Google AI Overviews Now Show Law Firms in Map

AI Overviews are now displaying law firms on an interactive map, complete with business listings, star ratings, and descriptions pulled from law firm websites. It looks a lot like the local map pack and it correlates with the AI overview sites referenced to the right. But the firms showing up in the AI Overview map are mostly different from the ones in the traditional map pack directly below it.

Two Maps, Two Algorithms

The AI Overview map appears to be pulling from a different set of ranking signals than the traditional map pack. Google’s AI is evaluating firms through its own lens, one that seems to weigh website content, topical authority, and entity recognition differently than the traditional local algorithm.

We noticed this while searching for “detroit medical malpractice lawyer.” The AI Overview displayed a map with three law firms: McKeen & Associates, Sommers Schwartz, and Goodman Acker. Scroll down past the AI Overview and you hit the traditional local business pack with only McKeen & Associates overlapping.

However, CLM’s reporting tool, along with manual checks for our client, Sommers Schwartz, showed the firm ranking in the traditional map pack within the last week. Which brings up an interesting theory… is Google modifying the traditional local pack on searches where they display the AI map to diversify the page results?

What This Means for Law Firms

The immediate takeaway is that (should Google keep the map in the AI overview), there are now two distinct opportunities to appear on a map in Google’s search results. A firm that was previously shut out of the local three-pack could show up prominently in the AI Overview map instead. Conversely, a firm that has dominated the map pack for years might find itself invisible in the AI Overview.

This also means the total number of firms getting map visibility for a given search has increased. Instead of three map placements, there could be six — three in the AI Overview and three in the traditional pack — with a chance of overlap between them.

The AI Overview sits at the very top of the search results page. It’s the first thing a searcher sees. Appearing in that map may carry more weight than appearing in the traditional pack further down the page, especially as users become accustomed to engaging with AI-generated results first.

The Signals Are Different

Traditional local pack rankings lean heavily on Google Business Profile optimization, review quality, proximity to the searcher, and local citations. The AI Overview appears to place additional emphasis on the depth and relevance of a law firm’s website content, how clearly a firm’s practice area expertise is communicated, structured data and entity signals that help AI systems understand what a firm does, and third-party mentions and editorial content about the firm.

This tracks with what we’ve been seeing in answer engine optimization more broadly. AI systems like Google’s AI Overview, ChatGPT, or Perplexity tend to favor firms that have built genuine topical authority and demonstrated an ability to serve their clients well. We’ve seen Google AI overviews reward similar Answer Engine Optimization practices as ChatGPT.

In fact, ChatGPT tends to favor law firms with more case wins appearing in the media.

What to Do Now

Law firm SEO must include AI marketing strategies. Great content and good links aren’t enough.

Make sure your website clearly communicates your firm’s experience with depth, not just keywords. Implement schema markup so AI systems can understand your firm as an entity. And start sharing your wins publicly and consistently. Because every case result announcement, every press placement, every piece of editorial coverage is building the trust signal that determines whether AI recommends your firm to a potential client.

The traditional map pack rewards optimization. The AI Overview map rewards trust. And the firms that understand this distinction early will have a significant advantage over those still playing only one game.