Does ChatGPT recommend law firms? Our test
Yes, almost always, but not the same firms. In our Oct 12, 2026 test, 51 of 54 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity named at least one specific law firm, and the answers that named firms listed a median of 9. Counting each city separately, 264 firms were named across Austin, Columbus and Denver: 37 of them by more than one assistant in the same city, and 5 by all three.
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Step 1 of 2What are the key figures?
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Answers naming at least one specific firm | 51 of 54 (18 of 18 from ChatGPT, 18 of 18 from Gemini, 15 of 18 from Perplexity) |
| "Who should I hire" / "How do I choose" answers naming a firm | 27 of 27 / 24 of 27 |
| Firms named, counted per city (Austin / Columbus / Denver) | 264 (98 / 94 / 72) |
| Named by 2+ assistants in the same city / by all 3 | 37 / 5 |
| Median firms per answer, among answers that named any | 9 |
| Answers saying there is no single "best" | 49 of 54 |
| ChatGPT and Perplexity answers citing any site | 31 of 36 |
| …citing a legal directory or listing site | 29 of 36 |
| …citing a firm's own website | 24 of 36 |
| …citing a bar association or court body | 13 of 36 |
| Most-cited single firm website | 7 of 36 |
- Law answers named firms most often (51 of 54), with the most names per answer.
- Legal directories and peer rankings were the main sources. No single firm's website was cited in more than 7 of 36 answers.
Which sites did the answers cite?
| Site | Answers citing it (of 36) |
|---|---|
| Best Law Firms | 20 |
| Best Lawyers | 19 |
| Lawyers.com | 15 |
| ClearlyRated | 11 |
| Clutch | 11 |
| Martindale | 11 |
| Avvo | 11 |
| Justia | 10 |
| Chambers | 9 |
| FindLaw | 9 |
| Super Lawyers | 5 |
| Colorado Bar Association | 5 |
What were buyers told to check?
| Check | Answers mentioning it (of 27) |
|---|---|
| Fees and billing | 26 |
| Experience with cases like yours | 26 |
| Communication | 21 |
| Licence or discipline record | 18 |
| Reviews and peer recognition | 8 |
What can a law firm do with this?
- Check whether you have, or can claim, a listing on the legal directories these answers cited (Avvo, Justia, Lawyers.com, Martindale, FindLaw), and keep it accurate. Some rankings cited here, such as Best Lawyers and Chambers, use their own research or peer review, so check each site's rules rather than expecting a sign-up. A site being cited often doesn't show that a listing on it causes a recommendation.
- Give each practice area a page that answers what buyers are told to check: how you charge, cases like theirs you've handled, and who will handle their matter.
- Keep your bar record current. Bar associations and court bodies were cited in 13 of 36 answers, and answers told buyers to check discipline records.
- Check your own firm with the free Quick Scan.
Where can I read more?
- The other industries in the full study.
- Guide: what to fix first for AI search.
- Post: which websites AI cites when buyers ask.
How did we run this?
On Oct 12, 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, through their APIs with web search on, the 6 questions our free Quick Scan asks (3 'who should I hire', 3 'how do I choose'). We asked each question once, for each industry, in Austin, Columbus and Denver: 54 answers per industry. Each assistant was told it was helping a person looking for that kind of business and to recommend specific businesses, websites or resources by name where relevant. So this is a test of prompted recommendations, not of every way people ask. A second AI model listed the businesses each answer named, and we checked a sample of answers by hand. Businesses are counted per city. Cited sites come from ChatGPT and Perplexity only (36 answers per industry). One answer can cite several kinds of site, so the site-type figures overlap. We don't publish the businesses named.
What are the limits of this study?
- One run on one evening. Answers change from run to run, so these are samples, not rankings.
- These are API answers with web search on, and the city came from the question, not the person's location. The consumer apps can answer differently.
- The assistants were prompted to recommend by name where relevant, which likely raises how often they name businesses.
- A second AI model listed the business names and buyer checks, and we hand-checked a sample of 3 answers. Name matching is approximate: a spelling variant can split one firm in two.
- Businesses are counted per city, so a firm named in two cities counts twice.
- Cited sites cover ChatGPT and Perplexity only, and site types overlap.
- A site being cited often does not show that a listing on it causes a recommendation.
- We never publish the businesses that were named.
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