IFTS, Inc. Blog

Is ChatGPT Sending Visitors to Your Law Firm? Here’s How to Increase Your Chances of Being Found by AI

Key Takeaway

AI search is no longer something that’s coming in the future…it’s already sending visitors to websites today. If your law firm consistently answers client questions, publishes educational content across multiple platforms, and writes in a way that’s easy for people to understand, you’ll also be creating the type of content AI systems are increasingly recommending. The firms that embrace these fundamentals now will likely have an advantage as AI search continues to grow.

Something New Just Appeared in Google Analytics

A year ago, if you opened your Google Analytics reports, you wouldn’t have seen traffic coming from ChatGPT.

Today, you might.

Google Analytics 4 is now beginning to show traffic from AI assistants like ChatGPT, and it’s one of the clearest signs yet that online search is changing.

For years, businesses focused almost exclusively on ranking in Google.

Now, people are increasingly asking questions inside tools like:

ChatGPT
Grok
Google Gemini
Perplexity
And more…

They are asking AI instead of typing those same questions into a traditional search engine.

For law firms, that’s a significant shift.

It means your next client might discover your expertise before they ever perform a Google search.

And while the amount of AI traffic is still relatively small for many firms, the trend is moving in one direction.

Up.

AI Search Isn't Replacing Google…It's Expanding Search Capabilities

Whenever a new technology appears, people tend to assume it replaces the old one.

However, that usually isn’t what happens.

When smartphones became popular, computers didn’t disappear.

When social media became mainstream, websites didn’t disappear.

The same thing is happening with AI.

People still use Google and Bing…but now they’re also asking conversational questions inside AI assistants.

For example, instead of searching:

“Estate planning attorney Pittsburgh PA”

Someone may ask:

“I’m retiring next year. What should I know about updating my estate plan?”

That feels more natural and it’s how a human thinks.

So, this means AI has to decide which sources it trusts enough to reference when answering.

The obvious question becomes:

How does your law firm become one of those trusted sources?

Fortunately, the answer isn’t nearly as complicated as many people think.

Step One: Create Content That Answers Real Questions

The first thing AI systems are looking for is useful information.

That sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how many law firm websites still focus almost entirely on talking about the firm instead of helping potential clients.

People want to know “What’s in it for me?”

They don’t care as much about what school you went to or how many years you’ve been in business.

Think about the conversations you have every week.

Clients ask questions like:

Do I need a will or a trust?
How long does probate take?
What should I do after a car accident?
What happens after I’m arrested for a DUI?
How is child custody determined?

Those are exactly the kinds of questions people are asking AI tools.

If your website contains thoughtful, educational answers to those questions, you’ve already taken the biggest step toward becoming more discoverable.

This doesn’t mean writing hundreds of pages overnight.

Start small.

One new question answered each week becomes more than 50 pieces of evergreen content every year. You can answer the question via video or a blog (or both!)

Step Two: Publish Your Expertise in More Than One Place

One of the biggest mistakes we see is firms putting all of their expertise in one location.

Usually their website.

That’s a missed opportunity…for multiple reasons.

Today, your content should live in multiple places.

One educational blog can become:

a YouTube video
a LinkedIn article
several LinkedIn posts
Facebook content
Google Business Profile updates
an email newsletter

Not because every platform is equally important.

But because every platform reinforces your authority. It also helps your SEO.

AI systems evaluate information from many different sources.

The more consistently your expertise appears online, the stronger those authority signals become.

This is also why we’ve spent so much time on this blog talking about repurposing content instead of constantly creating new content.

The goal isn’t to work harder.

The goal is to get more value from work you’ve already done.

Step Three: Write Like You're Talking to a Client

This is probably the simplest improvement most attorneys can make.

Write for your clients.

Not other attorneys.

Legal writing serves an important purpose inside the legal profession.

Marketing content serves a different purpose.

Your goal is to educate.

That means using language your audience actually understands.

No Legal Jargon Allowed!

Instead of writing:

“Pursuant to Pennsylvania statute…”

Try writing:

“Here’s what usually happens if…”

Simple.

Clear.

Direct.

Interestingly, this helps both people and AI systems understand your expertise.

Tools like the free Hemingway Editor (https://hemingwayapp.com) can even estimate the reading level of your content and suggest ways to make it easier to understand.

Many of the highest-performing educational articles online are written around an eighth-grade reading level—not because the audience isn’t intelligent, but because clarity improves comprehension.

Good Marketing and AI Optimization Are Becoming the Same Thing

One of the biggest misconceptions right now is that businesses need some secret strategy to “rank in ChatGPT.”

In reality, many of the same things that have always made good marketing also make good AI content.

Helpful.

Trustworthy.

Consistent.

Educational.

If your marketing is focused on genuinely answering client questions and demonstrating expertise, you’re already moving in the right direction. This is a good thing, you don’t have to do double work!

The difference is that those efforts are now helping you in more places than just Google.

Why This Matters for the Future

Nobody knows exactly what search will look like five years from now.

But we do know this:

Consumer behavior continues to evolve.

People are finding businesses through:

Google
YouTube
LinkedIn
AI assistants
referrals
social media

The firms that consistently publish useful educational content are building visibility across all of those channels at the same time.

That’s a much more resilient strategy than relying on one platform alone.

The Bottom Line About AI Traffic

You don’t need to panic about AI.

You don’t need to rewrite your entire website.

And you certainly don’t need to chase every new technology that appears.

What you do need is a consistent system for publishing useful, trustworthy information that helps potential clients solve real problems.

That’s what AI systems are looking for.

And more importantly…

That’s exactly what your future clients are looking for too.

Want Help Creating AI-Friendly Content That Also Helps With SEO?

At IFTS, we help law firms turn the expertise they already have into educational content that works across:

Websites
YouTube
LinkedIn
Google Business Profiles
AI search
Email marketing

without requiring attorneys to spend hours every week creating new material. Start ranking higher and getting found by the AI Assistants now!

Learn more about our Law Firm Kickstarter Kit here:

https://iftsdesign.com/kickstarter-kit

Why Not Just Hire a Marketing Person? A Law Firm Owner’s Guide to DIY, AI, In-House Marketing, and Agencies

Key Takeaway

If your law firm’s marketing isn’t producing the results you want, the solution isn’t automatically hiring a marketing employee, an agency, or using AI. The right answer depends on your biggest limitation: expertise, time, or consistency. Understanding that distinction can save your firm thousands of dollars and months of frustration.

One of the most common questions we hear from attorneys is:

“Why wouldn’t I just hire a marketing person?”

It’s a fair question.

And lately, it’s often followed by another one:

“Or couldn’t I just use AI to do all of this myself?”

The reality is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.

For some law firms, hiring an in-house marketing employee makes perfect sense. For others, an agency is the better fit. And for some firms, doing it yourself is the right starting point.

The key is understanding what problem you’re actually trying to solve.

Because hiring the wrong solution for the wrong problem can become expensive very quickly.

The Biggest Marketing Mistake Law Firms Make

Many firms start with a solution before identifying the problem.

For example, an attorney may think:

“We need to hire someone.”

But when you dig deeper, the issue might actually be:

A lack of time
A lack of expertise
A lack of consistency
A lack of strategy

Those are very different challenges.

And each one requires a different approach.

Before you decide whether to:

hire an employee
hire an agency
use freelancers
or rely on AI

You first need to identify what’s actually holding your marketing back.

So, what options do you have?

Option 1: Do It Yourself

Believe it or not, there has never been a better time to do your own marketing.

Today’s law firms have access to:

AI writing tools
Video creation tools
Social media platforms
Social media schedulers
Email marketing systems
Website builders
Multiple CRMs

Many of these tools are inexpensive or even free.

You can:

publish educational content
create videos
build an email list
optimize your Google Business Profile
and improve your visibility online

For firms just starting out, DIY marketing can be a great way to learn the fundamentals and save a few bucks.

However, the main challenge is that most attorneys are already busy practicing law.

Marketing often becomes:

next week
next month
after trial
after this busy season

And before you know it, six months have gone by.

DIY marketing isn’t usually limited by knowledge.

It’s usually limited by time.

Which leads to the question…Can your firm afford to miss out on those potential leads while you are not marketing consistently?

Option 2: Can AI Just Do It For Me?

This is probably the fastest-growing question we hear today.

And honestly, AI is incredible.

We use it every day.

AI can help:

write first drafts
generate content ideas
repurpose blogs into videos
create social media posts
summarize webinars
improve efficiency

But AI is a tool.

Not a marketing department.

It still requires:

strategy
oversight
decision-making
and human expertise

As we discussed in our article, How Law Firms Can Use AI Ethically for Marketing, the best use of AI isn’t replacing expertise.

It’s scaling expertise.

In our opinion, AI should help attorneys communicate what they already know – not invent information for them.

For example, we often use AI to help turn:

blogs into video scripts
FAQs into LinkedIn posts
webinars into email campaigns

But someone still has to decide:

what content matters
who the audience is
what the goal is
and how success will be measured

AI can accelerate execution.

It cannot replace strategy.

Option 3: Hiring an In-House Marketing Person For Your Firm

Hiring someone internally sounds appealing.

And there are real advantages.

An in-house employee learns:

your firm
your clients
your processes
your culture

That familiarity can be valuable.

But here’s where many law firms run into trouble.

Modern marketing involves multiple disciplines:

SEO
Google Ads
LinkedIn
YouTube
email marketing
website optimization
analytics
AI systems
automation

Finding one person who excels at all of those areas is extremely difficult.

More often, firms hire a generalist.

Someone who may be good at:

social media
content creation
or email marketing

But may not have deep expertise in:

SEO
paid advertising
video strategy
conversion optimization

There’s also the cost.

A marketing employee earning a $60,000 salary often becomes $80,000-$100,000+ after accounting for:

payroll taxes
benefits
software
training
management time

And that’s still one person.

Option 4: Hiring a Marketing Agency

A good agency gives you something very different.

Instead of hiring one person, you’re effectively hiring a team.

That team may include:

SEO specialists
content creators
video editors
paid advertising experts
automation specialists
strategists

And often, the total investment is still less than the fully loaded cost of a marketing employee.

The key difference isn’t just execution.

It’s perspective.

A good agency isn’t simply creating content.

They’re helping identify:

what’s working
what’s not working
where opportunities exist
What’s trending in the marketplace
and what should happen next

That’s why we often tell attorneys:

Don’t compare an agency to an employee. Compare an agency to a team.

Those are very different things.

The Best Answer Is Often a Hybrid

Frequently, the right answer is a combination of solutions.

For example:

An in-house employee might:

coordinate content
communicate with attorneys
manage day-to-day tasks

While an agency handles:

SEO
advertising
video
automation
technical strategy

That model works well for many growing firms.

The goal isn’t choosing sides.

The goal is building a system.

How To Know What's Right For Your Firm

Here’s the framework we use:

If your biggest limitation is knowledge:

Hire expertise.

If your biggest limitation is time:

Hire execution.

If your biggest limitation is consistency:

Build systems.

Once you identify the real problem, the right solution becomes much easier to see.

Here Is The Bottom Line

The question isn’t:

“Should I hire an employee or an agency?”

The question is:

“What’s preventing my marketing from producing better results today?”

Because once you identify the actual bottleneck, the right structure usually becomes obvious.

For some firms, that’s DIY.

For some, it’s an in-house employee.

For others, it’s an agency.

And for many successful law firms, it’s a combination of all three.

The firms that grow most consistently aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most money. They’re the ones who understand their limitations and build systems that overcome them.

Want Help Figuring Out the Right Marketing Structure?

At IFTS, we help law firms determine whether they need:

strategy
execution
systems
or a combination of all three

If you’d like to see how we help firms create:

videos
blogs
SEO content
LinkedIn content
AI-powered marketing systems

take a look at our Law Firm Kickstarter Kit – https://iftsdesign.com/kickstarter-kit

The right answer isn’t always obvious – but making the wrong choice can be expensive. The good news is that once you identify your biggest limiter, the path forward becomes much clearer.

Why Smart Law Firms Don’t Depend on One Source of Clients

Key Takeaway

If your law firm gets most of its clients from a single source – whether that’s referrals, Google, networking, or anything else – you may be more vulnerable than you realize.

Consumer behavior is changing faster than ever, and the firms that continue growing are building multiple paths for people to discover, trust, and hire them. The goal isn’t simply to generate more leads – it’s to build a marketing system that remains effective even as technology and consumer habits evolve.

What Would Happen If Your Best Source of Clients Disappeared Tomorrow?

It’s not a question most attorneys like to think about.

But it’s one every law firm should ask.

What would happen if:

your biggest referral source retired?
Google changed how it displays search results?
Local Service Ads became too expensive?
AI search tools started answering more questions before people ever visited your website?

Would your firm continue growing?

Or would you suddenly find yourself scrambling to replace a major source of business?

The reality is that many law firms become dependent on a single lead source without even realizing it.

Everything works fine for years, and then something changes. The firms that adapt quickly survive. The firms that don’t often struggle.

That’s why smart law firms don’t rely on one source of clients.

They build multiple ways for potential clients to find them.

Consumer Behavior Has Changed Online

Ten years ago, the client journey was relatively straightforward.

Someone needed a lawyer…so they asked a friend…or they searched Google.

Today?

The journey is much more fragmented.

People are finding attorneys through:

referrals
Google searches
YouTube videos
LinkedIn content
Facebook recommendations
online reviews
AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini
podcasts
webinars
email newsletters

And that list will definitely look different five years from now.

The challenge isn’t predicting which platform will dominate next.

The challenge is making sure your law firm isn’t dependent on only one of them.

The Five Major Discovery Paths for Law Firms

Let’s look at where potential clients are finding attorneys today.

1. Referrals

Referrals are still one of the most valuable lead sources available.

In many cases, they are also the highest-converting source.

People trust recommendations from:

friends
family
accountants
financial advisors
business contacts

In fact, Nielsen found that 84% of global respondents trust recommendations from friends and family, making word-of-mouth one of the most trusted forms of advertising.

The problem is that referrals are difficult to control.

You cannot force someone to send you a referral.

And if one major referral source disappears, your pipeline can feel the impact immediately.

That’s why referrals are fantastic – but dangerous as your only source of clients.

2. Google Ads and Search

Google continues to be one of the most important ways people discover law firms.

Potential clients are searching for:

estate planning attorneys
personal injury lawyers
family law attorneys
business attorneys

The challenge is that Google is constantly changing.

Over the years we’ve seen:

local map packs
Local Service Ads
featured snippets
AI Overviews

The firms that depend entirely on Google often find themselves reacting every time Google changes the rules.

3. YouTube

Video has become one of the most powerful trust-building tools available.

Before contacting an attorney, many people want to:

hear how you explain things
see how you communicate
decide whether they trust you

A well-produced educational video can answer questions and build credibility long before someone schedules a consultation.

That’s one reason we’ve spent so much time discussing video marketing on our channel and in our articles.

A single video can continue working for your firm long after it’s published.

4. LinkedIn

Many attorneys still think of LinkedIn as a networking site…which could be a mistake.

LinkedIn is increasingly becoming:

a referral visibility platform
an authority-building platform
a search asset
and a place where professionals evaluate expertise

The attorney who consistently posts useful information often becomes the attorney people remember first.

And when someone asks:

“Do you know a lawyer who handles this?”

Being remembered matters.

A lot.

5. AI Search

This is the newest category – and one many law firms are still ignoring.

More people are beginning to ask questions inside:

ChatGPT
Gemini
Perplexity
Google AI Overviews

Instead of performing a traditional Google search.

Nobody knows exactly how this will evolve.

But one thing is becoming clear:

Firms with strong content and authority signals across multiple platforms are likely to have an advantage.

The Biggest Mistake Law Firms Make

When attorneys hear this conversation, they often assume the answer is:

“I need to be on every platform, which is impossible. So I’m not going to waste my time.”

Trying to manually create unique content for every platform is usually a recipe for burnout.

However, the real solution is much simpler.

You need a system.

Use A System - Create Once, Distribute Everywhere

This is where many law firms are leaving opportunities on the table.

Instead of creating separate content for:

YouTube
LinkedIn
social media
email
blogs

You can create one piece of content and repurpose it.

For example:

One video can become:

a YouTube video
a LinkedIn post
a blog article
an email newsletter
multiple social media posts

The goal is not more work.

The goal is more visibility from the work you’re already doing.

The Firms That Thrive Build And Use Systems

The firms that seem to grow consistently over long periods of time usually aren’t relying on one magical tactic.

They’re building systems.

Systems that allow people to:

discover them
trust them
remember them
contact them

No matter where those people begin their search.

And that’s the real lesson here.

I don’t know which marketing channel will be the most important five years from now.

Nobody does.

But I do know that firms with multiple discovery paths are less vulnerable than firms that depend on only one source of clients.

Change Is The Only Constant In Marketing

Consumer behavior will continue to change.

Technology will continue to change.

Marketing platforms will continue to change.

The firms that adapt best won’t necessarily be the firms with the biggest budgets.

They’ll be the firms that build resilient marketing systems capable of reaching potential clients wherever they happen to be looking.

Because smart law firms don’t depend on one source of clients.

They build multiple ways for people to find them.

Want Help Building Multiple Discovery Paths?

At IFTS, we help law firms turn their expertise into content that can be distributed across:

YouTube
LinkedIn
Google
AI search
email
social media

without requiring attorneys to spend all day creating content.

If you’d like to test a simple system for building visibility across multiple channels, take a look at our Law Firm Kickstarter Kit.

It’s designed to help firms create content once and distribute it in multiple places—without adding more work to the attorney’s schedule.