Is AI Ruining Legal Marketing?

Over the last year or so, I’ve started noticing something across the legal sector (and every other sector) that has become impossible to ignore. More and more law firms are investing in AI, yet their marketing is becoming less distinctive, not more. Websites are beginning to sound the same, blog posts are following identical structures, social media posts are almost interchangeable and even the images firms are using are starting to blend into one.

AI hasn’t created this problem on its own. But, it has made it much easier for firms to produce content without stopping to ask whether it actually reflects their brand image and identity.

The internet doesn’t need another average article

One thing I’ve noticed recently is that firms are no longer competing on quality. They’re competing on quantity. Publish four articles. Then eight. Then twenty. The assumption seems to be that if AI can write them quickly, publishing more must be better. But, I don’t think that’s how search works anymore.

Google has spent years trying to reward genuinely helpful content and AI search is trying to answer questions by finding the most useful information available. Neither is particularly interested in reading twenty versions of the same article written in slightly different words.

Most people can usually tell within a few paragraphs whether an article has been AI generated with very little human input. This isn’t because the grammar is poor or the information is inaccurate. Quite often, the opposite is true. The article is perfectly written, logically structured and technically correct.

The main issue is that the content forgettable, something that could be coined as “AI slop”.

Search for almost any legal topic and you will see the pattern. Every article starts with a definition, explains why the subject is important, lists a few key considerations and finishes with a section explaining how the firm can help. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that structure in isolation. The main issue is that every firm is using it, making it hard to differentiate one law firm from another.

If every article follows the same formula and says the same thing, why should Google, AI search platforms or potential clients choose yours?

AI search makes this even more interesting. Large language models are trained to identify patterns and summarise information. If every law firm is publishing almost identical content, there is very little that differentiates one source from another. Original observations, experience and genuine expertise are becoming more valuable because they’re the things AI can’t simply find repeated elsewhere.

Good content marketing has never been about proving that you understand the law. Every solicitor should understand the law. What separates firms is how they explain it, the experience they bring to it and the practical insight they can offer beyond simply repeating legislation. This is the part AI can’t generate.

Law firms are starting to lose their personality

This is probably the biggest concern I have in relation to using AI for legal marketing (or marketing in any sector).

Over the years we’ve worked with firms ranging from niche commercial practices through to family solicitors, employment specialists, criminal defence firms and legal costs experts. They all have different personalities, with some being very formal, some are direct, and others are incredibly approachable.

These differences matter because clients don’t just choose a solicitor based on qualifications. They choose someone they feel comfortable speaking to. Yet when AI writes everything, those differences begin to disappear and all firms seem to blend into one.

Every website becomes “professional”. Every article becomes “balanced”. Every page sounds as though it could have been written for any firm in the country.

The irony is that many firms spend significant amounts of money developing a brand, refining their messaging and deciding how they want to be perceived, only to let AI flatten all of that into something generic.

If someone removed your logo from your law firm website, would the content still sound like your business?

Social media has become predictable

I spend a lot of time looking at what other agencies and law firms are doing online. Recently, LinkedIn has become particularly interesting. There are more posts than ever, but fewer of them feel memorable.

The structures are almost identical. They contain the same hooks, bullet points, the same motivational endings and the same carefully placed emojis.

It is clear that many firms are using AI to produce social media content, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. AI is brilliant at helping people overcome writer’s block or suggesting ideas they may not have considered. The problem comes when the draft becomes the finished product.

Your audience isn’t following your firm because they want to read what ChatGPT thinks about litigation, divorce or probate. They’re following because they want to hear what you think and that distinction matters more than ever.

The same thing is happening with design

It’s not just written content that’s starting to look repetitive. AI-generated graphics are becoming instantly recognisable.

Once you’ve spotted an AI-generated image, it’s difficult to unsee them.

The perfectly symmetrical offices and smiling professionals who don’t quite look real and let’s not forget the floating scales of justice. Or perhaps my favourite, which is the infographic with so much AI-generated text that nobody can actually read it.

I find it slightly ironic because many of these images are technically impressive, yet they’re often less effective than a simple photograph of the solicitor who’s actually going to deal with the client’s case.

Authenticity has always been valuable in marketing and AI is reminding us just how valuable it really is.

AI is exposing lazy marketing, rather than relacing creativity

People often ask whether AI is replacing marketers. However, I don’t think that is the right question. The better question is whether it’s replacing thinking.

Some firms are using AI to produce ten articles where they previously produced one, which is fine. But it is important to consider whether those ten articles are actually saying anything worth reading?

Are they demonstrating experience? Are they answering questions that clients genuinely ask? Are they adding opinions, observations or practical advice? Or are they simply filling a content calendar?

The firms seeing the best results from AI marketing are the ones using AI to become more efficient while still keeping their own voice at the centre of everything they produce.

Where AI Actually Adds Value

This isn’t an anti-AI article because I genuinely think AI is one of the biggest opportunities legal marketing has seen in years and we use it every day.

AI is excellent at speeding up research, analysing data, suggesting content ideas and removing repetitive admin. There are some brilliant marketing tools using predictive analytics to identify opportunities that would take hours to spot manually.

AI powered chatbots are becoming far more sophisticated and, when implemented properly, can improve response times, qualify enquiries and support lead generation without replacing human interaction.

Email automation is another area that’s improving quickly. Used sensibly, it allows firms to keep prospective clients engaged while reducing administrative work. None of those things replace marketers, They simply give us more time to think.

How We Use AI at BSD Legal Marketing

We’re certainly not against AI. In fact, we’d struggle to imagine working without it now. We use AI throughout our workflow because it helps us work more efficiently. It helps us research legal topics, identify content opportunities, analyse competitors, review websites and streamline repetitive tasks that would otherwise take considerably longer.

The difference is that AI never becomes the finished product. Every article is reviewed, challenged and expanded with real observations. If we’re writing about shareholder disputes, drink driving or family law, we want the content to reflect how that particular firm approaches those matters, not how AI thinks the average solicitor would explain them.

The same applies to our design work, social media posts, website content and wider marketing strategies. AI is there to support the creative process, not replace it.

Ultimately, our job isn’t just to produce content. It’s to help firms develop a recognisable brand, improve their online presence, generate enquiries and build trust with prospective clients. Those things still require experience, creativity and an understanding of how people choose a solicitor.

We believe AI should make good marketers better. It shouldn’t make every law firm look and sound the same.