Law firms are businesses, and, like all businesses, most law practices are constantly on the lookout for ways to do things better and more efficiently. Accordingly, one of the questions we are hearing more and more is, “Should law firms use artificial intelligence (AI) for content creation?”

Refusing to use AI altogether would be like a law firm in the 1990s refusing to use a fax machine or the internet; you’d quickly find yourself at a disadvantage compared to more tech-savvy firms. Rely on AI too heavily, or for the wrong things, and you could find yourself missing opportunities or even in ethical trouble.

The answer to the question of whether to use AI in content creation depends on how you are thinking of using it. On a deeper level, it’s important to consider why you create content for your law firm website and marketing in the first place. The answers to those questions will guide you as to whether, and when, it’s appropriate to use AI for law firm content creation. 

Why Does Your Law Firm Create Content?

Properly optimized content helps visitors find your website and find it useful. Your blogs, FAQs and practice areas give them the information they seek, and establish you as an authority in your practice areas. The voice and tone of your content appeal to your prospective clients on an emotional level, helping them feel that your firm will resolve the problem they are facing.

Your law firm website content builds trust: attorney profiles and client testimonials show the human side of your practice, making prospective clients feel more comfortable reaching out to you. And of course, the tone and messaging of your content emphasizes your firm’s values and brand.

All of that matters because the various components of your content work together to persuade people to contact you. So when using AI to write law firm websites, it’s important to do so in a way that furthers your essential goal—connecting with potential clients and others who help your practice thrive, like colleagues and prospective employees.

We’ll talk about the specifics of how you might best use AI in a moment. But don’t lose sight of the overarching reason for content creation: the people who are reading and responding to your content. 

How to Use AI in Law Firm Content Creation

As Paige Silver, Online Marketing Manager at The Modern Firm notes, “AI is a tool; it’s not a silver bullet.” The best and highest use of AI is to use it where possible, like for research and planning tasks, freeing attorneys up for the more fulfilling work that requires an attorney’s expertise, or simply a human touch. Some tasks at which AI excels and can create efficiency include the following… 

Creating Social Media Topic Plans

Most law firms are active on some form of social media, and it is important to keep social media updated regularly to reap the marketing benefit. Social media allows you to engage with prospective clients and gives them a reason to visit your website. 

Your law firm will get the greatest benefit if you post on social media not just regularly, but intentionally. That’s where AI can lend a hand. You don’t want AI to draft your social media posts; those posts should be written by a human being to ensure you are connecting with your audience in an authentic way. But planning and organizing your law firm’s social media posting? That’s a perfect job for AI, which can ensure you have a variety of posts at regular intervals designed to maximize engagement.  

Blog Post Topic Generation

Blog posts keep your website content fresh, allow you to attract visitors who are looking for information on a particular subject, and position you as a subject-matter expert. If you blog regularly, you may have a library of hundreds of posts. But the more you write, the harder it can be to come up with new topics (or to remember what you’ve already written). 

Enter AI. Using AI, you can analyze search trends to identify common queries or trending topics. You make sure you’re not duplicating a topic you wrote about previously (or to identify a different angle to write about). You can also use AI tools to scan and summarize the news, identifying changes in the law that might affect your readers’ rights. 

You can even use AI-powered tools to analyze the blogs of other attorneys in your practice area. That allows you to identify possible gaps in their content strategy and write the blog posts that readers are looking for, but not finding on their websites. How can you tell what queries potential clients are making? You guessed it: AI.

Analyzing and Forecasting Trends

If there’s one thing at which AI excels, it’s analyzing large amounts of data quickly. That analysis can inform your law firm’s SEO and content strategies. For example, AI tools can analyze search engine queries and identify spikes in interest for certain topics. That allows you to create and post content on when the subject matter will be most timely.

Outlining Articles and Blog Posts

Outlining a piece of writing ensures that it is logically organized and covers all relevant points. That makes it easier to read and more useful to the reader. AI can create an outline structure and do much more to set your blog post up for success. For example, you can use AI to develop compelling titles for blog posts that are likely to rank well with Google and other search engines, as well as recommending subheadings that incorporate keywords in a natural way. 

You may notice a recurring theme here: AI is best used on the front end of content creation for things like planning and data analysis. That saves your human writers time and lets them use their energy where it’s most productive: creating unique, meaningful content.

Dangers of AI Content for Law Firm Websites

Remember that at the end of the day, your website content is intended for people. It needs to be useful and engaging to the real human readers you are trying to reach. Conveniently, substantive content that is original and helpful to people also tends to rank well with Google and other search engines.

You no doubt noticed that we didn’t recommend using AI to actually draft content for law firm websites. It’s not that AI isn’t capable of writing about legal subject matter, of course. But AI has pitfalls. There are a number of reasons you shouldn’t replace human writers with AI, despite AI’s advantages of consistency and speed. 

Lack of Personalization and Empathy

Legal subjects are often highly-nuanced and deeply personal. When someone searches, “How do I file for divorce?” they are looking for information, certainly. But they are also looking for reassurance that they will be all right in a challenging situation. They may not yet be ready to reach out to an attorney, but they are taking the first step. Content written by a human is more likely to empathize with their needs. 

Lack of Brand Voice

Blogs and other written website content distinguishes lawyers from other attorneys who do the same type of work. Your law firm brand is your practice’s unique identity and personality. It comes across in the voice of your content. Your brand, in short, is how prospective clients know what to expect from you. Human writers who understand your practice and your industry are simply better at drafting content that reflects your brand, helping you stand out from the competition.

Potential for Mistakes

Let’s face it: sometimes, AI gets it wrong. AI models like ChatGPT have access to reams of data, but they can’t always determine what is correct. The fact that AI can write articulately about a legal topic doesn’t mean that content is accurate—which can be really embarrassing for an attorney who publishes it on their website. 

Rebecca King, attorney-writer at The Modern Firm, puts it this way: “When I’m writing a blog post for a client, I often have to research the law of their jurisdiction. They are counting on me to get it right. I need to be able to point to my sources, and those sources need to be reliable.” With AI’s tendency to occasionally “hallucinate” facts, it fails the reliability test. 

Ethical Issues

Law firm websites are intended to be informational, but not to give legal advice. Legal writers understand this; AI models may not. AI-generated content may cross the line into giving legal advice; the attorney who owns the website might run afoul of state bar rules. There’s also the risk of inadvertent plagiarism with AI-generated content. 

Last but not least, when a visitor comes to a law firm website, they usually have an unspoken expectation that the content was created by a skilled and licensed attorney, or at least a human with relevant knowledge. As Paige Silver observes, from an ethical standpoint, it’s “a little shady” to use AI-generated content on your website without disclosing it. If you would feel uneasy disclosing that some of your website content is AI-generated, then it probably shouldn’t be.

In a nutshell, using AI to write law firm content without human oversight isn’t ideal. AI is a tool that needs to be wielded responsibly—in this case, by a human writer and editor who understands the law and your brand. 

Keeping Your Law Firm Website Content Real

If you need law firm content that resonates with both readers and search engines, using AI-generated content could backfire. To keep your content real, regular, and effective, contact The Modern Firm to discuss cost-effective solutions designed for your needs.