Law Firm AEO: How to Get Your Legal Practice Recommended by AI Search

Why Potential Clients Are Switching to AI for Legal Search

Legal services is one of the highest-stakes search categories that exists. When someone needs an attorney, they are not casually browsing — they are facing a legal problem that impacts their freedom, their finances, their family, or their livelihood. And increasingly, they are starting that search by asking an AI.

Legal queries have always been one of the most valuable categories in search. A single click on a "personal injury lawyer" Google ad can cost over $200. But the way people find legal help is fundamentally changing. Instead of scrolling through ten blue links, reading directory after directory, and trying to compare firms across multiple tabs, potential clients are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews questions like:

• "Best personal injury lawyer in Dallas who works on contingency"
• "Divorce attorney near me who handles high-net-worth cases"
• "Criminal defense lawyer for DUI in Phoenix — who has the best record?"
• "Immigration attorney specializing in EB-5 investor visas"
• "Estate planning lawyer for a blended family with a special needs trust"
• "Business attorney who can help with SaaS terms of service"

And AI gives them a direct answer. Not a list of ads. Not a directory page with 100 names. A specific, curated recommendation with firm names, attorney credentials, reasons to choose them, and often a link to schedule a consultation. For the potential client, this is a dramatically better experience than traditional legal search. For the firm that gets recommended, it is the most valuable client acquisition channel in modern legal marketing.

The numbers make this urgent. ChatGPT has over 400 million weekly active users, and legal queries are among the fastest-growing categories. A 2025 survey found that 38% of adults under 45 have used an AI chatbot to research a legal question or find an attorney. That number is climbing every quarter. When someone asks AI for a legal recommendation and gets a confident answer with a specific firm name, they are far more likely to call than someone scrolling through a generic directory.

This is where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) meets legal marketing. AEO is the practice of optimizing your online presence so AI search engines recommend you. For law firms, it means structuring your practice data, attorney credentials, legal content, and technical signals so that when a potential client asks AI for a lawyer in your practice area, your firm is in the answer. This guide gives you the complete playbook.

How AI Recommends Attorneys and Law Firms

Before diving into the optimization steps, it helps to understand how AI search engines decide which attorneys to recommend. AI does not randomly pick names from a directory. It synthesizes data from multiple sources and evaluates several signals:

Structured data and schema markup. AI looks for LegalService, Attorney, and LawFirm schema on your website. This structured data tells AI your exact practice areas, jurisdictions, bar admissions, attorney credentials, and office locations in a machine-readable format. Firms with complete schema markup are dramatically more likely to be cited because AI has confident, verified data to work with.

Review signals across legal platforms. AI aggregates reviews from Google Business Profile, Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyers.com, Super Lawyers, and your own website. It evaluates overall rating, review volume, recency, and sentiment. A firm with 150 Google reviews averaging 4.9 stars and a 10.0 Avvo rating is far more likely to be recommended than one with 8 reviews and no directory presence.

Attorney credentials and authority. AI values bar admissions, board certifications, years of experience, notable case results, published articles, bar association leadership roles, and Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers recognitions. The more verifiable credential data you make available on your website, the more confident AI is in recommending your attorneys.

Content depth and topical authority. Firms that publish detailed legal content — practice area pages, legal guides, FAQ sections, "Know Your Rights" articles — demonstrate expertise that AI recognizes. When someone asks "what should I do after a car accident in Texas," AI is more likely to cite and recommend a personal injury firm that has a comprehensive guide on Texas auto accident claims than one with a single-sentence mention of auto accidents in a services list.

Directory and citation consistency. AI cross-references your firm information across legal directories, your website, and review platforms. Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across all sources builds trust. Inconsistencies — different phone numbers, outdated addresses, conflicting attorney lists — reduce AI confidence in your firm data.

Consultation accessibility. AI increasingly considers whether potential clients can actually act on a recommendation. Firms with clear consultation information, online booking, contact forms, fee structure transparency, and visible intake processes make it easy for AI to recommend them with actionable next steps.

7 Steps to Get Your Law Firm Recommended by AI

Step 1: Implement LegalService and Attorney Schema Markup

LegalService schema is the most impactful technical change you can make for law firm AEO. This structured data markup tells AI search engines exactly what your firm does, where you practice, who your attorneys are, and what practice areas you cover — all in a machine-readable format that AI models prioritize over unstructured text.

Most law firm websites have zero structured data. They rely on unstructured text that AI has to parse and interpret, which leads to incomplete or inaccurate representation in AI responses. Adding LegalService schema gives AI precise data to work with, dramatically increasing your chances of being recommended.

Here is a complete LegalService schema template for a law firm:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LegalService",
  "name": "Harrison & Associates, PLLC",
  "alternateName": "Harrison Law",
  "@id": "https://www.harrisonlaw.com/#organization",
  "url": "https://www.harrisonlaw.com",
  "telephone": "+1-555-234-5678",
  "email": "intake@harrisonlaw.com",
  "description": "Harrison & Associates is a full-service personal injury and family law firm serving the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. Our attorneys have recovered over $50 million in verdicts and settlements for injured clients.",
  "areaServed": [
    {
      "@type": "State",
      "name": "Texas"
    },
    {
      "@type": "City",
      "name": "Dallas"
    },
    {
      "@type": "City",
      "name": "Fort Worth"
    }
  ],
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "2500 Main Street, Suite 400",
    "addressLocality": "Dallas",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "75201",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 32.7767,
    "longitude": -96.7970
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": [
        "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday",
        "Thursday", "Friday"
      ],
      "opens": "08:00",
      "closes": "18:00"
    }
  ],
  "priceRange": "Free Consultation",
  "paymentAccepted": "Contingency Fee, Hourly, Flat Fee",
  "hasOfferCatalog": {
    "@type": "OfferCatalog",
    "name": "Legal Services",
    "itemListElement": [
      {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "itemOffered": {
          "@type": "Service",
          "name": "Personal Injury",
          "description": "Car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall, wrongful death, and workplace injuries"
        }
      },
      {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "itemOffered": {
          "@type": "Service",
          "name": "Family Law",
          "description": "Divorce, child custody, child support, adoption, and prenuptial agreements"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "employee": [
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Michael Harrison",
      "jobTitle": "Managing Partner",
      "description": "Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. 20+ years of experience.",
      "knowsAbout": [
        "Personal Injury",
        "Wrongful Death",
        "Trucking Accidents"
      ],
      "hasCredential": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
          "credentialCategory": "Bar Admission",
          "recognizedBy": {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "name": "State Bar of Texas"
          }
        },
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
          "credentialCategory": "Board Certification",
          "recognizedBy": {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "name": "Texas Board of Legal Specialization"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.9",
    "reviewCount": "147",
    "bestRating": "5"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/harrisonlaw",
    "https://www.martindale.com/harrison-associates",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/harrisonlaw"
  ]
}

The key fields that matter most for AI visibility are areaServed (jurisdictions you practice in), hasOfferCatalog (your practice areas with descriptions), employee (attorney credentials and bar admissions), and aggregateRating (your review data). Fill every field completely. AI models weigh complete schema more heavily than partial implementations.

For multi-attorney firms, include a separate Person entity for each attorney in the employee array. Each attorney entry should include their name, title, practice area specialties, bar admissions, board certifications, and years of experience. This is especially important because many AI queries are attorney-specific: "who is the best personal injury attorney in Dallas?"

If you want to generate this schema without writing JSON by hand, use our free schema generator tool or follow our complete schema markup guide.

Step 2: Create Practice Area Content Hubs

Generic service pages that list your practice areas in a few bullet points are invisible to AI. What AI search engines want is deep, authoritative content for each practice area — content hubs that demonstrate genuine expertise and answer the specific questions potential clients are asking.

A content hub is not a single page. It is a cluster of interconnected pages that cover a practice area comprehensively. Here is what a strong content hub looks like for the most common legal practice areas:

Personal Injury Hub:

• Main practice area page: comprehensive overview of personal injury law in your state
• Sub-pages for each case type: car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall, dog bites, wrongful death, workplace injuries, product liability
• Process page: what to expect when filing a personal injury claim (timeline, steps, what to bring to your consultation)
• Damages page: what compensation is available (medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, punitive damages)
• Statute of limitations page: filing deadlines for your state with specific examples
• FAQ page with FAQPage schema: answers to the 15-20 most common personal injury questions

Family Law Hub:

• Main practice area page: overview of family law services
• Divorce process page: contested vs. uncontested, mediation, collaborative divorce, timelines in your state
• Child custody page: types of custody, factors courts consider, modification process
• Child support page: how support is calculated in your state, modification, enforcement
• Adoption page: private adoption, stepparent adoption, international adoption, process and requirements
• Prenuptial agreement page: what can and cannot be included, enforceability

Criminal Defense Hub:

• Main practice area page: types of cases you handle, your defense philosophy
• DUI/DWI page: penalties, license suspension, ignition interlock, first offense vs. repeat
• Drug charges page: possession, distribution, federal vs. state charges
• Assault and battery page: degrees, self-defense, domestic violence charges
• White collar crime page: fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion
• "What to do if arrested" guide: rights, Miranda warning, bail process

Corporate and Business Law Hub:

• Business formation page: LLC vs. corporation vs. partnership, state-specific requirements
• Contracts page: drafting, review, dispute resolution, breach of contract
• Employment law page: hiring, termination, non-compete agreements, workplace compliance
• Intellectual property page: trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, patent referrals
• Mergers and acquisitions page: due diligence, deal structure, post-closing integration

Immigration Law Hub:

• Family-based immigration page: spouse visas, parent visas, sibling petitions, processing times
• Employment-based immigration page: H-1B, L-1, O-1, EB-1 through EB-5, PERM labor certification
• Naturalization page: eligibility requirements, N-400 process, interview preparation
• Deportation defense page: removal proceedings, asylum, cancellation of removal, voluntary departure
• DACA and TPS page: current status, renewal process, advance parole

Estate Planning Hub:

• Wills page: types of wills, what happens without a will (intestate succession in your state)
• Trusts page: revocable vs. irrevocable, special needs trusts, charitable trusts
• Probate page: the probate process in your state, timelines, executor responsibilities
• Power of attorney page: financial POA, healthcare POA, durable vs. springing
• Estate tax page: federal and state thresholds, strategies for minimizing tax burden

Each page in a content hub should be at least 1,500 words, answer questions directly in the first paragraph, include relevant attorney credentials, and link to related pages within the hub. This internal linking structure helps AI understand the relationships between your content and the depth of your expertise.

The key insight: when someone asks AI "how does child custody work in Texas," AI is looking for a specific, comprehensive page that answers that question authoritatively. If your family law hub has a dedicated child custody page for Texas with detailed information about conservatorship types, standard possession orders, and factors courts consider — you are exactly what AI wants to cite.

Step 3: Write "Know Your Rights" and Legal FAQ Content That AI Loves to Cite

The legal industry has a unique advantage for AEO: people ask AI legal questions constantly. "What are my rights after a car accident?" "Can my landlord evict me without notice?" "How long do I have to file a workers comp claim?" These questions represent potential clients at the exact moment they need legal help — and AI needs authoritative sources to answer them.

"Know Your Rights" content is the most citable type of legal content you can create. It directly answers the questions AI is trying to answer, and it positions your firm as the authoritative source. Here is how to structure it:

Format every article with the answer first. Do not bury the answer three paragraphs down. Start with a clear, direct answer in the first one to two sentences, then provide supporting detail, state-specific nuance, and exceptions. AI models extract information from the first paragraph of a page more readily than from content buried deeper.

Use question-and-answer formatting. Structure your content around the exact questions people ask AI. Use the question as the heading (H2 or H3) and the answer as the paragraph directly below. This maps perfectly to how AI extracts and presents information.

Include jurisdiction-specific details. Generic legal content that says "the statute of limitations varies by state" is less useful to AI than content that says "in Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the injury under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003." Be specific. Include the relevant statutes, timelines, and local rules.

Add FAQ sections with FAQPage schema to every practice area page. Each FAQ section should include 8-15 questions that potential clients actually ask. These questions become direct citation opportunities for AI. Pair the visible FAQ content with FAQPage schema markup so AI can read and index the questions and answers in structured format.

Sample "Know Your Rights" topics that perform well:

• "What to Do After a Car Accident in [State]: A Step-by-Step Guide"
• "Your Rights as a Tenant in [State]: Eviction, Security Deposits, and Repairs"
• "Understanding Your Miranda Rights: What Police Must Tell You"
• "Workers Compensation in [State]: What You Need to Know Before Filing"
• "Divorce in [State]: Process, Timeline, and What to Expect"
• "What Happens If You Die Without a Will in [State]?"
• "Your Rights After Being Injured at Work: A Complete Guide"
• "How Child Custody Decisions Are Made in [State]"
• "What to Do If You Are Arrested: Your Constitutional Rights Explained"
• "How Long Do I Have to Sue? Statute of Limitations for Common Claims in [State]"

Always include a disclaimer that the content is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice, along with a clear CTA to schedule a consultation with your firm for case-specific guidance.

Step 4: Build Case Results Pages (Ethically, With Disclaimers)

Case results are one of the most powerful credibility signals for AI recommendations. When AI evaluates whether to recommend a personal injury firm, a firm that can demonstrate "$2.4 million verdict in a truck accident case" is more credible and citable than a firm that simply says "we handle truck accident cases."

But case results in legal marketing carry significant ethical obligations. Every state bar has rules about advertising case results, and getting this wrong can mean disciplinary action. Here is how to do it correctly:

Always include the required disclaimer. Most state bars require language such as: "Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own facts. The outcome of a particular case depends on many factors including the specific facts, the applicable law, and the experience of the attorneys involved." Place this disclaimer prominently — not in tiny footer text. Put it at the top of your case results page and next to each individual result.

Structure each case result consistently. Use a standard format that AI can easily parse:

• Case type: truck accident, medical malpractice, wrongful termination, etc.
• Result: verdict amount, settlement amount, or outcome (charges dismissed, custody awarded, etc.)
• Brief description: two to three sentences about the case without identifying the client
• Practice area: link to the relevant practice area page
• Attorney(s): which attorney(s) handled the case

Never identify clients. Use generic descriptors: "a 45-year-old construction worker," "a mother of two," "a tech company executive." Never include names, photos, or details that could identify the client without their explicit written consent.

Organize results by practice area and type. Do not dump all your results on one page. Create separate sections or pages for personal injury verdicts, family law outcomes, criminal defense dismissals, and so on. This helps AI match your results to specific practice area queries.

Check your state bar rules specifically. Some states (like New York and Florida) have very specific rules about how case results can be advertised. Some require that every result advertisement include the gross amount recovered, attorney fees, and costs. Some prohibit advertising results in certain practice areas. Always verify compliance with your jurisdiction before publishing.

When done ethically, case results pages give AI powerful evidence of your firm's competence. A firm with 30 structured, well-documented case results across multiple practice areas is far more likely to be recommended than a firm with identical credentials but no documented outcomes.

Step 5: Optimize for Local Legal Search and AI Integration

Legal services are inherently local. People search for attorneys in their city, their county, their state. AI search engines know this and heavily weight local signals when recommending lawyers. Your local AEO strategy is essential for law firm visibility.

Google Business Profile optimization. Your GBP listing is one of the primary data sources AI uses when recommending local attorneys. Ensure your listing is complete with: your full firm name, address, phone number, website, business hours, practice area categories (select every relevant one), a detailed business description including your practice areas and jurisdictions, and photos of your office, team, and attorneys.

Create location-specific content. If you serve multiple cities or counties, create dedicated pages for each. A page titled "Personal Injury Lawyer in Fort Worth" should include location-specific information: the courts you practice in (Tarrant County District Court), local procedural details, driving directions to your office, and references to local landmarks and geography. This is not duplicate content — each location page should contain genuinely unique information about practicing in that jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction-specific legal content. Law varies by state and often by county. Create content that specifically addresses the law in your jurisdiction. "Divorce Laws in Texas" is more citable than "Divorce Laws." "DUI Penalties in Arizona: First Offense vs. Repeat Offense" is more citable than a generic DUI penalties page. AI search engines specifically prefer jurisdiction-specific legal information because it is more accurate and useful for the person asking the question.

NAP consistency across all platforms. Your firm name, address, and phone number must be identical across your website, Google Business Profile, Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyers.com, FindLaw, Justia, state bar directory, and every other platform where your firm appears. Even small inconsistencies — "Suite 400" vs. "Ste. 400" vs. "#400" — can reduce AI confidence in your data. Audit every listing and standardize your information.

Court and bar association links. Link to your state bar profiles, court admission records, and any bar association memberships from your attorney bio pages. These authoritative external sources help AI verify your credentials and build confidence in recommending your attorneys.

Step 6: Develop a Review and Credibility Strategy

Reviews are one of the most influential factors in AI attorney recommendations, but the legal industry has unique challenges with reviews. Client confidentiality, bar advertising rules, and the sensitive nature of legal matters mean you cannot approach reviews the same way a restaurant or retail business does.

Prioritize the platforms that matter most. For law firms, the platforms AI weighs most heavily are:

• Google Business Profile: The most important review platform for local AI visibility. Aim for 50+ reviews with a 4.5+ average.
• Avvo: The leading legal-specific review platform. AI frequently references Avvo ratings and reviews when recommending attorneys. Claim and complete your profile, respond to reviews, and keep your information current.
• Martindale-Hubbell: One of the oldest and most trusted legal directories. AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished ratings carry significant weight with AI.
• Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers: These recognition lists are frequently cited by AI as evidence of attorney quality. If you or your attorneys are listed, make sure it is prominently displayed on your website with proper schema markup.
• Lawyers.com and FindLaw: Secondary legal directories that AI also references. Claim your profiles and ensure accuracy.

Build a systematic review request process. After successful case resolution, send clients a thank-you message that includes a direct link to leave a review. Time this carefully — wait until the case is fully resolved and the client is satisfied. Some firms use a post-case survey to gauge satisfaction first, then direct happy clients to review platforms. Check your state bar's rules on soliciting testimonials — most jurisdictions allow asking for reviews as long as you do not offer incentives or compensation.

Respond to every review — carefully. Respond to positive reviews with gratitude. For negative reviews, never confirm the attorney-client relationship, never discuss case details, and never get defensive. A professional response like "We take all feedback seriously and encourage you to contact our office directly so we can address your concerns" is appropriate. Never say "We are sorry your divorce did not turn out the way you wanted" — that confirms you represented them and may violate confidentiality.

Leverage your credentials. Beyond client reviews, AI considers credibility signals like:

• Board certifications (prominently display these with proper schema)
• Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Rising Stars selections
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent ratings
• State and local bar association leadership roles
• Published articles in legal journals or bar publications
• Speaking engagements at CLEs or legal conferences
• Pro bono work and community involvement
• Law school adjunct or teaching positions

Include all of these on your attorney bio pages with as much structured, verifiable detail as possible. Link to external sources that verify the credential when available — a link to your Super Lawyers profile, your state bar directory entry, or your Martindale-Hubbell rating page.

Step 7: Set Up llms.txt and Technical Foundations for AI Crawlers

The technical foundation of your website determines whether AI can even access and index your content. Many law firm websites inadvertently block AI crawlers, use JavaScript rendering that AI cannot process, or lack the technical signals AI needs to efficiently index legal content.

Create an llms.txt file. The llms.txt standard is emerging as a way for websites to communicate directly with AI crawlers, similar to how robots.txt communicates with search engine bots. Place an llms.txt file in your website root that tells AI what your firm does and where to find key information:

# Harrison & Associates, PLLC
## Dallas Personal Injury and Family Law Attorneys

> Harrison & Associates is a full-service personal injury and family law firm in Dallas, Texas. Our attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience and have recovered more than $50 million for injured clients.

## Practice Areas
- [Personal Injury](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/personal-injury): Car accidents, truck accidents, workplace injuries, wrongful death
- [Family Law](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/family-law): Divorce, child custody, child support, adoption
- [Criminal Defense](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/criminal-defense): DUI, drug charges, assault, white collar crime

## Attorneys
- [Michael Harrison](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/attorneys/michael-harrison): Managing Partner, Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Law
- [Sarah Chen](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/attorneys/sarah-chen): Partner, Family Law Specialist

## Key Pages
- [Case Results](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/case-results): Verdicts and settlements
- [Contact / Free Consultation](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/contact): Schedule a consultation
- [Client Reviews](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/reviews): Client testimonials and ratings
- [About the Firm](https://www.harrisonlaw.com/about): Our history, values, and approach

Check your robots.txt. Many law firm websites built on WordPress, Squarespace, or custom platforms have robots.txt configurations that block AI crawlers. Check whether your robots.txt blocks user agents like GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot, or Google-Extended. If you want to be recommended by AI, you need to allow these crawlers access. Learn more about configuring robots.txt for AI in our AEO checklist.

Ensure your site renders without JavaScript. Many modern law firm websites are built with JavaScript frameworks that render content client-side. AI crawlers often cannot execute JavaScript, which means they see an empty page instead of your content. Test your site by disabling JavaScript in your browser — if your content disappears, AI crawlers likely cannot see it either. Use server-side rendering (SSR) or static site generation (SSG) to ensure all content is available in the initial HTML.

Implement proper heading hierarchy. Use a single H1 per page (your page title), H2s for major sections, and H3s for subsections. AI uses heading structure to understand page organization and extract key information. A well-structured page with clear heading hierarchy is dramatically easier for AI to parse and cite than a wall of text with no structural markers.

Add XML sitemap with all practice area and content pages. Ensure your sitemap includes every practice area page, attorney bio page, case results page, blog post, and FAQ page. AI crawlers use sitemaps to discover content. If a page is not in your sitemap, it may take much longer for AI to find and index it.

Optimize page speed. AI crawlers have limited crawl budgets. If your site is slow to respond, crawlers may timeout or skip pages. Ensure your law firm website loads in under three seconds, compress images, use a CDN, and minimize render-blocking resources. A faster site gets more completely indexed.

Practice Area-Specific AEO Tips

While the seven steps above apply to every law firm, different practice areas have unique AEO considerations. Here are targeted tips for the most common practice areas:

Personal Injury. This is one of the most competitive legal search categories. Focus heavily on case results (with proper disclaimers), state-specific injury guides, and content that answers questions about the claims process. AI queries like "how much is my car accident case worth" and "what to do after a slip and fall" are extremely common. Create content for every case type you handle with state-specific statute of limitations, damages caps, and comparative fault rules.

Family Law. Family law clients often start with emotional, conversational queries: "how do I file for divorce," "can I get full custody of my kids," "how much will child support be." Create empathetic, informative content that addresses both the legal process and the emotional reality. Child support calculators and custody factor explainers perform exceptionally well. Include state-specific details about waiting periods, grounds for divorce, and custody presumptions.

Criminal Defense. Speed matters in criminal defense marketing. People search for lawyers immediately after an arrest or charge. Content about "what to do if arrested," specific crime penalties, and bail processes performs well. Include content about your specific court experience — which courts you practice in, your relationships with local prosecutors and judges (stated professionally), and your trial experience. AI values attorneys who demonstrate familiarity with local courts.

Corporate and Business Law. B2B legal queries tend to be more specific and technical: "difference between LLC and S-Corp in California," "how to draft a non-compete agreement," "what to look for in a commercial lease." Create deep, technically accurate content for business owners and executives. Demonstrate industry specialization when applicable — "we represent tech startups" or "we specialize in restaurant and hospitality law."

Immigration Law. Immigration law is one of the most complex and rapidly changing practice areas, which makes authoritative content even more valuable to AI. Create content about specific visa categories (H-1B, L-1, O-1, EB-5, etc.), keep it updated as regulations change, and include processing times and USCIS filing fee information. AI frequently answers immigration questions and heavily relies on attorney websites for accurate, current information.

Estate Planning. Estate planning clients often do not know what they need. Content that explains the difference between wills and trusts, when you need an estate plan, and what happens without one performs very well. Use state-specific information about probate processes, estate tax thresholds, and executor responsibilities. Include information about your process — how many meetings, what documents to bring, what to expect.

Ethical Considerations for Legal AEO

Legal marketing is more heavily regulated than almost any other industry. Every state bar has advertising rules, and violating them can result in disciplinary action, suspension, or disbarment. AEO is simply a new channel for marketing your practice, but the ethical rules apply equally. Here is what you need to know:

No guarantees of outcomes. Never claim or imply that hiring your firm guarantees a specific result. Phrases like "we will win your case" or "guaranteed recovery" violate ethics rules in every jurisdiction. When discussing case results, always pair them with disclaimers about past results not guaranteeing future outcomes. When describing your firm's capabilities, use language like "we fight for the best possible outcome" rather than "we always win."

Accurate specialization claims. In many states, you cannot call yourself a "specialist" or "expert" unless you hold a specific board certification or designation recognized by your state bar. Texas, for example, allows attorneys certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization to use "Board Certified" and "specialist." Other states have different rules. Check your jurisdiction and use accurate language in your schema markup, website content, and directory profiles.

Client testimonials and reviews. Most states allow client reviews and testimonials, but some have specific requirements. Some states require a disclaimer on testimonials that the results may not apply to other cases. Some prohibit paying for testimonials. Some require that testimonials represent the typical experience, not exceptional outcomes. When building your review strategy, verify your state's specific rules about soliciting and publishing client testimonials.

Fee and consultation information. If you include fee information in your schema markup or website content, it must be accurate and not misleading. "Free Consultation" must mean truly free — no hidden charges for the initial meeting. Contingency fee disclosures must comply with your state's rules about advertising fee arrangements.

Jurisdiction and licensing. Your schema markup and website content should clearly indicate which jurisdictions you are licensed to practice in. Do not imply that you can represent clients in jurisdictions where you are not admitted. If you handle cases in multiple states, be clear about which attorneys are admitted in which states.

Disclaimer requirements. Most states require that attorney advertising include specific disclaimers. Common requirements include: "this is an advertisement," "the information on this website is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice," and "no attorney-client relationship is formed by using this website." Include these disclaimers prominently on your website — not buried in footer text that AI and users never see.

The bottom line: legal AEO is about making your firm's information, credentials, and educational content more accessible to AI search engines. Every strategy in this guide works within standard bar advertising rules. If you follow the ethical guidelines above and check your specific jurisdiction's rules, you can implement every step without any compliance concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Firms That Start Now Will Win

AI legal search is not a future trend. It is happening right now, at massive scale. Hundreds of millions of people are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews to recommend attorneys — and those AI models are evaluating your website, your reviews, your structured data, and your content to decide whether to recommend you.

The vast majority of law firms have done zero AEO work. They have no LegalService schema, no structured attorney credential data, minimal practice area content beyond a few bullet points, and no FAQ sections with structured data. Their review profiles are thin, their case results are unstructured or missing entirely, and many are inadvertently blocking AI crawlers from even accessing their websites.

This is a massive opportunity for firms that move first. The legal industry is one of the most competitive advertising markets in existence — a single personal injury Google ad click can cost over $200. AEO is the highest-ROI channel available to law firms right now because so few firms are doing it. Every step you implement from this guide puts distance between your firm and your competitors.

Start with the highest-impact changes: implement LegalService and Attorney schema (Step 1), build practice area content hubs (Step 2), and create "Know Your Rights" content for your top practice areas (Step 3). These three changes alone can dramatically increase your AI visibility. Then build out case results, local optimization, your review strategy, and technical foundations. Each step compounds. Together, they create a client acquisition channel that grows as AI search grows — and AI search is growing faster than any other channel in legal marketing.

Want to see how AI-visible your law firm is right now? Scan your website free with Vida AEO and get your AI visibility score in under 60 seconds. See exactly which optimizations your firm needs and where to start.