Why isn't my law firm showing up in ChatGPT and Google's AI answers?

What AI answers draw on for legal questions

In our Australian AI Overview Index (scan of 23 Oct 2026: 8 law questions, 3 runs each, searched from Australia), Google showed an AI Overview in 24 of 24 runs, listing 7.2 sources on average. Across those 24 AI Overviews:

• An individual business's own website was a source in 24.
• A government or court site in 15.
• Media, social media or a directory in 11.

The questions are published with the Index, for example "how long does probate take in nsw" and "do i need a lawyer to contest a will". The Index measures Google's AI Overviews only, on a fixed list of general questions (all published in the Index); it doesn't measure ChatGPT, and it doesn't measure any one business.

The usual reasons a firm is missing

• No page for the question. A practice-area page that lists services doesn't answer "how long does probate take in NSW". A page that answers it first, then explains the steps, can be cited.
• No state. Law differs by state and territory. Say where the answer applies and where you practise.
• No named lawyer. A page that shows who wrote or approved it, with their admission and practice area, is easier to trust and to cite.
• Crawlers blocked. Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot all need to be allowed. Which to allow.
• Mentioned nowhere else. If no directory or register lists the firm, an AI answer that searches has no second source for your name. Why ChatGPT may not mention a business.

The conduct rules still apply

A page written to be cited is still advertising. Under the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules, rule 36.1, advertising must not be "false", "misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive", "offensive" or "prohibited by law"; rule 36.2 bars a false impression of specialist expertise and the words "accredited specialist" (or a derivative) unless the solicitor is accredited by the relevant professional association (as quoted by the Law Society of NSW). I'm not a lawyer: this is general information, and your firm approves every page.

The steps

1. Check crawler access. Run the free AI crawler checker: Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot all need to be allowed.
2. List the questions clients ask before they call. Ask your reception team which questions come up every week, by practice area and in the client's words.
3. Give each question a page for your state. Answer it in the first paragraph for the state or territory where you practise, then explain the steps, the timeframes and what to bring to a first meeting.
4. Name the lawyer responsible. Show who wrote or approved the page, their admission and practice area, and link a public register where your state publishes one.
5. Have every page checked against the conduct rules. No false or misleading claims and no "accredited specialist" wording unless the lawyer is accredited (Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules, rule 36).
6. Check the same questions monthly. Record whether your pages are linked and whether your firm is named, in Google's AI Overviews and in ChatGPT.

Questions people ask

Can my firm's pages say 'specialist'?

Only within rule 36.2: no false impression of specialist expertise, and "accredited specialist" or a derivative only for a solicitor accredited by the relevant professional association (Law Society of NSW).

Should we write about the law in every state?

Only where you practise. A page that says which jurisdiction it covers is more useful to the reader and to an answer engine than one that tries to cover them all.

Will AI answers name the firm if they link our page?

Not always. Linked and named are separate results, so check both.