The New Legal Client Journey in an AI World

In 2026, the path from legal problem to legal counsel isn’t linear. It’s layered. And it’s no longer driven solely by keywords, impressions, and clicks.

We’re watching the traditional “search → website → call” funnel evolve into something broader, what we might call an answer-engine journey. AI tools like ChatGPT and AI-enhanced search results now shape the earliest stage of discovery, often before a prospective client ever searches for a specific law firm.

Before someone types “personal injury lawyer near me” or “divorce attorney in [city]”, they may already be inside an AI conversation trying to answer a more fundamental question:

Do I even have a case?

At NOMOS, we believe in making the law more human. That starts with understanding how real people move from uncertainty to action. In this post, we’ll explore what’s changed in legal SEO, why it matters for law firms, and how attorneys should think differently about the first stage of the modern legal client journey.

Key Insight:

AI is reshaping the earliest stage of the legal client journey. Prospective clients now begin with conversational AI tools before using keywords to search for a law firm. That means clients arrive at your website more informed and more selective. Law firms that invest in branding, reviews, case studies, story-driven content, and structured SEO will be better positioned in both traditional search and AI-driven discovery.

Discovery Is Now Conversational, Not Just Keyword-Based

For the last decade, online search has been the primary gateway to legal services.

73% of legal consumers use online search as their primary method for finding a lawyer.
85% use the internet at some point in their legal journey.
78% research law firms online before making contact.
90% use search engines when looking for legal services.

(Source data summarized from industry research frequently cited in legal marketing studies, including reports from Clio’s Legal Trends Report.)

But those numbers largely predate the arrival and present ubiquity of generative AI.

Today, many prospective clients don’t begin with a keyword. They begin with a conversation.

Instead of searching: “What is a personal injury claim?”

They ask: “I was hit by a car and the other driver ran a red light—do I have a case and what should I do next?”

That shift in consumer behavior is significant. AI tools respond conversationally. They interpret context. They synthesize information. The experience feels less like browsing and more like dialogue with a friend who went to law school.

This conversational search influences:

How a prospect frames their legal issue
The terminology they adopt and use to find an attorney
The expectations they form in terms of experience, timelines, process, and outcomes
The specificity of the attorney search that follows

AI isn’t replacing Google (as of now). It’s becoming the first stop before Google.

For law firms heavily invested in legal SEO, this means discovery no longer begins exclusively with traditional search queries. It often begins with an AI interface that shapes the client’s understanding before they ever reach your law firm website.

While that paradigm shift is scary for firms built on search, it actually produces a better outcome for the client and a better cultural match for the firm.

The Early Education Phase Is Compressed, But Not Eliminated

Legal consumers still want to learn about the law. They seek education. They want to feel empowered. They simply want it faster and tailored to their specific circumstances.

Research continues to show:

70% of legal consumers research law firms online before making a decision.
65% choose a lawyer based on online reviews.
60% visit a firm’s website before contacting the firm.

(See recurring findings in the Clio Legal Trends Report and similar industry analyses.)

What’s changed isn’t the desire for information. It’s the tolerance for friction. It’s the demand for personalized answers.

In the past, a prospective client might read multiple blog posts to understand a legal concept. Now, AI compresses that early learning phase into a tailored summary delivered in seconds, completely unique to the user’s experience.

That doesn’t make your website obsolete, but it does change its role.

When a prospect lands on your site today, they’re often no longer asking, “What is the law?” and sorting through an endless roll of blog posts.

They’re asking, “Is this the lawyer I trust with my problem?”, looking at their reviews, case studies, team, office, and story.

From Legal Information to Legal Confidence

Generative AI excels at summarizing statutes, outlining typical case processes, and explaining common legal terminology. It helps users to not only digest complex, nuanced information, but also allows them to interact with it, stress test it, and pose hypotheticals (all without being “on the clock”).

In many ways, generative AI is a superior experience to legal directories, blog posts, statute summaries, and online legal encyclopedias.

That being said, it has its limits.

Legal situations are fact-specific. Jurisdiction matters. Strategy matters. Human judgment matters.

AI systems are also known to “hallucinate,” producing plausible but inaccurate legal citations or interpretations if not carefully verified. This limitation has been widely documented, including in reporting from sources such as the American Bar Association discussing AI-generated legal errors.

Because of this, most clients use AI to gain comfort with their situation, but not full confidence in how it should be handled.

They still want, and need, a trusted advisor who has the lived experience and discernment to analyze their situation and develop a nuanced, flexible legal strategy that helps them achieve their objectives.

And that creates a new pattern in the client journey:

AI Conversation. The client describes their situation in natural language and receives a meaningful first approximation of what may apply.
Targeted Search. Armed with new terminology and clarity of what they need, they perform a more refined keyword search.
Website Evaluation. They land on a firm’s website, either through Google or an AI recommendation, to assess credibility, culture, experience, and other trust signals.
Social Validation. Reviews, case results, original photography, and social presence confirm (or undermine) their initial impression.
Consultation. They reach out for a consultation. Not because they understand the law, but because they trust the firm. They want a validating experience that leads to a hiring decision.

The typical client journey from search to consultation hasn’t been replaced, it’s just become faster, more personalized, and more empowering.

AI Doesn’t Replace Lawyers, But It Does Change Legal Marketing

The goal of AI platforms is simple: deliver helpful answers quickly. The better it is at delivering results to its users, the more users return.

For law firms, this means AI now functions as a pre-website discovery layer. By the time someone reaches your firm:

They’re more educated.
They’re more specific in their questions.
They’re more likely to compare multiple firms.

And yet, the fundamentals haven’t changed.

Prospective clients still expect you to have:

Strong reviews
Clear explanations of what you do
Case results
Authentic imagery and videos
A narrative that feels human

This is where Nomos Marketing lives.

We understand that firms are not content factories, nor should they endeavor to be. Instead, we work to elevate practices so they show up clearly, confidently, and credibly - both to human readers and to AI systems interpreting your authority.

AI may provide the first answer. But trust is still earned by telling your story.

What This Means for Lawyers Trying To Figure Out How AI Works

The first stage of discovery is evolving. It’s not disappearing.

Think of AI as an initial conversation with a legal-savvy friend. One who understands the law, maybe has some insight into the specific situation the user finds themselves in, but ultimately will refer the case to another law firm. Possibly yours if it’s a good fit.

Your website is still where trust is built and where you will be contacted.

That has practical implications for law firm SEO, AEO, and overall digital marketing strategy:

Create content built around real client scenarios and lived experiences, not generic legal definitions.
Invest in trust signals that clients and search engines look for: reviews, case results, original photography, and attorney profiles.
Structure your site with clean architecture and schema so both search engines and AI tools can clearly interpret your expertise.
Speak like a human and share your perspective. AI can’t replicate your approach to the practice of law and client management.

AI doesn’t make law firm websites or legal SEO obsolete. It simply makes the early education phase more efficient and the trust phase more essential.

At NOMOS, we believe the firms that win in this new landscape won’t be those that game the latest algorithm. They’ll be the clearest. The most authentic. The most trustworthy. The most human.

And that’s a marketing strategy that is based on consumer psychology, which doesn’t change, and adapts with changes in consumer behavior, which evolves daily.

This is Part 1 of the Law Firm Growth in the AI Era Series. In Part 2, we ask, "what is the purpose of a law firm’s website in an AI-influenced search environment?". You can read that here.