We’ve always said your website is like your front door. The introductory handshake. Your digital first impression. But that’s all changing. Law firm websites are not the primary point of discovery for leads. AI overviews, Google Business Profiles (GMBs), LinkedIn and other social media platforms, as well as robust third-party review ecosystems are now the most likely places of first contact. For all the firms wondering why their website visits and click-through rates have tanked or why their traffic patterns feel “off,” here’s your culprit! We’re seeing noticeable drops in CTRs across industries, largely driven by AI Overviews and an increase in zero-click behavior. Some law firm owners are asking if their website is still “doing anything.” Spoiler: it is! But it might not be doing what you think it is.
In this search environment, web users who actually make it onto your homepage or one of your core service pages have already familiarized themselves with your brand. This means a couple of things: firstly, web traffic that does make it to your site is increasingly from visitors who are further into the sales funnel, meaning that while you may see less visitors overall, a higher share of those visitors are more qualified, “hotter” leads. The law firm website is evolving from a top-of-funnel exposure tool into an essential anchor infrastructure, serving a different, yet equally critical, purpose.
Legal Search Behavior is Fragmenting
The question of whether or not websites are still relevant for lawyers stems from the undeniable fragmentation of search behavior in 2025. It’s not actually fully fragmented (yet?), in that there’s been no mass migration away from or towards any one platform or search engine. However, we’ve been closely charting these shifting web user patterns, and we’re in a moment of diversification in how users look for information and legal services. Google is still far and away the most widely used and most relevant search engine, but Bing and DuckDuckGo have seen steady year-over-year growth in usership over the past five years.
Those traditional search engines still dominate discovery and search, but AI companies are quickly spawning competitors. The horizon now includes not only AI-powered LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot, which, while not standalone search engines in the traditional sense, have integrated search capabilities into their products. And people are eager to use them, or at least give them a try. In 2025 alone, weekly ChatGPT users have increased by hundreds of millions. OpenAI even launched an AI-powered browser called ChatGPT Atlas (the word is still out on whether or not it’s got legs). All this signals a potential future where information and answers are entirely synthesized by AI rather than discovered by clicking through to webpages. With AI Overviews dominating the SERP of the dominant search engine, we’re already moving in this direction. And there’s already discussion about potential paid ad options within LLMs, even further simulating and building upon the traditional search experience.
Beyond AI, we’ve also observed the swift rise of social search, where platforms like TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even X (formerly Twitter) are emergent discovery engines for younger demographics and specific types of queries. People are increasingly turning to these platforms for recommendations, reviews, and quick answers, and “vibe reads.” There is no single platform that captures all attention—search and discovery are now spread across multiple browsers, AI tools, social platforms, and other emerging alternatives. And that changes the purpose of your website. Or what it means for your website to “matter.”
Zero-Click Search / Zero-Click SEO
Shall we address the elephant in the legal marketing room? Click-through rates are down. Down, down, down. According to Search Engine Land, organic CTRs for informational queries (returning Google AI Overview results) has fallen 61% since mid-2024. This is what we call zero-click search. It’s also called zero-click content, zero-click SEO, the zero-click web, zero-click marketing, etc (as coined by Amanda Natividad at SparkToro). The zero-click phenomenon describes search scenarios in which users find the answer to their query directly on the search engine results page (SERP) without needing to click through to a website. Research conducted by Bain found that 80% of consumers rely on these zero-click results at least 40% of the time. This trend is fueled by two tectonic shifts disrupting search: generative AI summaries delivered by traditional search engines and the rise of large language models (LLMs) for search (such as Perplexity and ChatGPT Search).
Google has really pioneered this new vision for web search, starting with local business listing, the Knowledge Graph, and other types of featured snippets that directly provide users with the information needed. This has now massively expanded into the SERP we see today, filled with interactive elements including the Gemini-powered AI Overviews, featured snippets, knowledge panels, and even in-app browsing experiences, such as the new Meta AI interactive search assistant on Instagram. It mirrors the Google AI Overview experience, depending on the in-app query. In another move to reduce outbound traffic, X (FKA Twitter) is also rolling out in-app browser views for links, keeping users in the app even when they click external links.
All these developments aimed at providing information directly at the point of search contribute to our collectively shrinking website traffic. For law firms, this means the battle for attention is no longer just about ranking, but about being the source of the answer, even if that answer is consumed elsewhere.
LLMs, ChatGPT, and Zero-Click Search
While LLMs like ChatGPT are nowhere close to usurping Google’s awesome search dominance, they’ve quickly become fixtures in the modern search ecosystem. ChatGPT ranks among the top five most visited websites daily, with over 700 million weekly users and billions of monthly visits from around the globe, but, so far, its use complements traditional web search rather than cannibalizes it. 77% of regular ChatGPT users engage it as a search engine, confirming that discovery is happening away from traditional SERPs. In-app AI search mirrors the Google AI Overviews experience (or rather, AI Overviews is mirroring the LLM chatbot experience), meaning that AI search also heightens zero-click behavior, providing direct answers and even sources directly on the platform.
While this doesn’t mean that users will never click through and visit your website, it does mean fewer users are ever leaving the search interface, whichever one they use. From a legal marketing standpoint this shifts the goal away from traditional metrics like CTRs and visibility and toward becoming the trusted source within the answer itself.
How Law Firm Websites Must Evolve in an AI-Ranked Environment
The good news is that law firm websites aren’t going away. Instead of primarily serving as a discovery mechanism, your site is now a critical hub for conversion, credibility, depth of information, and proof of authority and demonstrated results. It’s where potential clients, having made initial contact elsewhere, come to validate your expertise, delve deeper into your services, and ultimately decide to submit an inquiry or convert. To meet the moment, focus on the following:
- Optimize conversion elements. Every page should be built to convert at some level (forms, CTAs, lead magnets).
- Showcase proof and credibility. Share updated case studies, client testimonials, awards, and recognitions.
- Provide depth and authority via in-depth service pages, FAQs, and expert insights that demonstrate expertise.
- Integrate social proof and authority signals such as links to press mentions, partnerships, client logos, and verified profiles.
- Highlight thought leadership. Regularly post blogs, articles, guides, and AI-friendly content that can be surfaced in AI answers.
- Fortify technical performance. As has long been the case, fast load times, mobile-first design, accessible navigation, and structured data are paramount.
- Facilitate easy engagement. Feature multiple contact methods, chatbots, and clear instructive copy on next steps for leads.
In this multi-surface search world, your website functions as the ultimate conversion environment. It’s the place where you solidify trust, demonstrate unparalleled authority, and provide the comprehensive information necessary for a lead to take the next step.
FAQs
Absolutely, yes. The legal website is not going away, and you should still make continuous efforts to maintain a fast and user-friendly website filled with accessible information and strong conversion elements. Your site still serves as the authoritative anchor for your brand, where potential clients, having discovered your firm through other routes, can explore your expertise in detail and ultimately make contact with your intake team. It’s the ultimate proof point for your firm’s capabilities and your main conversion tool.
To complicate this query, not only are clicks down, but visibility (another traditional key metric) ≠ clicks. With declining clicks and volatile visibility, focus on brand-centric metrics instead of just traffic. Track branded search volume, direct visits, social engagement, mentions, reviews, and lead quality. On your site, measure conversion rates, time on core service/contact pages, and engagement with in-depth content. Look at your firm’s influence and authority, not just clicks to your site.
Yes. Blogs and other medium- and long-form informational or educational content present opportunities to both be cited in AI-generated answers and offer a level of depth an AI summary cannot. Anything from legal news updates, in-depth know-your-rights articles, unique perspectives on issues in your practice areas, proprietary research, detailed case studies, and general legal thought leadership pieces that go beyond surface-level information. YOU are the repository of information the feeds AI. Focus on content that demonstrates empathy, nuanced understanding, and a human touch—qualities that AI answers alone struggle to replicate.
Absolutely. And it won’t be as big of an “investment” as you might think. We’ve already started offering generative engine optimization (GEO) services, which essentially optimize for AI search specifically. But effective GEO (sometimes referred to as AEO) builds on well-established SEO best practices. If you’re already focused on both meeting the queries and needs of your leads as well as feeding the search algorithms with well-structured web content, you’re already optimizing for AI. An AI-friendly website audit to identify points of friction and opportunity is well worth your while.
And because legal websites are still relevant, you might as well take a look-see at all the beautiful web design work we’ve been doing this year: our portfolio.
Hannah Bollman is Nifty’s talented and dynamic Content & Brand Manager. She develops compelling content across blogs, newsletters, social media, and ad campaigns, ensuring alignment with Nifty’s voice and mission. With a background in SEO, content marketing, and stand-up, Hannah brings a unique mix of creativity, strategy, and humor to everything she does. When she’s not shaping Nifty’s brand or growing visibility for legal clients, she’s on a run, on her bike, or enjoying a delicious falafel sammich.