How Law Firms Can Tell If Their AI Search Strategy Is Working

The New Battleground for Law Firm Visibility

It’s no longer about whether your firm is using GEO. The real question is whether or not it’s working.

As more legal consumers turn to AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overview, the way law firms earn attention is changing. Are AI models recommending your firm at the moment someone is looking for legal help?

That outcome depends on signals AI tools pick up across the internet. Some you can control, while others can merely be influenced. What matters is knowing what to track and how to act when the numbers fall short.

This article breaks down the four indicators that show whether your GEO strategy is moving in the right direction or wasting effort.

1. Share of Search

The first and most direct signal of whether your GEO efforts are working is branded search demand. This shows how often people are looking for your firm by name compared to other firms in your market. If that number is growing, it means your name is sticking when people encounter it in AI results, social content, or legal directories.

We made a blog post describing the top ten tools to track brand mentions in AI conversations. This is a great first step. Start by identifying your top three competitors and charting branded search interest over the last 3 months+. Rising demand points to increased relevance. If your numbers are flat or declining, it suggests that people are either forgetting your firm or choosing someone else.

This metric reflects brand strength, not just marketing activity. GEO efforts that increase visibility inside AI tools often lead people to double-check your name in Google before reaching out. That behavior leaves a measurable trail.

2. Traffic That Signals Intent

Not all clicks are equal. To know if GEO is helping your firm attract potential clients, you need to separate casual interest from true buying intent.

This means tracking how much of your organic traffic comes from non-branded searches that clearly show someone is looking for legal help. Queries like “injury lawyer consultation Austin” or “best defense attorney for DUI case” carry very different weight than searches like “what does a personal injury lawyer do.”

Use Google Search Console to export your query data, then segment it by intent. Look for longer searches with commercial language. These often reflect someone closer to hiring a lawyer, not just browsing for information.

Next, compare your share of that traffic to your competitors. If tool estimates show you outperforming the market, but your actual commercial traffic is weak, the visibility is not converting. If your internal numbers are rising faster than what the market expects, you are likely building momentum.

3. AI Prompt Coverage

It’s not enough for your firm to show up in search. What matters is whether AI tools are actually recommending you when someone asks for legal help.

To find out, start by thinking about the real-life situations that lead people to look for a lawyer. These are the moments that trigger legal searches, like being injured in a rideshare crash, getting served with a lawsuit, or needing help after a denied insurance claim.

Try entering questions into tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity based on those scenarios. See which firms are mentioned, what sources are being cited, and whether your name appears. If you are missing, the models are picking up stronger signals from your competitors.

What helps you show up more often is not just more content. It is third-party proof. That includes PR, media mentions, online reviews, and legal directories that confirm your experience and reputation.

4. Tracking Conversational Queries in Legal Search

One way to tell if your GEO strategy is building real interest is by looking at how people are finding your firm through longer, natural-sounding search terms. These are the types of phrases someone might speak out loud or enter into an AI tool, like “who is the best lawyer for a construction accident case in Dallas” or “what kind of attorney do I need after a workplace injury.”

You can find this data in Google Search Console. Focus on queries with four or more words that show specific legal needs and time-sensitive situations. Then check whether those searches are leading to clicks, not just impressions.

The goal is to identify queries that reflect legal intent. If you see more of these queries driving traffic to your site, it means your content is matching how people actually search for legal help. If you are getting impressions but no clicks, it may be a sign that your content is not strong enough to keep their attention or answer the need.

What Actually Moves the Needle in GEO for Law Firms

If your firm is not being recommended by AI tools, the problem is not your keyword list. It is what those tools can find about your firm across the web.

To improve GEO, you need stronger public signals. That includes reviews, media coverage, client results, and any third-party content that confirms your firm is trusted and active in your area of practice.

Consistency matters. Your name, messaging, and positioning should be aligned across your website, directories, and press mentions. This helps AI models recognize your firm as a reliable option for specific types of legal help.

Use client stories to reinforce this. Focus on results tied to common legal problems. A brief example of how you helped someone in a real situation is more convincing than a list of services.

Your website should match the intent behind these searches. If someone arrives after reading about your firm in an AI result, the content they land on should pick up right where that interest began.

TSEG helps law firms improve these signals. From strategy and PR to content and brand clarity, we help your firm show up when it matters. Contact us today.