Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is suddenly everywhere. However, the rise of AI-powered search is a reminder of something we have always known: visibility depends on authority, credibility, and consistent messaging.
The good news is that for many lawyers and professional service providers, GEO is less of a radical new discipline and more of a natural extension of the strong content marketing and public relations strategies you have already had in place. Why? Because AI tools are increasingly pulling from authoritative media sources to generate answers, which means the brands and experts most likely to surface are often the ones already earning meaningful media coverage, producing useful content, and showing up in trusted publications.
Public Relations Is A Huge Part of GEO
One of the biggest misconceptions about GEO is that it requires a completely new playbook. In reality, the fundamentals of PR still matter most: getting quoted in respected outlets, building subject-matter authority, and making sure your message is clear and consistent over time.
That is especially true in professional services, where trust is the product. AI systems are trained on the content they can access, and when they encounter repeated, credible references to a lawyer, firm, or brand, they are more likely to reflect those patterns back in search summaries and generative responses.
All Platforms Are Important
There is a temptation to chase whatever platform appears to be driving AI results at the moment, but that is not a sustainable strategy, and in the rapidly evolving GEO environment, it is sure to become stale. For law firms and other highly regulated industries, the smarter approach is to focus on the publications and channels that already reinforce credibility.
That means tier-one media where possible, but it also means not overlooking trade publications, niche outlets, podcasts, newsletters, and other respected sources that may be highly relevant to a specific question or audience. GEO rewards breadth, but it also rewards trust.
Fresh Content Wins
AI systems (LLMs) tend to favor recent, fresh material, so firms and professionals that want to improve discoverability need to keep publishing, updating, and repurposing their thought leadership. This isn’t always a heavy lift – it simply means creating content that answers real questions, is structured clearly, and can travel across formats, from articles and press releases to video clips, podcasts, and Q&A pieces.
Measure What You Can See
GEO is still in its early stages, so while measurement tools exist, it may not yet be feasible to subscribe to them. In the interim, an easy way to evaluate impact is to test the actual search experience: ask the questions your clients would be asking, review the AI-generated summaries, and see whether your firm, your people, or your competitors appear.
This manual testing can reveal a lot about whether your content is being surfaced and how your brand is being described. It also helps identify gaps in messaging, content structure, and media visibility that can inform the next phase of your strategy.
Humans Still Matter
Journalists, clients, sources, and communications/marketing professionals are all people, and the strongest PR and content marketing programs are built on trust, responsiveness, and judgment.
AI may change how content is discovered, but it has not changed why people trust certain voices over others. For firms and professionals, that means the goal is not to trick the machines, but rather to continue with activities that earn trust in the first place.
Stephanie Grober is the Marketing & Public Relations Director at Horowitz Agency, an integrated marketing and public relations agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Vancouver (B.C.). Her team works with law firms ranging from BigLaw to boutiques, as well as other professional services firms, designing and executing content and communications strategies that generate bottom-line growth in measurable ways. Leveraging deep relationships with the press, she delivers high-quality earned media placements for clients and utilizes her extensive marketing background to amplify these results through a multi-channel approach. Stephanie joined Horowitz Agency in 2021 after serving as Marketing and Communications Manager for a Top 50 accounting firm in New York City.