Anyone looking for a law firm can now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI answers as well as Google. A firm can check for itself what can be read about it there: practice areas, location and the ways to get in touch. Whether it is named is decided by the systems. Whether a measure is compatible with professional rules is for the firm to clarify itself.
How clients look for a firm today
People with a legal issue often phrase it as a question: Who can help me with a dispute with my landlord? Which firm near me knows inheritance law? Such a question used to lead to a list of results. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews instead answer with a text and name individual firms in it. To do so, the systems read, depending on the provider, pages from the web and other public information. The providers do not disclose the rules by which they choose.
So you cannot control whether your firm is named. You can make sure your details are findable, readable and free of contradictions.
Five client questions you can test yourself
Ask the questions in two or three tools the way a layperson would phrase them. Use your town and your practice area:
- Which law firm in your town specialises in your practice area?
- Which firm near you advises in English?
- Where can I find an employment lawyer in your town?
- How do I reach the firm with your name, and where is it?
- Which law firm in your town would you recommend?
Note whether your firm is named and whether address, practice areas, languages and ways to get in touch are right. Wrong or missing details show most clearly where the source is unclear. The result is a snapshot; a systematic method is described in the article Measure AI visibility.
Record each test in a simple table: date, tool, the question asked, the answer, and whether a source was named. If you repeat the same questions after a few weeks, you will see whether anything has changed.
What the firm can improve
1. Firm data the same everywhere
Firm name, address, phone, languages and practice areas should read the same on the website, in the Google profile and in directories. Mergers, moves or name changes often leave old entries in circulation. Also check whether the home page says in one sentence who you are, what you advise on and where.
2. Keep the Google profile complete
The Google Business Profile is a central source for Maps and local search. Maintain categories, opening hours, languages and current photos. You will find a guide in the article Optimise your Google Business Profile, and the local context is described in Local SEO in Zurich.
3. One page per practice area
Create a page for each practice area that first says in two to three sentences what it covers and for whom the firm works in that area. Then follow the questions that actually come in by phone: How does a first contact work? Which documents are helpful? In which language is advice given? Describe how the firm works. Legal advice on individual cases does not belong on such a page.
4. Make the people visible
A firm consists of people. A page for each lawyer with training, practice areas, languages and contact helps readers and systems assign the details to the right person. Write down only what can be documented, and keep it current. How systems assess professionals is explained in the article What is E-E-A-T.
5. Crawler access and readable pages
If a crawler is not allowed to fetch your pages, or key details exist only in a PDF or image, a system cannot read them. Check your robots.txt as described in the article Controlling AI crawlers, and put key details on the page as plain text.
Where to start
Start with the firm data and the Google profile, because it costs little and helps everywhere. Then the pages for the two or three practice areas in which the firm mainly works are worth the effort. The pages about the people and crawler access can be done in parallel.
Professional rules and limits
Professional rules apply to lawyers, including to advertising and public presentation. Whether a measure is compatible with them is for the firm to clarify itself. This article describes what is readable and findable, and gives no legal guidance. And what is not in your hands: whether and how often a firm is named is decided by the AI tools and search engines. Nobody can credibly promise that.
If you want it checked
The check on the page AI visibility for law firms examines your website against 18 points. The report arrives within two working days, and the check and the report are free. The general AI visibility page shows how the check is set up for all industries.
Want to put this to work for your business? We review your website for free in classic and AI search and show the biggest levers.