Short answer. To find out if AI recommends your law firm, ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity the questions a client would type, such as "I need a lawyer for a commercial lease dispute in Leeds, who should I call?", with web search switched on and in a private window. Record whether your firm is named, whether your website is given, and which firms appear instead.
What is different about a law firm
A client choosing a lawyer is making a high-stakes choice, and an AI answer that names three firms is a shortlist. Two things set law firms apart from other businesses. The answers are location- and practice-area-specific, and what an AI says about a lawyer is also covered by the advertising rules lawyers work under.
The general method is in how to check if AI recommends your business. This guide adapts it.
Which sources the AIs read
When search is on, each AI reads a different source. Your pages need to be findable in the right one. Our guide which search engine each AI uses has the dated evidence. In short:
- Gemini and Google's AI features draw on Google Search. A page must be indexed and eligible to show in Google Search with a snippet, and Google says there are no additional requirements for AI Overviews or AI Mode (Google Search Central).
- Copilot sends its web queries to Bing (Microsoft Learn).
- ChatGPT uses several search providers. OpenAI has said it uses third-party providers and has not said how much comes from Bing (OpenAI).
- Claude is reported to use Brave Search, based on Anthropic's subprocessor list; Anthropic has not described this in its documentation (TechCrunch).
- Perplexity runs its own index, built by its crawler (Perplexity).
In BrightLocal's November 2024 test of 800 local searches in ChatGPT Search, business websites were 58% of listed sources, and categories where the stakes are high ("Your Money or Your Life") had a larger share of directory sources than others (BrightLocal). It is one vendor's snapshot from a product that has changed since, but it suggests that for professional services, directories as well as your own site may be among the pages read.
How to check, step by step
- Write eight practice-area questions with a place. Type them the way a client talks: "who is a good immigration lawyer in Toronto for a work permit renewal", "I was in a car accident in Dallas, which firms handle injury claims". Leave your firm name out.
- Add three questions that name your firm. "What does [firm name] specialise in?", "where is [firm name] based?", "is [firm name] any good?" These show what an AI says once it knows you.
- Use a private window and set your location to the area you serve. OpenAI says ChatGPT may share your general location with its search providers (OpenAI help centre).
- Switch web search on in each AI, and look for source links in the answer.
- Ask each question three times on each AI. Keep every answer.
- Record for each run: named (yes or no), website given (yes or no), the other firms named, and the pages listed as sources.
- Repeat once with search off. If you appear only with search on, you are findable today but not remembered. See memory versus live search.
Read the sources, then the sentences
For every answer, open the pages the AI listed. They are what it read. If it names competitors and cites a directory or a "best lawyers" list that you are absent from, that page is where you are missing.
Then read the exact sentences about your firm. Check the practice areas, the office location, the lawyers named, and any claim about results or specialisation. An AI can state something outdated or wrong with total confidence.
When an answer is wrong
Do not edit the AI. Fix the page it read. Note the sentence, the AI, the date and the source page, then correct the source if it is yours, or ask the owner of the page to correct it.
Be careful with any wording you publish in response. The American Bar Association's Model Rule 7.1 bars a lawyer from making false or misleading communications about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, and its comment extends this to truthful statements likely to lead a reasonable person to a conclusion with no reasonable factual basis (see the text as adopted in Colorado; we read this via a search summary, so confirm the wording). States often add their own restrictions (Attorney at Work). Check your own jurisdiction's rule before you publish a correction. This is a pointer, not legal advice.
Check the crawlers
Open yourfirm.com/robots.txt and check that OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Claude-SearchBot are not blocked by mistake. OpenAI says a site that opts out of OAI-SearchBot will not appear in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI); Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot to appear in results (Perplexity); Anthropic lists Claude-SearchBot as the crawler for search (Anthropic).
Repeat, because answers change
One run proves little. Answers change between runs and model versions, so check monthly and count how many of three runs name you. See why AI answers change every time.
Or have it done every morning
aipozi asks the questions you choose on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity every morning with live search on, and records whether your firm was named, whether your site was linked, and who was recommended instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check if AI recommends my law firm for free? Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all have free versions. Ask each the questions a client would type, with web search on, and record whether your firm is named. Free plans may cap daily searches, so use separate sittings if you hit a limit.
What should I do if an AI states something wrong about my firm? Note the exact sentence, the AI and the date, then open the pages it listed as sources. A wrong detail usually traces to an out-of-date page, which is the place to fix it. Check your own jurisdiction's advertising rules before publishing any correction.
Why are the answers different each time I ask? AI answers are not fixed. The same question can return different firms on different runs, days and model versions. Ask each question at least three times and count how often you are named.
Should I test practice-area questions or firm-name questions? Both, kept separate. Practice-area questions with a location show whether you are recommended to strangers. Firm-name questions show what the AI says about you once someone has heard of you.
Does this tell me whether I will get clients from AI? No. It tells you whether you are named and linked in the answers you test. How many people ask those questions, and whether they then contact you, needs your own enquiry data. For next steps, see how to get recommended by ChatGPT.