A finance director asks ChatGPT which firms in Leeds are good for commercial property disputes. A family asks Gemini who handles contested wills in Bristol. A general counsel asks an AI assistant for a shortlist of UK firms with sanctions expertise. Each gets a short, confident answer naming a handful of firms.
If your firm is in that answer, you are on the shortlist before anyone visits your website. If it is not, you will probably never know you were considered. That is why more partners are asking how to get their law firm recommended by ChatGPT and other AI search tools.
There is no trick that guarantees a mention, and anyone who promises one is guessing. But there is a clear pattern in which firms AI assistants name, and most of it is within a firm's control. This guide explains how those answers are formed, how to test what AI tools say about your firm today, and the practical steps that improve your chances.
The short answer
AI assistants tend to name firms that are:
- Readable. Their websites can be crawled and indexed, and the important information is in plain text.
- Clear. Their pages answer real client questions directly and name the lawyers responsible.
- Consistent. The firm, its lawyers, practices and locations are described the same way everywhere.
- Corroborated. Independent sources, such as directories, legal press, reviews and professional bodies, say the same things about them.
- Current. Their information is up to date, with no departed partners or abandoned practices.
None of this is new marketing. It is good reputation management, made more important because AI tools are now reading it on clients' behalf.
How AI assistants decide which firms to mention
Different assistants work in different ways, and their answers change over time. But a few principles hold broadly.
Some answers draw on live search. When AI assistants search the web to answer a question, the pages they can find and read shape what they say. Google states that to appear in its AI Overviews and AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet, and that there are no additional requirements or special optimisations needed. OpenAI states that sites which block its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers.
Independent sources carry weight. AI assistants look for corroboration. A firm described as specialist on its own website, in a directory ranking, in a press article and in client reviews gives an AI tool far more confidence than a firm that only describes itself.
Consistency builds confidence. AI tools build a picture of a firm and its lawyers from many sources. Where names, practices, locations and credentials match, the picture is clear. Where they conflict, the firm is described vaguely, wrongly or not at all.
Clarity helps. Pages that answer a specific question directly, name the responsible lawyer and show real experience are easier for AI tools to understand and cite than long, generic practice descriptions.
Answers vary. The same question can produce different answers in different assistants, at different times and for different users. A single screenshot proves little. Patterns across repeated questions are what matter.
A 30-minute test you can run today
Before changing anything, find out where you stand. This is a simple version of the approach a professional audit takes.
1. Write ten questions your clients actually ask. Use their words, not yours. For example:
- "Which law firms in Manchester are best for employment tribunal defence?"
- "Who are the leading contentious probate solicitors in Bristol?"
- "Which UK firms advise on export controls and sanctions?"
- "Is [your firm] good for commercial property?"
Include at least two questions that name your firm directly, and several that do not.
2. Ask each question in several assistants. At minimum, ChatGPT, Gemini and Google (to see whether an AI Overview appears). Add Claude and Perplexity if you can.
3. Record what you find.
| Question | Assistant | Firm named? | How described? | Competitors named | Sources cited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment tribunal defence, Manchester | ChatGPT | No | — | Firm A, Firm B | Legal 500, firm websites |
| [Your firm] commercial property | Gemini | Yes | "Regional firm with a property team" | — | Firm website |
4. Repeat a few days later. Note what changes and what stays the same.
5. Look for patterns. Are you absent for your flagship practice? Described inaccurately? Mentioned but not recommended? Which competitors appear consistently, and which sources do the answers rely on?
The results usually point clearly to where the gap is: in your own content, in independent sources, or in consistency.
Seven ways to improve your chances of being recommended
1. Make sure AI tools can read your website
Check that your robots.txt file, hosting and any content delivery network allow search crawlers, including Googlebot and OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot. Keep important information, such as practice descriptions, lawyer profiles and locations, in plain text on the page, not only in PDFs or images.
Note that OpenAI treats search and training separately. Blocking GPTBot stops content being used to train its models. Blocking OAI-SearchBot removes the site from ChatGPT search answers. Firms can make a deliberate choice about each.
2. Answer the questions clients actually ask
Restructure priority practice pages so they open with a direct answer to a real client question, then explain how the firm helps, who leads the work and what the firm has done. Name the responsible lawyers and show their experience. Our guide to what makes a good law firm website covers how to structure these pages.
3. Make the firm consistent everywhere
Check that your firm name, office addresses, practices and lawyer details match across your website, partner profiles, directory listings, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile and professional bodies. Update or remove departed lawyers and discontinued services. Inconsistency is one of the most common reasons AI tools describe firms vaguely or wrongly.
4. Strengthen independent evidence
AI assistants trust what independent sources repeat. The strongest signals for law firms usually include:
- Directory rankings in Chambers and The Legal 500, which are structured, independent and widely read. Our guides to Chambers submission mistakes and improving your Legal 500 ranking explain how to strengthen them.
- Legal and business press, through commentary, bylines and coverage of significant matters.
- Genuine client reviews, particularly for consumer and local practices.
- Professional bodies and credible awards, avoiding pay-to-play lists that add noise rather than authority.
5. Keep everything current
Review priority pages and profiles regularly. Out-of-date information, such as a partner who left two years ago or a practice the firm no longer offers, can persist in AI answers if it persists online.
6. Use structured data accurately
Google states that no special structured data is needed to appear in its AI features. Structured data is still useful for describing your firm, lawyers, services and articles in a machine-readable way, provided it matches what is visible on the page. Treat it as good housekeeping, not a shortcut.
7. Keep the SEO fundamentals strong
Because AI search features draw on indexed web pages, the fundamentals of law firm SEO still matter: crawlable pages, clear structure, internal links and a good page experience. AI visibility builds on good SEO. It does not replace it.
What UK research shows
In July 2026, Black Letter Communications and Legmark published an AI Reputation Index analysing more than 5,300 UK law firms. As reported by Legal Futures, the average firm scored 57 out of 100, and authority signals were the weakest area across the sector. The research also found that well-regarded regional firms with strong local reviews and sharp specialisms consistently out-scored larger firms.
The message for most firms is encouraging. AI visibility is not reserved for the largest practices. Firms that are clear about what they do, consistent in how they describe themselves and well corroborated by independent sources can compete with much bigger names.
What does not work
- Buying mentions. There is no legitimate way to pay for a recommendation in an AI assistant's own answer.
- Pay-to-play awards and listings. Paid badges with no inspectable methodology add little and can undermine credibility.
- Mass-produced AI content. Generic pages written at scale make firms less distinctive, not more, and can create professional risk if inaccurate.
- Special files or markup promised as a shortcut. Google says no new AI text files or special markup are needed for its AI features. Be sceptical of anyone selling one as the answer.
- Judging from a single screenshot. AI answers vary. Decisions should be based on patterns across repeated questions.
Common mistakes law firms make
- Assuming good Google rankings mean good AI visibility. They overlap but are not the same.
- Never checking. Most firms have not asked an AI assistant what it says about them.
- Fixing the website but ignoring directories and press. Independent sources often matter more than the firm's own pages.
- Leaving old information online. Departed partners and old practice names linger in AI answers.
- Blocking crawlers by accident. Security settings and CDN rules sometimes block search bots without anyone noticing.
- Expecting overnight results. Correcting information can help relatively quickly. Building independent authority takes months.
Frequently asked questions
Can a law firm pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. There is no legitimate way to buy a recommendation in an AI assistant's own answer. Being named depends on how clearly, consistently and credibly the firm is represented across its website and independent sources.
Why does ChatGPT recommend our competitors and not us?
Usually because competitors are clearer, more consistent or better corroborated by independent sources such as directories, press and reviews, for the specific question being asked. It can also happen when a firm's website cannot be read by search crawlers, or when its information is out of date.
If we block GPTBot, will we disappear from ChatGPT?
Not from ChatGPT search results. OpenAI says GPTBot relates to training its models, while OAI-SearchBot determines whether a site appears in ChatGPT search answers. The two can be managed separately in robots.txt.
Do we need special markup or an AI file to appear in Google's AI Overviews?
Google says no. To appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, a page needs to be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet. There are no additional technical requirements, special structured data or AI text files needed.
How often should we check what AI tools say about us?
At least quarterly for your priority practices, and after any significant change, such as a merger, rebrand, partner move or new office. Because answers vary, run each question more than once.
Is this the same as SEO?
They overlap, but they are not the same. Good SEO helps, but AI assistants also weigh independent sources and consistency heavily, so a firm can rank well on Google and still be missing from AI answers. Our page on AI visibility for law firms explains the difference in more detail.
Find out what AI says about your firm
If you want a clear picture of how AI assistants describe your firm, which competitors they name instead and what to fix first, we can help. Legal Verge works only with law firms. Our AI visibility audit tests the questions your clients actually ask across the leading AI assistants, records the sources behind the answers and gives you a prioritised plan.
Book a strategy call to talk it through.