Let’s cut to the chase: AI-powered search has fundamentally changed the game, and if you’re still optimizing like it’s 2022, you’re already behind. Unlike traditional SEO where firms have spent decades building dominance, GEO is only 18 months old. Nobody owns this space yet. Translation: You still have time to stake your claim.

Here are ten critical insights every law firm needs to understand about Generative Engine Optimization—starting yesterday.

1. Generative Engine Optimization’s Golden Rule: Answer First, Elaborate Later

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews consume content differently. They want the answer in the first two sentences, then the supporting detail. Think of it like Business Insider‘s approach—bullets up top, depth below. Your readers can scroll if they want more, but AI tools need that immediate answer to cite you as a source.

Action item: Audit your top 10 practice area pages. Does each one answer the core question “what do we do?” within the first two sentences? If not, restructure immediately.

2. Structured Data Is Your Generative Engine Optimization Best Friend

If you’ve been investing thoughtfully in SEO for the past 5-10 years, congratulations—you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. But you do need to get obsessive about structured data. LLMs are crawling sites and making recommendations based on how well they can parse your structured data. If yours is incomplete or messy, you’re invisible.

Action item: Review your site’s schema markup, metadata for images, heading hierarchies—this is how LLMs read and index your site. It’s not sexy work, but it’s the foundation that determines whether AI tools can even find your content, let alone recommend it.

3. Mentions Matter Now (Even Without Links)

Here’s something that would’ve sounded crazy three years ago: unlinked mentions now carry weight.

Previously, if a publication mentioned your firm without including a hyperlink or used a “nofollow” tag, SEO experts dismissed it as worthless. AI has changed that equation. When authoritative industry publications mention your firm—even without links—AI tools recognize this as a trust signal.

Action item: Review your firm’s brand presence and digital PR strategy. Generic firm names create attribution problems. If there are multiple firms with similar names, AI can get confused about which firm deserves credit.

4. Attribution Beats Anonymity Every Single Time

Please, for Pete’s sake, attribute content to individual attorneys.

I get it—some managing partners prefer the institutional voice. But when someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity “Who is the best patent litigation attorney in New York City?”, these tools provide a list of individual attorneys first, then firms second.

The firm didn’t write the article. An attorney or attorneys at your firm wrote it, reviewed it, or at minimum put their expertise behind it. That person is your expert. Claim it. Own it. Build their authority.

What happens when attorneys leave? Have clear employment agreements stating all work product belongs to the firm. When someone departs, assign their content to another attorney who reviews and refreshes it. This is also an excellent opportunity to audit which pages still drive traffic and which can be retired.

5. Industry-Specific PR Trumps Vanity Publications for Generative Engine Visibility

Stop chasing the Wall Street Journal if you’re an intellectual property firm. Start chasing IP-focused publications that AI tools recognize as authoritative in your specific domain. Quotes in the WSJ or NYT? Still great, of course, but they’re not what will get you found in AI search.

There’s a crucial distinction here between traditional PR (building mainstream brand recognition) and digital PR (building your online reputation). Both matter, but for GEO purposes, appearing in niche, authoritative industry publications carries more weight than generic mainstream coverage.

Why? Because when AI tools evaluate expertise, they look for signals from sources they recognize as authoritative within that specific practice area. A mention in an IP industry publication signals subject matter expertise more clearly than a quote in a general business publication.

Action item: Again, this is where having a strong Digital PR Strategy comes in. Building authority online is not the same as building top-of-funnel brand awareness through national publications. If you don’t have a digital PR strategy, get one.

6. Zero-Click Searches Are the New Normal (And That’s Okay)

Yes, you probably lost 10-30% of your site traffic in the last nine months. Yes, AI-powered answers mean people don’t always click through to your site. But here’s what you’re probably not tracking: branded search is skyrocketing.

People are using ChatGPT or Perplexity to get a list of recommended firms, then typing those firm names directly into Google. This means:

• More branded search traffic
• Higher-intent visitors
• Better conversion rates
  
  

Action item: Implement proper intake processes. Leverage a marketing platform like HubSpot to track multi-touch attribution. Ask every new client “How did you find us?” You’d be shocked how many are discovering firms through AI tools. If you’re not tracking this, you’re missing massive attribution insights that should inform your entire strategy.

7. Technology Investments Should Make Your Team More Efficient First

With the avalanche of AI marketing tools flooding your inbox, here’s my hierarchy for where to invest:

First: Technology that makes your marketing team more effective and efficient at their jobs. AI tools for content creation, research, competitive analysis, and workflow optimization.

Second: A strategic decision about whether your firm will compete for non-branded search traffic or focus on validation (ensuring you look authoritative when people research you after getting a referral).

Third: Website health and user experience. If your site hasn’t been a priority until now, it needs to become one. Period.

Bonus fourth: A robust CRM (I’m looking at you, HubSpot skeptics). Understanding how prospects interact with your content and site is no longer optional.

8. Understand the Three Ways People Actually Use AI Search

Not all AI searches are created equal. Understanding user intent helps you position content strategically:

• Quick answer mode: Someone needs fast information they’d previously get from calling an attorney or colleague.
  
  
• They ask ChatGPT and move on. Savvy users check the sources—which means you want to be cited. This is why answering questions in those first two sentences matters so much.
  
  
• Search engine alternative: Users treating AI tools like Google, asking them to “syndicate information and come back to me.” While ChatGPT explicitly said they’re not trying to be a search engine, people use them this way regardless. These tools pull from traditional search engines, so your SEO fundamentals still matter.
  
  
• Validation tool: This is the big one. Someone got a referral or saw your firm name somewhere. Now they’re asking ChatGPT or Perplexity: “Is this firm specifically known for the challenge I’m facing?” If AI can’t confirm your expertise openly, it hedges: “While they probably could handle this based on their website, this is what they’re known for.”
  
  

Action item: You need content that serves all three use cases. Create quick, citable answers for the first group. Comprehensive topic coverage for the second. And clear, demonstrable expertise markers for the third.

9. Master These Technical Fundamentals (They’re Not Optional)

While everyone’s obsessing over AI prompts and content strategy, the boring technical stuff is quietly determining who wins:

• The two-click rule: Users should reach any page on your site within two clicks. If they land on your homepage and want to contact your employment law practice, that shouldn’t require navigating through three dropdown menus and a practice area index page.
  
  
• Strong CTAs with proper structure: Make it stupidly easy for people to do what you want them to do. And for clickable elements, follow best practices. Phone numbers need proper “tel:” formatting. Contact forms should be accessible from every page. Don’t make people hunt.
  
  
• Page speed and core web vitals: Google didn’t introduce these metrics for fun. Fast-loading sites with good user experience signal quality to both search engines and AI tools. High bounce rates from slow loading? You’re telling algorithms your content isn’t worth waiting for.
  
  
• Experience wins everything: There’s a reason Google added that extra “E” to E-A-T (making it E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). They put “Experience” first deliberately. User experience isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation everything else builds on.

10. Structure Your Content Like You’re Building a Reference Library

Long-form content still matters, but structure matters more. Here’s your blueprint:

• 5-7 strategic subheadings: Each article should address one main topic with 5-7 related subtopics. These aren’t random—they’re distinct questions people actually search for. Each subheading should be a question someone asks.
  
  
• Answer each subquestion immediately: Just like your main topic, every subsection should answer its question in the opening sentence or two, then elaborate. This allows AI to extract exactly what it needs and snap users to the relevant section.
  
  
• Strategic internal linking: Citations and hyperlinks in your first two paragraphs carry the most weight. Link to authoritative sources (government sites, bar associations, subject matter experts—not competing firms). Create a “spiderweb” of internal links connecting related content. This strengthens your entire site’s authority.
  
  
• Bullet points for key facts: AI tools love scannable content. Use bullets to highlight critical information, key points, and takeaways. This makes your content easier for both humans and LLMs to parse.
  
  
• Plain language always: Write so a smart non-lawyer can understand it. AI tools need to translate your content for end users. If you’re drowning in legalese, you’re making their job harder—and they’ll cite someone else instead.
  
  
• Wide breadth on each topic: Don’t just answer the narrow question. Provide comprehensive coverage that demonstrates expertise. While a user might only need one section, AI evaluates the full article to determine if you’re truly an authority worth citing

The Bottom Line

Generative Engine Optimization isn’t some distant future concern—it’s the present reality. Your 90-year-old grandmother is asking ChatGPT questions. The least tech-savvy person you know is using Google’s AI mode nine times a day.

The firms that win in this new landscape won’t necessarily be the biggest or oldest. They’ll be the ones that understood the shift early, structured their content properly, built individual attorney authority, and tracked the right metrics.

The question isn’t whether to invest in GEO. The question is whether you’ll do it now while the playing field is still relatively level, or wait until your competitors have already staked their claim.

Your move.

Want to understand how your firm currently shows up in AI-powered search results? Try searching for your practice areas on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI mode. The results might surprise you—or motivate you to act.

Joe Giovannoli is the Founder & CEO of 9Sail, a digital marketing firm he launched in 2015 to deliver data-driven SEO, PPC, digital PR, and content services tailored for law firms. Learn more at www.9Sail.com.