—and eschewing Google entirely.
→ SOLUTION: Increase the likelihood of getting featured in AI search results by creating structured, authoritative content on multiple platforms. Optimize for conversational AI where appropriate.
Challenge: Falling organic search traffic
Why would a person click to a website if the AI summary completely answers their question?
Click-through rates and organic search traffic are plummeting as a result of AI search. Keywords with information intent (like “what is the father custody rate in New York”) are “zero-click” searches. Searchers who use chatbots will never even see your URL, despite the chatbot scraping the answer from your site without a citation.
→ SOLUTION: Target high-intent keywords and queries where the searcher needs more than a quick answer. Create valuable, in-depth content for your blog. Strengthen relationships with existing clients.
Opportunity: AI can help drive qualified referral traffic to your website.
When someone does click through to your site from an AI search, that searcher is highly motivated to get more information—and possibly make a decision. If you can earn traffic from AI searches, you’ll earn qualified searchers.
Opportunity: AI overview can boost smaller sites.
With SEO, established sites have historically had an edge in the SERP. But digital authority is changing.
According to Search Engine Land, hyperlinks–one of the major advantages established sites have over new sites–are still valuable but “their direct influence on search engine performance is diminishing” as Google prioritizes other signals.
“Smaller personal and corporate brands can carve out a place by working smarter,” they say.
With AI overview, you may be able to compete on a more equal footing—no matter the size of your site. It’s unclear how this will evolve, and we don’t have any information on how this applies to YMYL websites.
How to optimize for AI searches
Real data is the best place to start when planning your strategy. Here are 3 ways to get data.
1. Find out which of your pages are getting AI referral traffic. Use GA4 to find this data by configuring a channel group for AI tool traffic.
2. Study commonalities of your successes. Look for similarities in formatting, user intent, media formats, and more.
3. Search your priority keywords and then study the AI overview. See how the AI response is structured and notice which websites are cited in the sources panel. Pay attention to the suggested follow-up questions, too.
Now, here’s how we recommend firms incorporate GEO into content strategy alongside SEO.
Create lots of rich content (multimedia) for the consideration and conversion stages of user consideration. Infographics and videos can help you with visibility.
Adjust your expectations for organic search and don’t panic. Keep staying the course with your SEO efforts.
Change your informational content strategy. Get super zeroed in on keyword intent and make sure you answer what the user actually wants. It’s all about relevance, and being a one-stop-shop so cover the topic comprehensively. Embrace long-tail keywords, which are commonly used in conversational searches. Answer nuanced inquiries that a chatbot or AI couldn’t possibly satisfy.
Organize your content properly to help readers and AI understand your content. This means smaller chunks of text, lists that are scannable, and concise Q&As.
Experiment with formats to see what works. Try lists, long-form, videos, short-form, etc. Note what makes it into the AI Overview and check GA4 for metrics on AI click-throughs.
Monitor how and when generative search rewards your business, and keep your eye on the moving target. Note which types of content, keywords, and formats get rewarded with click-throughs from AI or a spot in the AI overview. Then watch and see if it changes.
Remember, clicks are not the only goal here. If your firm shows up in the AI overview and the user gets what they need without visiting your site, great! That’s a win for the user and for your brand awareness. Clicks and calls will come from bottom of funnel searches, too.
Review and next steps
Get experts on your team and commit to staying flexible. That’s how you succeed online in 2025 in the age of AI searches and unpredictable algorithms.
If you’re ready for expert support, reach out for a free consultation. We can help you strategize about boosting traffic and growing your business, whether you’re starting small or pivoting from previous success.
