Would an AI send a business owner to you?
Some business owners describe their legal problem to an AI assistant and ask who to call. We put six of those problems to ChatGPT, Google's AI, and Gemini in ten US cities, and recorded which firms came back and what the answers drew on.
What we found · What came back · Pages that travel · Few reviews didn't keep a firm out · One question, three assistants · What the answers told owners · What it means for a business-law firm · The questions we asked
What we found
- ChatGPT named a law firm for 10 of 11 owners' questions, and Google's AI for 8 of 11.
- Pages travel across state lines. One firm's page titled "My Business Partner Is Stealing Money: What Can I Do?" was a source for both the Chicago answer and the Phoenix answer.
- A handful of reviews didn't keep a firm out. In Kansas City, two of the four firms Google's AI named for a software contract had 1 and 3 Google reviews.
What came back
Google's AI named firms for 8 of the 11 questions. ChatGPT named a law firm for 10 of 11, all but the New York question about forming a company. Gemini, asked the software-contract question, named firms too.
| Market and situation | Google's AI | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| New York · forming with a partner | No firm; built from firms' pages on forming an LLC | No firm; the city bar's referral service and the city's free legal help for small businesses |
| Boise · forming with a partner | 3 firms, whose formation pages it used | 3 other firms, after the state bar's referral service |
| Chicago · a partner taking money | No firm; built from situation pages, two of them from out-of-state firms | 4 firms |
| Phoenix · a partner taking money | 3 firms, as business cards | 4 firms, one of them a firm whose page Google's AI used as a source |
| Atlanta · a client who won't pay | 4 firms, as business cards, each described from its own collections page | 3 firms, each linked to its own practice page |
| Seattle · a client who won't pay | 4 firms, named in the text | 2 firms and the county bar's referral service |
| Denver · selling the business | 2 firms; built mostly from law firms' pages on selling a business | 3 brokers first, then 3 firms |
| Kansas City · selling the business | Brokers first, then 1 firm | 3 brokers first, then 3 firms, each linked to its own page on selling a business |
| Los Angeles · a fired employee | 1 firm that defends employers | 2 firms that represent employers |
| Charlotte · a fired employee | No firm; no employer-defense page cited | 3 firms that represent employers |
| Kansas City · the software contract | 4 firms | 3 firms |
In Denver and on the Kansas City software contract, the two assistants named a firm in common. In Boise and Atlanta, they named none in common. In Phoenix, one firm ChatGPT named had a page Google's AI used as a source.
Pages that travel
Google's AI often built its answers from pages written for the exact situation, and those pages crossed city and state lines. One firm's page titled "My Business Partner Is Stealing Money: What Can I Do?" was a source for both the Chicago answer and the Phoenix answer. A California firm's page on a partner stealing from the company was used for Chicago, and a Georgia firm's page on being frozen out of the bank account was used for Phoenix.
In Atlanta, the line under each business card came from that firm's own collections page.
Few reviews didn't keep a firm out
The firms named or shown as cards had 1, 3, 18, and 31 Google reviews, beside firms with 172, 195, and 595. In Kansas City, two of the four firms Google's AI named for the software contract had 1 and 3 reviews.
One question, three assistants
The software company's 40-page contract with unlimited indemnity drew firm names from all three assistants.
- Google's AI named four firms: a mid-size firm's technology group, a boutique for emerging businesses, a small-business boutique, and a large regional firm for a contract with a very large customer. It described the small boutique as one that "emphasizes transparent pricing models and flat fees for business contract reviews."
- ChatGPT named three firms and made one its first call, because "The firm publicly lists experience in emerging technology and software ventures," citing the firm's own site. That firm was also on Google's list.
- Gemini named four firms, none of them ChatGPT's and one of them on Google's list, and listed online contract-review services beside them.
All three gave a cost estimate for the review. ChatGPT warned: "I would not choose a low-cost automated review as the only safeguard here."
What the answers told owners
Ask about the fee. Most answers told the owner to ask for a flat or fixed fee, or a defined scope, before hiring anyone. In Boise, ChatGPT said, "Ask for a fixed-fee formation package." In Denver, Google's AI said, "Ask whether they work on a predictable flat-fee package for business sales or bill hourly."
Bring in the other advisers. The answers put other professionals beside the lawyer: a CPA in New York, Boise, and Denver, a forensic accountant in Chicago and Phoenix, a business broker on the sale questions, and the insurer on the employee and contract questions.
Start with the bar. Bar referral services came up in New York, Boise, Atlanta, Seattle, and Charlotte. In Boise, ChatGPT called the state bar's referral service "My first choice."
Find a lawyer who represents your side. On the sale question, ChatGPT asked for "a lawyer who represents sellers, not just buyers." On the employee question, it said to look for an employer-side employment lawyer. In Charlotte, Google's AI named no firm and cited no employer-defense page; the two firm pages on firing it cited were written for employees. ChatGPT named three firms that represent employers.
What it means for a business-law firm
When someone describes their situation to ChatGPT, the answer can match a firm to it, if that firm has written about the situation. That's what I call Context Marketing.
I ran the first family-law ad on ChatGPT, before the platform allowed legal-services ads.
A page for each situation your firm handles. A partner taking money, a client who won't pay, the sale of a company, the customer contract. Written for the owner living it, explaining the process and the first step, with your state's law in it. If your firm doesn't have that page, the answer may be built from a firm's page in another state.
A Business Profile that matches your pages. Where Google's AI showed a firm's card, the line under it described that firm's work for the situation. Keep your profile and your pages telling the same story.
Say whom you represent. For the sale and employee questions, the answers sorted firms by side: sellers or buyers, employers or employees.
Show the advisers you work beside. The answers told owners to bring in a CPA, a broker, or an insurer. A firm that names the advisers it works with, and writes for them, gives those answers something to connect to.
Mid-page assessment
Before your assessment, I put the owners' problems you handle to ChatGPT and Google's AI, and see whether they name your firm or build the answer from someone else's page. On the call, we decide which pages your firm needs first.
The questions we asked
Six situations a business owner faces, each asked in two of ten US markets, with the city in the question. The software contract was asked in Kansas City only, for 11 questions in all.
| Situation | The question, word for word, with the city swapped in | Markets |
|---|---|---|
| Forming with a partner | I'm starting a business in [city] with a partner. Should we form an LLC, do we need a lawyer, and how do I find a good business lawyer? | New York, Boise |
| A partner taking money | My business partner in our [city] company is taking money out and won't let me see the books. What can I do, and what kind of lawyer do I need in [city]? | Chicago, Phoenix |
| A client who won't pay | A client owes my small business $40,000 and won't pay, even though we have a signed contract. I'm in [city, state]. Should I hire a lawyer, and who should I call? | Atlanta, Seattle |
| Selling the business | I want to sell my small business in [city, state]. Do I need a lawyer as well as a business broker, and how do I find the right one? | Denver, Kansas City |
| A fired employee threatening to sue | An employee I fired is threatening to sue my small business in [city, state]. Do I need a lawyer, and how much would a business lawyer cost? | Los Angeles, Charlotte |
| A big customer's contract | I run a small software company in [city]. Our biggest customer just sent us a 40-page master services agreement with unlimited indemnity. Should I have a lawyer review it, what will that cost, and who should I use? | Kansas City |
Asked on October 28, 2026. We read each Google AI Overview in full and asked ChatGPT the same 11 questions, one per conversation. A firm counts as named when the answer gives it by name.
Joshua David Little is a Fractional CMO for law-firm owners and the founder of Aquila Law Firm Marketing. He has run his own consulting firm since 2004, and has done hands-on work helping attorneys prepare complex litigation for trial in family law, medical malpractice, personal injury, and unjust enrichment cases. He ran the first family-law ad on ChatGPT, before the platform allowed legal-services ads.