In January, Joe Giovannoli, founder and CEO of 9Sail, discussed the intersection of SEO and generative AI with 9Sail’s two digital strategists, Taylor Tobey and Ryland Alkins, and 9Sail’s Client Success Manager, Jordanna Kalkhof. Read on to hear some of their thoughts on how law firms can adapt their SEO and marketing strategies to effectively leverage the rise of AI-powered search engines and overviews.

Key Takeaways

• Optimizing for AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity requires similar strategies to traditional SEO, such as creating high-quality, user-intent focused content. Firms should not panic, as many existing SEO best practices will still be effective.
• Firms should consider incorporating lists, FAQs, and other easily digestible content formats to increase the chances of being featured in AI overviews and summaries. Technical site optimizations like schema markup are also important.
• While AI may impact some top-of-funnel traffic, firms should focus on tracking leads and conversions from AI-driven searches, as these may become more valuable than generic informational queries.
• Paid search (PPC) can still be an effective strategy, as ads may adapt to appear alongside or within AI-generated results. Firms should continue to monitor the evolving layout of search engine results pages.