There’s a race happening right now in legal marketing.
Most attorneys don’t even know they’re in it.
The ones who do? They’re pulling ahead fast.
Here’s what’s actually happening.
The 2-3 Spot Problem
Someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overview: “Who’s the best estate planning attorney in Phoenix for blended families?”
AI gives them a direct answer.
Cites 2-3 attorneys by name.
Explains why those specific attorneys.
Done.
The prospect never clicks through to compare. They call one of those 2-3 names.
In Phoenix, there are 200+ estate planning attorneys.
AI platforms cite 2-3 of them.
Question: Are you one of the 2-3? Or are you part of the invisible 197?
This Wasn’t True 18 Months Ago
Traditional Google search used to give everyone a fighting chance.
10 blue links on page 1. Another 10 on page 2. Local pack with 3 attorneys. Paid ads at the top.
If you had decent SEO and showed up somewhere on page 1, you got clicks.
Prospects would compare 5-6 attorneys before calling.
That world is gone.
Now? AI Overviews appear at the top of Google results. They answer the question directly. They cite 2-3 attorneys as the answer.
Most people never scroll past that AI Overview. They don’t need to. The answer is right there.
The race isn’t “get on page 1 of Google” anymore. The race is “be one of the 2-3 names AI cites.”
Why AI Platforms Pick Winners
AI doesn’t cite attorneys randomly.
It looks for signals that someone is actually an expert, not just another law firm pumping out SEO content.
What AI platforms trust:
- Authentic voice. Content that sounds like a real person explaining something, not ChatGPT generating generic advice.
- Consistency. Publishing regularly. Not 5 blog posts in January and then silence for 6 months.
- Depth. Actually explaining topics in detail, not surface-level “10 tips” listicles.
- Geographic relevance. Content that demonstrates you actually practice in that city, not templated location pages.
- Recency. Fresh content. AI platforms prioritize sources that are active NOW, not sources that went quiet 2 years ago.
What AI platforms ignore:
- Generic ChatGPT content that sounds like everyone else
- Sporadic publishing (you’re not reliable)
- Thin content with no real substance
- Templated location pages with zero local intelligence
- Silence (if you haven’t published in months, you’re not an active source)
The problem: 95% of attorneys are doing the things AI platforms ignore.
The Generic Content Crisis
Every law firm discovered ChatGPT last year.
Everyone started using it to write blog posts.
Result? Every attorney’s website sounds identical.
“In today’s ever-evolving legal landscape…” “Navigating the complexities of estate planning…” “Our team of experienced attorneys understands…”
Your prospects know this is AI slop. More importantly, AI platforms know it’s generic content.
Generic = not cited.
Not cited = not called.
Not called = no clients.
Why NOW Is More Crucial Than Ever
Here’s the thing about this race: It’s happening RIGHT NOW.
AI Overviews rolled out broadly in mid-2024. We’re only 6-12 months into this shift.
Most attorneys haven’t figured it out yet. They’re still playing the old SEO game. Still publishing sporadic ChatGPT content. Still wondering why their website traffic is down.
But some attorneys ARE figuring it out. They’re publishing authentic content consistently. They’re getting cited. They’re winning cases.
Here’s what makes this urgent:
Once AI platforms start citing certain attorneys in a market, those citations compound.
More citations = more trust from AI = more future citations = more visibility = more cases = more citations.
It’s a flywheel.
The attorneys who get cited early build momentum. The attorneys who wait? They’re competing against established sources that AI already trusts.
Translation: The window to become one of the 2-3 cited attorneys in your market is RIGHT NOW. Six months from now, you’re competing against attorneys who already have that trust.
The Competitive Moat
Here’s what makes this particularly brutal:
Your competitors can’t just “catch up” once you’re established as a cited source.
If you’re consistently publishing authentic content and getting cited by AI platforms, you’ve built a moat.
Why competitors can’t easily replicate it:
- They can hire writers. Won’t sound like them. AI detects inconsistent voice.
- They can use ChatGPT. Sounds generic. AI ignores it.
- They can try to do it themselves. Don’t have time. Give up after 2 months.
- They can copy your topics. But they can’t copy your voice, your consistency, or the trust you’ve already built with AI platforms.
Once you’re one of the 2-3 cited sources in your market, you’re extremely difficult to displace.
That’s why NOW matters.
What Most Attorneys Are Doing (And Why It’s Not Working)
Scenario 1: The Silent Firm
Published 6 blog posts in 2023. Nothing in 2024. Website looks abandoned. AI platforms don’t cite dead sources.
Scenario 2: The ChatGPT Farm
Publishing 3-4 generic blog posts per month. All sound the same. All start with “In today’s digital age…” AI platforms ignore generic content.
Scenario 3: The Sporadic Publisher
Motivated in January. Published 5 posts. Burned out by March. Silent until December. Tried again. AI platforms don’t trust inconsistent sources.
Scenario 4: The DIY Martyr
Spending 10 hours per week writing content themselves. Neglecting cases. Burning out. Will quit in 2 months. AI platforms will notice when they go silent.
None of these approaches win the race.
What Winning Looks Like
The attorneys getting cited right now have a few things in common:
1. They sound like themselves. Not like ChatGPT. Not like a content mill. Like them explaining something to an actual client.
2. They publish consistently. Every week. Every month. For months. AI platforms trust reliable sources.
3. They cover their market comprehensively. Not just 1 generic location page. 20, 50, 100+ city pages. All in their voice with real local intelligence.
4. They demonstrate actual expertise. Not surface-level “10 tips” content. Real depth. Real explanations. Real value.
5. They do this WITHOUT spending all their time writing. They’ve figured out how to scale their voice. How to publish consistently without becoming a full-time content writer.
That last point is critical.
You can’t win this race if you’re spending 10 hours per week writing. You’ll burn out. You’ll go silent. AI platforms will stop citing you.
You need a system that publishes authentic content consistently without consuming your life.
The Voice DNA Advantage
This is why we built Voice DNA.
We analyze 10-30 pages of your actual writing across 13 linguistic dimensions. Then we train AI to replicate your exact voice.
Result: Content that sounds like YOU. Published consistently. Without you writing it.
Why this wins the race:
- Authentic voice. AI platforms cite it because it sounds like real expertise, not generic content.
- Consistency. We publish on schedule. Every week. Every month. AI platforms trust reliable sources.
- Scale. One Voice DNA analysis unlocks blogs, city pages, lead magnets, newsletters, social posts. All in your voice.
- Sustainable. You’re not burning out writing content. You’re practicing law while content publishes automatically.
- Competitive moat. Your competitors literally cannot replicate your voice. They can hire writers (different voice). They can use ChatGPT (generic). They can’t sound like YOU.
This is how attorneys win the race without spending 40 hours per month writing.
What Happens If You Wait
Your market has 50, 100, 200 attorneys in your practice area.
AI platforms will cite 2-3 of them consistently.
If you’re not one of those 2-3, you’re losing cases every single day.
Someone in your market is figuring this out right now. Maybe they already have.
They’re publishing authentic content. They’re getting cited. They’re building momentum.
Six months from now:
They’re the established source AI platforms trust and cite.
You’re trying to catch up to someone who already has the flywheel spinning.
The gap widens every month you wait.
The Window Is Now
Here’s the reality:
This shift to AI-driven search happened in 2024. We’re in the early innings.
Most attorneys haven’t adapted yet. They’re still playing the old SEO game.
That means there’s still time to become one of the 2-3 cited sources in your market.
But that window is closing.
Every month, more attorneys figure this out. Every month, the race gets more competitive.
The attorneys who move now get the competitive advantage. The attorneys who wait get left behind.
What To Do About It
If you want to be one of the 2-3 attorneys AI platforms cite in your market, you need three things:
1. Authentic voice that sounds like you, not ChatGPT
2. Consistent publishing without burning yourself out
3. Comprehensive coverage of your market (city pages, practice area depth, consistent blog content)
You can try to do this yourself. Spend 10 hours per week writing. Burn out in 2 months. Go silent. Lose the race.
Or you can use Voice DNA to scale your authentic voice across everything. Publish consistently. Build the flywheel. Win the race.
We work with ONE firm per practice area per market.
When you sign up, your direct competitors can’t hire us.
Your competitive advantage stays yours.
The race is happening. Right now. Are you one of the 2-3? Or are you part of the crowd getting left behind?
Want to see how Voice DNA works for your firm? Schedule a free strategy call or get a free Voice DNA sample.
