Beyond Search: Why Owned Audiences Matter in an AI-Driven Market
A version of this article was originally published in For the Defense here on September 8th, 2026
For the last 10 to 15 years, marketing criminal defense practices has focused on digital discoverability and online visibility measured in Google rankings and website analytics such as visitors, page views and engagement. Firms invested in SEO- and mobile-optimized websites and practice pages, paid digital advertising and social media, all aimed at attracting the attention of clients, prospects, referral sources, and media.
In recent years, however, AI technology has fundamentally changed how clients research and hire lawyers of all kinds. Increasingly, people are using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Google's AI Mode to do their own legal research first, asking substantive criminal law questions to help them understand potential charges and alleged crimes, how to handle investigations and arrests, even case strategy and what to ask in consulting counsel. The most common types of questions include:
“Do I need a lawyer if I’ve be subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury?”
“What are my rights if I’m arrested or detained?”
"How does bail work?"
"What happens at arraignment?"
"What are common defenses used in a [drug possession, assault, DUI, fraud] case?"
"What’s the difference between taking a plea deal and going to trial?"
"How do I choose a criminal defense lawyer?”
“What information does a criminal defense lawyer need to know about my case?”
Even when clients are asking direct search questions like "Best criminal defense firm in Pittsburgh for [DUI, drug changes, government investigations]?” AI is often involved, either because the search engine provides an AI overview at the top of search results or prompts the use of “AI Mode.”
Why does this matter?
Because instead of presenting links for the user to click through to discover more information directly, AI-enabled tools deliver a synthesized answer that aggregates information from a number of sources it deems authoritative, credible, and relevant to the question. It may provide source links in the answer, off to the side or below, but it also offers the user the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. If the user gets the answers to their questions in the AI-generated text, click through any links and the search remains entirely on the platform. By some estimates, 80 to 85% of searches are now what’s known as zero-click searches.
Traditional search provided discoverability through rankings—if you appeared near the top of search results, you had a better chance of having potential clients click through to your website or bio to get more information about you and your practice. If they liked what they saw, they’d call you.
In a zero-click search environment, discoverability depends on whether and how you are included as a source in or alongside the AI-generated answer. This shifts the focus from SEO and the goal of appearing at the top of search engine results to AIEO or GEO and the goal of being cited as a source in Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude responses.
But while these efforts are critical to visibility and discoverability, they are an incomplete marketing strategy on their own.
The AI Search Paradox
Being cited as an authoritative source in AI-generated answers increases visibility and credibility—both good for marketing. But is also presents brand awareness issues in a way that traditional search doesn’t. In traditional search, individual links stand on their own, with sponsored (paid) links at the top, and include brief snippets of information.
When AI generates a response to a complex criminal law question, it synthesizes information from multiple sources and much of what differentiates one expert source—one defense lawyer or firm—from another is filtered out. In other words, an AI-generated answer can explain the difference between federal and a state drug-related charges, but it doesn’t communicate how a particular lawyer or firm approaches those cases or works with clients. Being cited as a source might indicate the lawyer or firm has some proficiency in the area, but it strips away information about experience or reputation, client-service philosophy, firm culture, even jurisdictional expertise, all of which are critical differentiators from competitors. And because AI search reduces the need for users to click though links, lawyers and firms lose the opportunity to provide that information, in the form of lawyer bios, practice capabilities and other substantive content.
The paradox of AI visibility is that you may succeed in becoming cited sources for AI-generated answers while simultaneously losing at least some of the relationship-building opportunities with the people looking for those answers—your potential clients. Visibility is important for being found by your target audiences. But discoverability without engagement is fleeting and doesn’t drive business development—at least not on its own.
Marketing Challenges Unique to Criminal Defense
Criminal defense presents marketing challenges that many other practice areas do not. Unlike corporate law, trust and estate planning, even most other forms of litigation, few clients seek out an ongoing relationship with criminal defense counsel before they need them. Most hope they never will. When the need arises, however, it is often immediate, emotional and urgent.
Discoverability and visibility are critical. So is trust, perhaps more so in criminal defense than in other practices. Clients facing potentially life-altering legal problems need to have trust and confidence in the lawyer and firm they are hiring. Identifying and communicating directly to your potential clients in a way that enables you to build trust and confidence is difficult. You may know the universe of your target clients, generally, but how do you find, reach and engage with them?
Combine Inbound and Outbound Marketing
Inbound or pull marketing focuses on attracting your key audiences to you using relevant informational or educational content or content the provides answers to their questions. Digital marketing content like blogs, alerts, videos and podcasts are examples of content used for inbound marketing. Bios, practice, and other website pages also fall into the category of content essential for inbound marketing. Inbound or pull marketing can be an effective strategy for building and sustaining long-term relationships, but because it relies on discoverability—audiences have to find the content to consume it—inbound marketing often includes implementing SEO and AIEO strategies. Paid search (Google Ads, Local services ads and platform specific ads like YouTube search ads), as well as digital and social media ads that use advanced targeting techniques (audience targeting, retargeting/remarketing, intent-based social ads and content amplification), fall under the inbound marketing umbrella.
In contrast, outbound or push marketing focuses on delivering messaging and informational content to targeted audiences using direct outreach and predominantly owned channels—email, alert and newsletter subscriptions, direct social media and other digital messaging, direct mail, event sponsorship and speaking events—to create awareness and engagement. Some forms of digital and social media advertising like cold awareness campaigns that broadcast messaging broadly to a broad demographic without audience targeting (think the digital versions of billboards) or disruptive formats (digital popups, unskippable mid-video or audio ads, for example) can also fall under the push marketing umbrella.
Both inbound and outbound marketing have their benefits, challenges, and limitations. But digital inbound marketing has a fundamental and growing challenge: it relies on third-party technology beyond our control. Google changes its algorithm. LinkedIn adjusts its feed. Evolving AI search platforms increasingly deliver scraped and synthesized content before or as a substitute for links to original materials and website sources.
As AI technology is increasingly becoming the information gatekeeper, making discoverability and engagement more difficult, outbound marketing using owned channels and owned audiences becomes more important.
For law firms and practices generally, email remains one of the most impactful strategies for nurturing prospects and maintaining engagement with clients. When AI delivers an answer, it cherry-picks information from different sources and amalgamates the bits and pieces to reach a conclusion. When a lawyer or firm sends a targeted email—a newsletter, client alert, webinar invitation, or attorney-authored analysis—directly to an owned audience, it controls all of the content. It also controls the context, the branding, the messaging, and the timing and relevance of the invitation to engage. Proactively and consistently delivering targeted valuable content directly to an already interested audience both builds trust and provides the kind of sustained visibility that is hard to achieve through AI search.
In other words, it allows lawyers and firms to build relationships long before a legal crisis occurs. So that when the question arises “who should I (my company, friend, colleague or family member) hire to help with a criminal matter?” those lawyers and firm are known and trusted resources.
An opt-in email list is a valuable owed asset that gives lawyers and firms a direct line of communication with people who have already expressed interest in hearing from them. Most criminal defense lawyers don’t have this kind of direct access and communication with prospects for any sustained length of time before they become clients, so an email list or database needs to be built around those who can reach and can influence the hiring decisions of potential clients. Depending on the type of practice, referral sources might include former clients, colleagues in the criminal defense bar, civil litigators, family lawyers and transactional and regulatory lawyers whose practices and clients might intersect or overlap, professional services providers like accountants and business and financial advisors, community leaders and other professionals who regularly encounter people needing criminal defense counsel. Don’t neglect current clients; providing them valuable information and communication not related directly to their legal matters (and for which they are not paying an hourly rate) can be an effective way to nurture client relationships and create future advocates and referral sources for your practice.
Depending on the type of practice, LinkedIn is another effective (quasi-)owned channel. While the algorithm determines what content gets delivered to feeds, a lawyer or firm’s network of connections and followers is a valuable owned audience to which they have direct access. The platform also has tools and features that enable users to build subscription lists and create and send newsletters. Professional associations may also have lists or online channels to which you can post or send your content.
Outbound marketing does not mean sending a flood of updates, alerts or newsletters. The most effective communications answer questions people actually have. They explain new developments in criminal law, discuss sentencing trends, offer practical guidance for businesses facing investigations, or provide thoughtful analysis of significant appellate decisions. The principle applies to email, LinkedIn, professional associations, webinars, podcasts, and speaking engagements—any place where you have direct access to clients and referral sources,
Marketing for the AI-shaped Market of Now and the Future
Technology has changed how people search for lawyers, but it has not changed why they hire them. Clients want thoughtful, experienced advocates who understand their problems, communicate clearly and inspire confidence during extraordinarily stressful moments. In an era when AI increasingly controls access to information, the most resilient and forward-looking marketing strategy can’t rely solely on access through technologies and channels lawyers and firms can’t control. It requires combining smart inbound marketing techniques with outbound marketing that proactively and consistently curates and engages with audiences that lawyers and firms own and can access directly.
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