Law firms
We asked four AI assistants which lawyer to hire.
They almost never agreed.
Ten questions a client would actually ask before hiring a lawyer, put to four AI assistants, and a record of every firm they named and every source they cited.
Original research · 10 questions × 4 assistants
Data collected · Published
What these numbers mean
Our methodology: we asked 10 buyer-intent questions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, recorded every business named and every website cited in each answer, and repeated the run to measure how much each assistant varies with itself. Nothing here is modelled or estimated. Every figure below is counted from those answers, and the raw dataset is published under CC BY so you can recount them.
- All four used the same website
- When an assistant answers, it reads websites and lists them as its sources. We checked whether all four assistants read at least one website in common. On 1 of the 10 questions, they did. On the rest, there was not a single website all four had looked at. If you see a 0 on a question below, that is what it means, not that they read nothing.
- Used by one assistant only
- We took every website the assistants used across all 10 questions. 75% were used by one assistant and by no other. In other words, most of what they read, they read alone.
- Different websites
- How many separate websites came up in total. Each one counts once, no matter how often it appears. 185 sites for 10 questions means they are pulling from a very wide, scattered set of places rather than a few trusted ones.
You can check all of this yourself. Every question we asked is further down, along with the businesses each assistant named and which of the four used each website. Nothing here is estimated.
Every assistant got exactly the same question. No follow-ups, nothing about who was asking. We wrote down which businesses each one named and which websites it read to get there.
There is no single “AI answer” for your category. Ask two assistants the same question and they agree on about 7% of the websites they read. Ask four and you get four different shortlists, built from four different sets of sources.
That matters if you are trying to get your business recommended. “Are we visible in AI search?” is really four questions, and the answers barely relate to each other. Doing well in Perplexity tells you almost nothing about whether ChatGPT knows you exist.
First, the obvious objection
Ask an AI assistant the same question twice and you can get two different answers. So before saying these four disagree with each other, we had to rule out that each one simply disagrees with itself.
So we asked 10 of the questions again, two from each of the five industries, 3 times on every assistant, and compared what they read each time. Two numbers came out of it:
Same assistant, different runs
51%How much an assistant agrees with itself when asked again
Different assistants, same run
7%How much two assistants agree with each other
So an assistant is 7.5× more likely to agree with itself than with the others. The randomness is real, but it is far too small to explain the gap. They disagree because they are different, not because we got unlucky.
The re-runs turned up something else: some assistants are far steadier than others. Ask Perplexity the same question twice and about 72% of the websites it reads are the same. Ask ChatGPT and only 32% are. Most of what it reads the second time is new.
So checking “what does AI say about us?” once tells you what happened that one time. It is not a measurement, especially on ChatGPT.
The websites they read most
Across all 10 questions. Anything marked directoryis a listing or review site rather than a business's own website.
chambers.com10lawzana.com9legal500.com8bestlawyers.com6clutch.co5lawrato.com5en.wikipedia.org4indialawoffices.com4bestlawfirms.com4About 22% of what they read was a directory rather than the website of a business they recommended. Take the exact figure loosely. It moves depending on where you draw the line between a directory and a publisher. The pattern is the point: when an assistant needs to work out who is good, it goes to a page listing lots of businesses, not to any one business's own site.
Question by question
Each colour is an assistant. A row with one dot lit is a website only that one assistant read.
Question 1 · Delhi
Best corporate law firm in Delhi for startups?
ChatGPT
- Bracket Legal
Sequitur Advocates & Legal Consultants
Remind Legal LLP
Corpus Juris Legal
- Edwin Corporate Law Firm
- +4 more
read 9 websites
Claude
PSA Legal Counsellors
- Maheshwari & Co.
Lawmatrix LLP
- Trilegal
- Luthra and Luthra Law Offices
- +4 more
read 7 websites
Gemini
Ahlawat & Associates
Alaya Legal
Startup Solicitors LLP
KNK Legal
- +7 more
read 14 websites
Perplexity
- SNR & Co.
Legal Crusader
read 5 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 30
ahlawatassociates.com | 2/4 | |
clutch.codirectory | 2/4 | |
lawmatrix.in | 2/4 | |
pajasaapartments.com | 2/4 | |
psalegal.com | 2/4 | |
acalaw.in | 1/4 | |
aggarwalassociates.com | 1/4 | |
alayalegal.com | 1/4 |
- 30 websites used
- 30 businesses named
- 10% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 2 · Mumbai
Top immigration lawyers in Mumbai?
ChatGPT
Legaleye Associates
- Nishith Desai Associates
- Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
- Davies & Associates, LLC
LawCrust Legal Consulting Services
- +7 more
read 5 websites
Claude
- Davies & Associates
- Gehis Immigration and International Legal Services
read 8 websites
Gemini
India Law Offices LLP
- Davies & Associates
- Vipul Joshi & Associates Immigration Lawyers
LawQuest
- Pinnacle Legal LLP Immigration and Tax Advocates and Solicitors
- +1 more
read 7 websites
Perplexity
- Davies & Associates LLC
Right To Law
- +3 more
read 13 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 23
eb5visaindia.com | 3/4 | |
lawzana.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
legaleyeassociates.com | 3/4 | |
indialawoffices.com | 2/4 | |
joshivipul.com | 2/4 | |
lawrato.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
usimmigrationadvisor.com | 2/4 | |
bestcriminallawyerinmumbai.com | 1/4 |
- 23 websites used
- 26 businesses named
- 13% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 3 · New York
Best personal injury law firm in New York City?
ChatGPT
- Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore
- Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum, P.C.
- The Law Offices of Eric Richman
- Raphaelson & Levine
- The Perecman Firm
- +7 more
read 8 websites
Claude
Gair Gair Conason
- Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum, P.C.
- Edelman & Edelman, P.C.
- Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen
Shim Law
- +3 more
read 8 websites
Gemini
Block O'Toole & Murphy LLP
- The Perecman Firm, P.L.L.C.
- Fellows Hymowitz Rice
- Porter Law Group
- +7 more
read 4 websites
Perplexity
- Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore (KDL&M)
- Raphaelson & Levine
- Richard M. Kenny
- Eric Richman
- +1 more
read 6 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 20
bestlawfirms.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
expertise.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
gairgair.com | 2/4 | |
pilaw.com | 2/4 | |
raphaelsonlaw.com | 2/4 | |
rmkinjurylaw.com | 2/4 | |
attorneys.superlawyers.comdirectory | 1/4 | |
blockotoole.com | 1/4 |
- 20 websites used
- 34 businesses named
- 30% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 4 · London
Recommend an intellectual property law firm in London.
ChatGPT
- Bristows LLP
- Allen & Overy
- Shearman & Sterling
- A&O Shearman
- CMS
- +7 more
read 5 websites
Claude
- Bird & Bird
- Bristows
- CMS
named these, read no websites
Gemini
- Bird & Bird
read 4 websites
Perplexity
- Bird & Bird
- Bristows LLP
Potter Clarkson LLP
Waterfront Solicitors
- Mishcon de Reya
read 12 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 17
chambers.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
legal500.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
bestlawyers.comdirectory | 1/4 | |
blakemorgan.co.uk | 1/4 | |
clutch.codirectory | 1/4 | |
en.wikipedia.orgdirectory | 1/4 | |
ipstars.com | 1/4 | |
lawyers.comdirectory | 1/4 |
- 17 websites used
- 16 businesses named
- 41% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 5 · Dubai
Best employment lawyer in Dubai?
ChatGPT
- Al Tamimi & Company
- Clyde & Co LLP
- Baker McKenzie LLP
Dentons
- DLA Piper Middle East LLP
- +7 more
read 5 websites
Claude
Hadef & Partners
Davidson & Co
Professional Lawyer (Dr. Hassan Elhais)
Labour Law UAE
read 6 websites
Gemini
- Diana Hamade Attorneys at Law
Leaders Advocates
- Khairallah Advocates & Legal Consultants
- Al Tamimi & Company
- +7 more
read 8 websites
Perplexity
Habib Al Mulla
read 3 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 18
chambers.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
clutch.codirectory | 2/4 | |
davidsoncolaw.com | 2/4 | |
habibalmulla.com | 2/4 | |
alsuwaidi.ae | 1/4 | |
askthelaw.ae | 1/4 | |
bestinhood.com | 1/4 | |
bestlawyers.comdirectory | 1/4 |
- 18 websites used
- 22 businesses named
- 28% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 6 · Bangalore
Top divorce / family law firm in Bangalore?
ChatGPT
Kapil Dixit & Co. Advocates
Sairam Law Associates
- Advocate K.H. Jagadish
- Poovayya & Co.
- King & Partridge
- +5 more
read 7 websites
Claude
Prime Legal
- Sridharan & Associates
Prashastha Legal
- Sonia and Partners
- Advocate Priya Narayan
- +2 more
read 7 websites
Gemini
B.N. Nagaraja & Associates
- Misha Thomas & Associates
- Sridharan & Associates
- Manchanda Law Juris
- +3 more
read 8 websites
Perplexity
- Kapil Dixit LLP
RS Legal
Divorce By Law
read 14 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 25
bnnagaraja.com | 3/4 | |
lawzana.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
topbestdivorcelawyers.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
advocatemisha.com | 2/4 | |
indialawoffices.com | 2/4 | |
lawrato.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
mlawjuris.com | 2/4 | |
prashasthalegal.com | 2/4 |
- 25 websites used
- 25 businesses named
- 24% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 7 · Los Angeles
Best startup / venture lawyer in Los Angeles?
ChatGPT
Silicon Legal Strategy
Foundation Law Group LLP
Grayver Law Group
- VZN LLP
- Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLP
- +3 more
read 8 websites
Claude
- Ani Petrosyan
- Catherine Larson
- David Nima Sharifi
- Springermeyer Law
- Afshin Hakim
read 7 websites
Gemini
- Cooley LLP
Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP
- Wilson Sonsini
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
- Carbon Law Group APLC
- +7 more
read 11 websites
Perplexity
Nixon Peabody LLP
- L.A. Tech & Media Law Firm
Zecca Ross Law Firm
read 3 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 20
zeccarosslaw.com | 3/4 | |
bestlawyers.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
omnilawpc.com | 2/4 | |
projectionhub.com | 2/4 | |
structurelaw.com | 2/4 | |
stubbsalderton.com | 2/4 | |
techandmedialaw.com | 2/4 | |
upcounsel.com | 2/4 |
- 20 websites used
- 23 businesses named
- 10% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 8 · Toronto
Recommend a real estate law firm in Toronto.
ChatGPT
- Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
- McCarthy Tétrault LLP
- Aird & Berlis LLP
- Torkin Manes LLP
- Loopstra Nixon LLP
- +7 more
read 7 websites
Claude
- named no one
read no websites
Gemini
- Beard Winter LLP
- Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
- Aird & Berlis LLP
- Bennett Jones LLP
- Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
- +2 more
read 6 websites
Perplexity
- Mills & Mills LLP
- Chaitons LLP
- Stikeman Elliott LLP
- LD Law
- Avanessy Giordano LLP
read 9 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 17
bestlawfirms.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
chambers.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
clevercanadian.ca | 2/4 | |
thebesttoronto.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
thebossmagazine.com | 2/4 | |
bcgsearch.com | 1/4 | |
calbizjournal.com | 1/4 | |
harris-sheaffer.com | 1/4 |
- 17 websites used
- 22 businesses named
- 18% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
Question 9 · Singapore
Best tax law firm in Singapore?
ChatGPT
- Allen & Gledhill LLP
- Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
- Drew & Napier LLC
- Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
- +4 more
read 7 websites
Claude
- Allen & Gledhill
- Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
- Rajah & Tann Singapore
read 9 websites
Gemini
- Allen & Gledhill LLP
- Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
- Drew & Napier LLC
- Withers KhattarWong LLP
Rajah & Tann Asia
- +3 more
read 5 websites
Perplexity
- WTS Taxise
- PwC Singapore Tax
read 3 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 17
legal500.comdirectory | 4/4 | |
chambers.comdirectory | 3/4 | |
bestlawyers.comdirectory | 2/4 | |
itrworldtax.com | 2/4 | |
allenandgledhill.com | 1/4 | |
bcgsearch.com | 1/4 | |
briefcaseindex.com | 1/4 | |
dentons.rodyk.com | 1/4 |
- 17 websites used
- 16 businesses named
- 35% of them were directories
- 1 used by all four
Question 10 · Delhi
Top criminal defense attorney in Delhi?
ChatGPT
- Advocate Saurabh Singh
- Senior Advocate Rebecca Mammen John
- Advocate Mehmood Pracha
- Advocate Vrinda Grover
- Advocate Vikas Pahwa
- +2 more
read 3 websites
Claude
- K.T.S. Tulsi
- Mukul Rohatgi
- Sidharth Luthra
- Ashok K Singh
- Rohit Dandriyal
- +1 more
read 6 websites
Gemini
Ravi Drall Associates
- Thukral Law Associates
- Sidhant Dhingra & Associates
read 5 websites
Perplexity
Kapil Chandna
- Mohit Singh
- Rebecca John
- Vikram Kumar
Tyagi Associates
- +3 more
read 13 websites
Which websites they used, and who used them · top 8 of 22
patronslegal.com | 3/4 | |
aksinghandco.com | 2/4 | |
divorcelawyernewdelhi.com | 2/4 | |
jotwani.com | 2/4 | |
adlegal.in | 1/4 | |
advocatesidhantdhingra.com | 1/4 | |
amalegalsolutions.com | 1/4 | |
bandanasharma.in | 1/4 |
- 22 websites used
- 24 businesses named
- 9% of them were directories
- 0 used by all four
What we'd take from this
Treat each assistant separately. They agree on 7% of their sources. That is not four windows onto one ranking. It is four audiences who have read different things. Getting named by one tells you nothing about the other three.
Checking once proves nothing, especially on ChatGPT. When we asked again, only 32% of the websites ChatGPT read were the same. One screenshot of a good answer, or a bad one, is normal variation. If you want to know whether something is really changing, you have to check repeatedly.
The pages that list you may matter more than your own. Assistants read directories far more than they read the websites of the businesses they went on to recommend. Missing from those directories is a different problem from having a weak website, and usually an easier one to fix.
None of this is a ranking. An assistant naming a business tells you what that assistant read, not whether the business is any good. Plenty of excellent firms appear nowhere here. That absence is the finding, not a verdict on them.
Is your site one of the ones being read?
Greater Than Services runs this same test on your website, across every assistant, and shows you which questions you are missing from and what to fix.
Download the raw data (CSV), every question, what each assistant named, and every website it read. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, so quote it, chart it, or check our arithmetic. Credit Greater Than Services and link back.
Method.Each question was sent to GPT-4o with web search, Claude Haiku 4.5 with web search, Gemini 2.5 Flash with Google Search grounding, and Perplexity Sonar. One question per request. No follow-ups, and nothing about who was asking or where they were, only the wording of the question itself. The websites come from each assistant's own list of sources; the business names were pulled out of the answer text. We kept every raw answer. 10 of the questions were asked again, 3 times each, to check how much answers move on their own (see above). All of this is a snapshot: ask these questions today and you will not get the same results. Nothing here is a ranking or a recommendation, and naming a business is not an endorsement of it.