InterCore Original Research · Updated monthly

Law Firm AI Visibility Index: Which Firms Do AI Engines Recommend?

Across 320 AI answers to the same lawyer-search prompts in Los Angeles, Gemini named a median of 7 firms per answer and ChatGPT a median of 4. ChatGPT named at least one firm in 77 of 80 answers. Perplexity named at least one firm in 64 of 80 answers. Google AI Mode named at least one firm in 80 of 80 answers. Gemini named at least one firm in 80 of 80 answers.

Published October 6, 2026 · 320 answers — 1 cities × 40 prompts × 4 engines × 2 runs · n=320, 3618 citations

320

AI answers analysed across 1 of 25 cities

≥31.9%

of ChatGPT's readable sources are legal directories or rankings (a floor: 23.9% not yet classified)

≥64.4%

of Perplexity's readable sources are legal directories or rankings (a floor: 13.4% not yet classified)

≥31.3%

of Google AI Mode's readable sources are legal directories or rankings (a floor: 50.0% not yet classified)

Key takeaways

ChatGPT (via Codex CLI, live web): named at least one firm in 77 of 80 answers; median 4 firms.
Perplexity (Sonar API): named at least one firm in 64 of 80 answers; median 5 firms.
Google AI Mode (via DataForSEO): named at least one firm in 80 of 80 answers; median 4 firms.
Gemini (Google Search grounding): named at least one firm in 80 of 80 answers; median 7 firms.
33.1% of firms an engine named in run 1 were named again in run 2 — AI recommendations vary run to run.

How often does each AI engine name a law firm?

Gemini named the most firms per answer (median 7); ChatGPT named the fewest (median 4). Figures cover 320 answers to the same prompts in Los Angeles, measured twice per prompt.

Engine	Answers naming ≥1 firm	Median firms per answer	Directory share of readable sources (floor)	Unreadable source links
ChatGPT (via Codex CLI, live web)	77 of 80 (89.5–98.7%)	4	≥31.9% (23.9% unclassified)	0 of 698
Perplexity (Sonar API)	64 of 80 (70.0–87.3%)	5	≥64.4% (13.4% unclassified)	0 of 1535
Google AI Mode (via DataForSEO)	80 of 80 (95.4–100.0%)	4	≥31.3% (50.0% unclassified)	351 of 613
Gemini (Google Search grounding)	80 of 80 (95.4–100.0%)	7	≥17.3% (50.9% unclassified)	9 of 772

Per engine, 1 cities. Interval = 95% Wilson interval. Directory share excludes unreadable links.

How was the index measured?

The same 40 prompts per city — 20 practice areas, each asked as “who are the best …” and as a plain description of the problem — were put to four AI engines, twice, at least three days apart. Cities are the 25 largest US cities by 2024 Census population estimate, added in population order as each one completes. Firm names were extracted by a model and checked by hand on a random sample; firms were matched to Google Business Profiles by name and state.

Engines are labelled exactly as queried: an API or CLI answer is not identical to the consumer app. InterCore is a legal-marketing agency; firms we represent are labelled wherever they appear. Download the data (extracted names and source links).

Frequently asked questions

How is the Law Firm AI Visibility Index measured?

The same 40 prompts per city are asked of four AI engines twice. 320 answers so far, across 1 cities, added in order of population.

Does InterCore work with the firms listed?

Firms are listed only because AI engines named them in our test. InterCore does not represent, work with or endorse any firm listed unless it is marked as an InterCore client. This is a reference, not a recommendation.

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