No source Firm AEO has verified shows that nearly half of legal clients research lawyers through AI first. The closest verified figure is 50.1% who would use at least one AI answer engine, and that measures stated intent among 1,110 US adults, not what people did before hiring a firm.
The 21% figure repeated in agency blogs is a different thing again: the 2024 reading in a four-year trend. This post sorts the competing numbers by what each one actually measures, so a firm quotes the right one.
- No source Firm AEO has verified shows that nearly half of legal clients research attorneys through AI first. The nearest verified figure is 50.1% who would use at least one AI answer engine, from a survey of 1,110 US adults.
- The 21% figure that circulates is the 2024 reading in iLawyerMarketing's trend line, not a current rate. The same survey series reads 9% in 2023, 28.1% in 2025 and 41.9% in 2026.
- In the same survey only 9.5% would use AI alone and 71.9% would still use Google, so AI is an added step in the search for a lawyer more often than a replacement for it.
- Stated intent is not traffic. Martindale-Avvo reported AI tools at under 5% of total law firm website traffic in April 2026.
Where do the 21% and the nearly-half claims come from?
Both appear in agency and vendor posts without a primary source attached. The 21% matches the 2024 data point in iLawyerMarketing's survey series. The nearly-half claim is attributed in some posts to Thomson Reuters, and Firm AEO could not trace it to a primary Thomson Reuters publication.
Firm AEO therefore treats the nearly-half claim as unverified and does not repeat it. A firm that quotes a number it cannot source is publishing an unverifiable claim, which ABA Model Rule 7.1 does not permit in lawyer advertising.
What does the iLawyerMarketing trend line actually say?
iLawyerMarketing's survey of 1,110 US adults, published August 17, 2026, asked which sources people would use to research which lawyer to hire. The ChatGPT share rose each year in the series, which is why the 21% claim is stale rather than wrong: it describes 2024.
The 2026 reading is 41.9%. In the same survey, 50.1% would use at least one AI answer engine and 71.9% would use Google, down from 86.7% the year before. The question asks about intended use, so none of these figures is a count of clients who did research that way.
| Survey year | Would use ChatGPT |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 9% |
| 2024 | 21% |
| 2025 | 28.1% |
| 2026 | 41.9% |
Do clients use AI instead of Google, or as well as Google?
As well as, on the evidence available. iLawyerMarketing found 9.5% of respondents would use only AI to research a lawyer, while 71.9% would use Google. The two numbers do not conflict, because respondents could name several sources.
The practical reading for a law firm is a layered search: an AI answer, then Google or a directory to check the names it returned. A firm that appears in the AI answer but has a thin Google Business Profile or no directory listing loses the second step.
What does the Clio 2025 report add?
Clio's 2025 Legal Trends Report, published October 16, 2025, found that more than half of consumers have used or would consider using AI to answer a legal question. That is a different question from researching which lawyer to hire, and the two should not be merged into one headline.
The same report found 28% of those who used AI were directed to contact a lawyer. Firm AEO reads that as the useful link between the two behaviours: the legal question comes first, and the lawyer search follows from the answer.
Does stated intent show up in website traffic?
Not yet at that scale. Martindale-Avvo reported in April 2026 that AI tools accounted for under 5% of total law firm website traffic, and Great Jakes reported in May 2026 that AI referrals were 0.47% of sessions across its law firm clients.
Both are vendor datasets with different samples, and a gap between survey intent and click-through is expected, since AI answers often name a firm without sending a visit. The table below shows what each figure measures.
| Figure | Source | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 50.1% would use an AI answer engine | iLawyerMarketing, Aug 2026 | Stated intent, US adults |
| 41.9% would use ChatGPT | iLawyerMarketing, Aug 2026 | Stated intent, one engine |
| More than half have used or would consider AI | Clio, Oct 2025 | Legal questions, not lawyer search |
| Under 5% of site traffic | Martindale-Avvo, Apr 2026 | Observed sessions, vendor clients |
| 0.47% of sessions | Great Jakes, May 2026 | Observed referrals, one agency portfolio |
Which number should a law firm quote?
Quote the one that matches the claim, with the source, year and sample named beside it. For example: according to iLawyerMarketing's August 2026 survey of 1,110 US adults, 41.9% would use ChatGPT to research which lawyer to hire.
Firm AEO recommends against any sentence with the words nearly half and no named source, and against presenting intent as behaviour. A firm should measure its own number: how many new inquiries say they asked an AI tool, which a one-line intake question captures. Firm AEO is a marketing company, and the firm's ethics counsel decides the final wording.
Is the 21% figure wrong?
It is out of date rather than invented. The 21% matches the 2024 reading in iLawyerMarketing's trend, which reached 41.9% in 2026. Quoting it as a current rate understates the survey result.
Does 50.1% mean half of clients choose a lawyer through AI?
No. The figure is the share of surveyed US adults who said they would use at least one AI answer engine to research a lawyer. Respondents could pick several sources, and stated intent is not the same as hiring behaviour.
How can a firm measure its own AI-driven inquiries?
Add a how did you hear about us question to the intake form and the phone script, with an AI assistant listed as an option. Firm AEO suggests reading the answers monthly and not drawing conclusions from fewer than a few dozen inquiries.
Do these figures apply to Canadian firms?
They are US figures. Firm AEO's earlier post on how Canadians search for a lawyer explains why no comparable published Canadian number exists and how to label US data when a Canadian firm cites it.
- 1.iLawyerMarketing, What online sources do people use to research and find attorneys in 2026 (August 17, 2026)
- 2.Clio, The science behind smarter law: 2025 Legal Trends Report (October 16, 2025)
- 3.Martindale-Avvo, AI visibility for law firms: an expanded guide (April 6, 2026)
- 4.LawFuel, Law firm AI search traffic data 2026 (citing Great Jakes, May 2026)
- 5.ABA Model Rule 7.1, Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services