Organizing thoughts can be hard. Finding time and maximizing potential impact is even more challenging. On the heels of a busy legal conference and trade show season, we thought it might be useful to share some of our collected thoughts on one of the overwhelming top concerns that we continue to get queries: How should law firms best structure content that will reach and resonate with top in-house counsel.
General Counsel increasingly rely on AI-powered tools—such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity—to discover trusted legal expertise, synthesize updates, and answer complex questions. These tools are fundamentally reshaping how legal professionals are found and evaluated. For law firms, the shift means your content must appeal to both human readers and the AI systems that mediate discovery today.
For law firms, this means your content strategy must do more than look polished—it must be structured for both human decision-makers and machine readers. The firms that optimize for both will dominate AI-driven discovery and remain top of mind for GCs in an increasingly competitive environment.
Here’s how to future-proof your legal content with structure that works for both audiences—supported by the latest industry data and research.
Use Clear, Descriptive Headers
Descriptive headers help GCs find the information they need quickly—and enable AI models to parse your content accurately. Avoid vague terms like “Overview” or “Insights.” Instead, use targeted, question-driven headers such as “What GCs Should Know About DOJ’s 2025 Policy Shift.”
Why it matters: Google’s AI Overviews now appear in up to 47% of search queries and significantly reduce click-through rates (CTR) to traditional content—especially when the answer is surfaced at the top.
Lead with the Answer
General Counsel don’t have time to dig. Start each section with a clear takeaway and follow up with deeper analysis. This mirrors how AI models prioritize content—summarizing from the top down.
Why it matters: According to a study by SEO platform BrightEdge, Google’s AI Overviews reduce clicks to organic search results by 36 percentage points, dramatically increasing competition for top visibility.
Break Up Content with Lists, Tables, and Bullets
Long, dense paragraphs don’t perform well in today’s digital environment. Lists and tables make it easier for GCs to scan—and for AI systems to extract and summarize key insights.
Why it matters: Google reports that enhanced SERP features (like rich snippets or bullet lists) can boost CTR by up to 82% when supported by structured formatting and schema.
Include Named Authors and Credentials
Content that reflects real expertise is more trusted—by both humans and machines. Authorship tied to named individuals with demonstrable credentials improves perceived authority and performance in AI systems that prioritize content from subject-matter experts.
Why it matters: According to Search Engine Journal, over 72% of top-ranking pages on Google include expert authorship and metadata that support Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria.
Cite Authoritative Sources and Cross-Link Strategically
External citations and internal cross-links enhance the credibility and context of your content. This is especially important for AI systems, which use links and references to assess trustworthiness and topical relevance.
Why it matters: A 2024 study by Similarweb and SparkToro found that nearly 60% of Google searches now result in zero clicks, making authoritative in-text citations and media mentions even more critical for visibility.
Use Structured Data Markup
Structured data (schema markup) is invisible to readers but crucial for machines. It helps AI tools and search engines interpret your content type, author, topic, and format—which can boost how and where your content is displayed.
Why it matters: Pages with structured data see an average CTR improvement of 40–82%, according to Search Engine Journal. It also enables eligibility for Google’s rich results and AI summaries.
Maintain a Consistent Format and Publishing Cadence
Consistency breeds trust. GCs value familiarity, and AI systems reward predictability. A firm that publishes regularly with a clear structure signals both authority and reliability.
Why it matters: According to the 2024 Legal Marketing Trends Report by Thomson Reuters, firms that publish expert content at least monthly generate 3.7× more inbound inquiries from in-house legal teams compared to firms with inconsistent publishing schedules.
Final Thought
In the era of AI-mediated discovery, format is no longer cosmetic—it’s strategic. If your content isn’t structured for both humans and machines, it may be excluded from consideration before a GC even reads a word. The buyer journey is now AI-compressed. Firms that optimize their content for clarity, attribution, and discoverability will be the ones recommended—by both AI models and decision-makers.
If you’d like support auditing your current content for AI-readiness or developing new AI-optimized assets, we’re here to help.