ChatGPT Update Eliminates Legal Advice and Drives Focus to Law Firm Websites

ChatGPT Pulled the Plug on Legal, Medical, and Financial Guidance

ChatGPT no longer offers legal advice. The same goes for financial and medical questions. Instead, users are given general explanations of broad concepts and a suggestion to contact a professional – sometimes with a link to one.

Testing the chat bot resulted in no messages that drafted legal arguments, no more suggestions for how to handle a lawsuit, and no more language that sounds like legal direction. This is a direct OpenAI policy change built into its updated use rules. Here are some examples of us testing it:

Other AI platforms are expected to follow, especially those backed by large tech companies who want no part in liability concerns. Instead of giving specific answers, these tools will start pointing people to real, human professionals. For law firms and legal marketers, that means more AI search queries are turning into referral opportunities.

This is the start of a much larger change in how people search for legal help. And the firms that show up in those redirected moments are the ones who will win the next wave of clients.

Law Firms Need to Start Showing Up Where AI Sends Clients

As more of these tools turn into recommendation engines, law firms will only be included if their websites are easy to find and easy to trust. These platforms look for pages that are structured properly and clearly demonstrate authority.

This opens new opportunities for firms to secure placements in AI search, but only those who have been optimizing for AI and LLMs for a while now will be cited in these early chats.

Firms That Show Up First Will Win First

AI platforms have stopped trying to be a lawyer. They are now guiding users to professionals.

This change is already influencing user behavior. It will favor the firms that are prepared to be found when those moments happen.

TSEG works with firms to improve the way their websites are built, written, and presented so they are picked up by the tools people rely on. We make sure law firms are in position to earn more attention and turn more of that traffic into real cases. Contact us today if you want to stay ahead.