Something Has Changed in How People Find Solicitors
Here's what's happening right now: a growing number of people looking for legal help aren't starting on Google. They're opening ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Copilot and typing things like:
- "Who are the best family law solicitors in Manchester?"
- "Recommend a commercial property solicitor near Leeds"
- "I need an employment lawyer in Bristol — who should I contact?"
The AI doesn't show ten blue links. It gives names. Specific firms. Sometimes with reasons why. If your firm isn't in that answer, you're invisible to a segment of potential clients that's growing every quarter.
This guide explains what Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) actually is, why it matters specifically for solicitors, and what you can do about it — based on real data from 8,600 SRA-regulated firms.
What Is GEO? (And How Is It Different from SEO?)
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is about ranking on Google. You optimise your website so it appears when someone searches "divorce solicitor Cardiff." You've probably paid an agency to do this at some point. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is about appearing in AI-generated answers. When someone asks an AI tool to recommend a solicitor, the AI pulls from structured data, reviews, directory listings, and content patterns to decide which firms to name.The key difference: Google shows links. AI gives answers. You can't rely on your Google ranking to get you into AI recommendations — they use fundamentally different signals.
What AI tools look at
AI recommendation engines don't crawl and rank pages the way Google does. They build understanding from:
Notice what's not on that list: backlink profiles, keyword density, page speed scores. Those matter for Google. They barely register for AI recommendations.
The Data: 8,600 SRA-Regulated Firms
We analysed 8,600 solicitor firms registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We ran AI visibility assessments across multiple platforms — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity — testing whether these firms appear in AI-generated recommendations for their practice areas and locations.
The headline numbers
- Average AI visibility score: 28 out of 100
- Not a single firm scored above 60
- 72% of firms scored below 30
- 91% have no schema markup identifying them as a legal practice
- Only 14% have structured practice area content that AI can parse
To put that in context: if every solicitor firm in the country is effectively invisible to AI, the first firms to fix this will dominate AI recommendations in their practice areas and regions.
Why solicitors are particularly exposed
The legal profession has some specific characteristics that make this worse:
1. Websites built for humans, not machines. Most solicitor websites look professional but are structurally opaque to AI. Beautiful hero images, vague taglines ("Expert legal advice you can trust"), and practice areas buried in dropdowns. An AI tool can't extract useful structured information from that. 2. Over-reliance on Google. Most firms have invested heavily in SEO — and many rank well on Google. This creates a false sense of security. "We're on page one" doesn't mean "AI tools recommend us." 3. Minimal directory diversification. Many firms maintain a Law Society listing and perhaps a Chambers profile, but neglect broader directories, business databases, and AI-readable sources. 4. Few or no reviews. The legal industry is notoriously poor at collecting reviews. Many firms have zero Google reviews, or a handful from years ago. AI tools weight recent review activity heavily. 5. Generic content. "We provide expert family law advice across all aspects of family matters." AI can't distinguish this from 5,000 other firms saying the same thing. Specificity wins.What AI Platforms Actually Say
We ran hundreds of prompts across the major AI tools. Here's what we found:
When AI can recommend a firm
Prompt: *"Recommend a family law solicitor in Manchester"*
The AI names 3-5 specific firms. These firms typically have:
- Google Business profiles with 20+ reviews
- Structured practice area pages on their websites
- Consistent listings across multiple directories
- Schema markup (even basic LocalBusiness schema)
- Recent content or activity
When AI can't recommend a firm
Prompt: *"Who's the best conveyancing solicitor in Swansea?"*
The AI gives generic advice: "Look for a solicitor with CQS accreditation, check reviews on Google..." — no specific firms named. This happens when no firm in that area has enough structured presence for the AI to confidently recommend.
This is the opportunity. In most practice areas in most UK cities, AI tools don't have enough data to make confident recommendations. The first firms to provide that data will be the ones recommended.The 5 Things That Actually Matter
Based on our analysis, here's what moves the needle for solicitor AI visibility — in priority order.
1. Schema markup on your website
This is the single biggest gap. 91% of solicitor firms have no schema markup, or only basic website schema that doesn't identify them as a legal practice.
What to add:- LegalService schema — identifies your firm as a legal practice, lists practice areas, locations served
- LocalBusiness schema — name, address, phone, opening hours
- Review schema — aggregate rating from collected reviews
- FAQ schema — structured Q&A for each practice area
- Person schema — for individual solicitors with specialisms
This isn't a coding project. Most website platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix) have plugins or built-in tools for schema. A competent web developer can add comprehensive schema in a few hours.
2. Practice area content structure
Each practice area needs its own page with:
- A clear H1 heading (e.g., "Family Law Solicitors in Manchester")
- What you actually do (specific services, not vague promises)
- Who you help (individuals, businesses, specific situations)
- Your location and areas served
- FAQ section with real questions clients ask
- Clear contact information
AI tools can work with the second version. The first is noise.
3. Reviews — volume and recency
AI platforms weight reviews heavily. They're one of the few objective signals of quality available.
Target: At least 10 Google reviews per practice area office, with an average of 4.0 or above. More importantly, recent reviews (within the last 6 months) matter far more than historical ones. How to get them: Ask every satisfied client. Send a follow-up email after case completion with a direct link to your Google review page. Make it frictionless.Many firms worry about negative reviews. The data shows that firms with 30 reviews averaging 4.3 stars get recommended far more than firms with 3 reviews averaging 5.0 stars. Volume and recency beat perfection.
4. Directory presence and NAP consistency
NAP = Name, Address, Phone number. These must be identical everywhere:- Google Business Profile
- Law Society Find a Solicitor
- Chambers and Partners
- Legal 500
- Yelp, Yell, Thomson Local
- Industry-specific directories
- Your own website
Inconsistencies (different phone numbers, abbreviated vs full addresses, old office locations) confuse AI tools and reduce confidence in recommending your firm.
5. Authoritative mentions
When legal publications, local news, or industry sources mention your firm, AI tools pick up on it. This isn't something you can manufacture overnight, but you can:
- Contribute expert commentary to local media
- Write for legal trade publications
- Get listed in "best solicitors in [city]" roundups
- Participate in industry events that generate online coverage
What Doesn't Matter (Stop Wasting Money On These)
Keyword stuffing
Adding "best solicitor in Manchester" fifty times to your homepage doesn't help with AI visibility. It barely helps with Google anymore either.
Social media posts
Your LinkedIn and Twitter activity has virtually zero impact on AI recommendations. Post if you want to — but don't confuse it with AI visibility work.
PPC advertising
Google Ads don't influence AI recommendations at all. They're a separate channel entirely.
Expensive website redesigns
A visually stunning website with no structured data is invisible to AI. A plain website with good schema and clear content structure will outperform it in AI recommendations every time.
Quick Wins: What You Can Do This Week
Day 1: Check your current AI visibility
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to recommend a solicitor in your practice area and location. Are you mentioned? Are your competitors? This takes 5 minutes and tells you exactly where you stand.
Day 2: Claim and optimise Google Business Profile
Ensure it's claimed, verified, complete, and has your correct practice areas listed. This is the single most accessible source for AI tools.
Day 3: Add basic schema markup
Even adding LocalBusiness schema to your homepage puts you ahead of 91% of solicitor firms. Use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper if you're doing it yourself.
Day 4: Send review requests
Email your last 20 satisfied clients asking for a Google review. Include a direct link. You'll likely get 5-8 responses, which already puts you in the top 20% of firms for review volume.
Day 5: Structure one practice area page
Pick your most important practice area. Rewrite the page with specific services, locations, FAQ section, and clear contact details. Use this as a template for the rest.
The Competitive Window
Right now, almost no solicitor firms are optimising for AI visibility. The average score is 28/100 and nobody's above 60. This is a window — and it won't stay open.
As awareness grows and firms start competing for AI recommendations, the bar will rise. The firms that move now will establish themselves in AI tools' training data and recommendation patterns. Latecomers will find it much harder to displace them.
This is similar to where SEO was in 2005. The firms that invested early owned Google rankings for years. The same pattern is playing out with AI visibility, but on a compressed timeline.
What TendorAI Does for Solicitors
TendorAI provides an AI visibility platform built specifically for UK professional services:
- AI Visibility Score — See exactly where your firm stands (0-100) with specific improvement tips
- AI Mention Tracking — Weekly scans showing whether AI tools recommend your firm
- AI Visibility (AEO) Audit — Technical analysis of your website's AI readiness (schema, structure, content)
- Live AI Search Test — Run real prompts against AI tools and see the results
- Competitor Analysis — See which local firms AI tools are recommending instead of you
Your AI visibility score is free. No credit card, no sales call, no obligation.
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