Law Firm Marketing in the Age of AI – Adapt, Survive, and Actually Get Seen

John Bowie, LawFuel Publisher

In the constantly shifting search sands online Google has just thrown as curveball — AI Search. If you blinked during Google I/O 2025, you might’ve missed the memo: the way people find information online just changed in a major manner. And yes, this absolutely affects how your firm gets found.

We’ve been working with law firm marketers and law firm bloggers at LawFuel since 2001 and so we know a little about how SEO has changed. And now – with AI – it has really changed.

Here’s the legal-world-friendly, jargon-light, coffee-table version of what you need to know about what has changed and how lawyers can best use the new search methodology to attract new clients.

1. AI Mode is Here. And It’s Not Optional.

Google Search? Think less “list of blue links” and more “robotic paralegal drafting a memo on your behalf.”

The new AI Mode launched by Google is the entire search result now. It launched in the U.S., but it’s heading worldwide with AI Overviews, longer responses, but murkier attribution.

Think of AI Mode like handing your brief to a hyper-efficient intern who rewrites it into a 3-paragraph summary… and then takes all the credit

What this means for your law content?

It means content needs to move beyond just being technically correct—it has to be contextually useful. AI wants answers, not just keywords. It’s scanning your content for structure, clarity, and subject authority.

Write so the AI can use your content, which means using structured answers, an expert tone and context rich deep dives into your content.

Treat every blog post like a polished memo to a high-value client—clear, complete, and actionable. Give the AI what it needs to quote you, not just skim past you.

List out pros/cons, comparisons,for instance and make the content helpful, not just keywordy. This has long been a key rule, but moreso now with the AI overview.

2. R.I.P. Short Keywords

“Personal injury lawyer” alone isn’t going to cut it anymore as search enters the AI rhealm. Google’s new Gemini-powered “Query Fanout” takes vague searches like ‘personal injury lawyer’, ‘DUI lawyer’ and turns them into hyper-personalised queries.

Your prospective client may have searched “employment lawyer Miami”? Google now assumes they were fired last week, have a dispute over unpaid bonuses, and hate confrontation.

So if someone looks up “employment contract help,” it might silently add “for contractors,” “based in Arizona,” “urgent,” and “without going to court” behind the scenes.

What you should do to get their attention?

• Target long-tail, multi-intent searches that will help ‘surround’ the keywords with related terms.
• That means your SEO strategy has to mirror the way real people actually ask for help—long, layered, specific. Instead of focusing on one word, focus on why someone is searching and what pain point they’re trying to solve. Create clusters of related content that show depth and breadth around the selected topic, enhancing your firm’s ability to achieve an AI rank.
• Topical authority (read: depth, not just breadth) is your best friend here. Write like you’re building a case file, not tossing out one-liners. Don’t be a one-page wonder.

3. Time to Get Personal

People want to know who they’re dealing with. If your online presence feels like a faceless briefcase, that’s a problem.

You don’t need to start dancing on TikTok, but you do need to sound human. Ditch the legalese. Google and Gemini are hunting for human tone, trustworthy voice, and recognisable personalities behind the pages. If you sound like a human, not a press release, you’re already ahead.

Think: if your content sounds like a billable memo, you’ve already lost the reader (and maybe the AI too).

Do this instead:

• Build trust with your actual voice.
• Use the same tone across your content.
• Let people see who you are, and why you know what you’re talking about. No need to overshare your life story—but let people get a sense of you. Your voice is part of your brand equity now. That includes a consistent tone, a visible author profile, and content that actually reflects the way you speak in a real client meeting (minus the hourly rate).

4. AI Personal Assistants Are Stealing the Mouse

Gemini can now shop, schedule, call, and compare—without your prospective client lifting a finger. It could all but write your opening submissions (give it time).

Affiliate-type sites are getting roasted. If you’re not the trusted go-to before the AI starts the search. That means the user isn’t coming to your site for research—they expect the AI to do that on their behalf. And if your site doesn’t look like a reliable source at a glance? You’re benched.

For law firms, this is about earning trust before the click. Make sure your content radiates credibility—showcase your credentials, case experience, media appearances, and yes, even your smiling mug.

Add schema, multimedia, and keep your site tidy. If Google’s bot thinks your page looks like it’s been in probate since 2015, it’s going to skip right past it.

• Lean into structured data and schema markup.
• Use multimedia content: videos, infographics, podcasts.

5. Learn the New Skills, or Risk Getting Left Behind

The AI era needs a smarter SEO game. Google’s AI Overviews are designed to synthesize quick, contextual responses and if your content isn’t structured to support that, it won’t even make it into the AI’s closing argument.

You want your content to answer questions fully and fast. Think: what would a junior lawyer ask you about this topic? Then answer that with bullets, headings, and real insights—not filler.

• Write for AI Overviews and humans.
• Structure content with subheadings, bullets, clean formatting.
• Use semantic markup and keep things updated.
• Plan content to answer layered, intent-rich questions.

You’re not just writing “How to file a personal grievance.” You’re answering, “What should I do if I was unfairly dismissed after raising a safety concern at work in Wellington, and I want to avoid court?”

6. Be Seen Everywhere (Omnipresence is the Name of the Game)

This is Google’s way of saying: “If you’re just a blog with 200 posts and no personality, you’re toast.” Today, you need to show up across platforms, such as LinkedIn posts, YouTube explainers, maybe even a podcast episode here and there. The point isn’t to become an influencer. It’s to become findable.

• Use multiple platforms: start with SEO + email. Add LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasting. Each format you add is another “witness” vouching for your authority. Multimedia helps people—and AI—understand and trust your expertise.
• Show up authentically. Perfection is overrated. Being a real, competent human is in.

Even if your dog photobombs your legal explainer video, roll with it.

Stop Hosting Funerals for SEO

SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolved. This is AI SEO. The rules changed.

But here’s the thing: AI doesn’t invent answers. It needs trustworthy sources to summarize. You’re still the source. You’re still the expert.

So don’t panic. Pivot. And stay visible.

ACTION PLAN for Smart Lawyers:

• Audit your content. Is it skimmable? Helpful? Authoritative?
• Add schema markup to posts and profiles.
• Update old content with visuals, FAQs, and better structure.
• Own your voice. Let it sound like you.
• Test visibility: Ask ChatGPT and Gemini law-related questions. Do you show up?

Final Word (Because We’re Lawyers, Not Bloggers)

You don’t have to become a full-time content creator. But you do need to become a recognisable, trustworthy source in your legal niche.

Google wants to link to creators who sound like people, not page-rank bots. Use your brain. Use your experience. Use your voice.

Because if Google’s AI is the judge, you want to make damn sure your content is Exhibit A.

Stay smart. Stay visible. And maybe feed the algorithm a bone or two now and then.