KNOWLEDGE

Research & insights on AI visibility.

Everything we know about GEO, sourced from KDD'24 research, market data, and our own audits of the Towson market.

00/100AI VISIBILITY SCOREWhy Most Local Businesses Score Zeroon AI VisibilityChatGPTPerplexityGoogle AIMAKIFGEO RESEARCH
GEO Research8 min read

Why Most Towson Law Firms Score Zero on AI Visibility — And What It's Costing Them

We audited 46+ Towson-area law firms and found the average AI visibility score was 7-15 out of 100. Here's why most law firms are invisible to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI — and what it's costing them.

By Ashton Ellis

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46TrustEntityRetrievalCitationMeasurementMAKIF46SIGNALS ACROSS 5 LAYERSThe Signals That DetermineIf AI Recommends YouFRAMEWORK · AUDIT
Framework9 min read

The 46 Signals That Determine Whether AI Recommends Your Law Firm

When ChatGPT decides whether to recommend your law firm, it isn't checking your Google ranking. It's evaluating 46 distinct signals across 5 layers — and most Maryland law firms have optimized for none of them.

By Ashton Ellis

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202680%+50%$750BMAKIF2026AI SEARCH MARKET INTELLIGENCEWhat Every Local BusinessOwner Needs to KnowMcKinsey · Graphite · SparkToro · KDD '24
Market Intelligence7 min read

AI Search in 2026: What Every Maryland Law Firm Owner Needs to Know

28% of legal search queries now trigger an AI Overview in Google. AI-referred traffic converts at a meaningfully higher rate than conventional search — between 1.2x and 4.4x depending on industry. Half of all consumers now use AI-powered search to research lawyers before calling.

By Ashton Ellis

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chat.openai.com"Best attorney in Towson Maryland"ChatGPTnot cited ✕MAKIFHow to Check IfChatGPT RecommendsYour Business1Run 5 test prompts2Read results honestly3Check entity presence4Audit content structure5Know your score
How-To8 min read

How to Check If ChatGPT Recommends Your Law Firm (And What to Do If It Doesn't)

This takes 15 minutes. You need ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google — and you need to be honest about what you find. Here's the 7-prompt test every Maryland law firm should run today.

By Ashton Ellis

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VSMAKIFSEORanked list of linksKeyword densityDomain authorityPage-one exposureGEOAI-synthesized answerCitation signalsEntity clarityNamed recommendationChatGPT"I recommend [Your Business] inTowson for this service…"KDD '24: keyword stuffing = worse performanceCitations + stats = 30–40% visibility improvement
GEO vs SEO7 min read

GEO vs SEO for Law Firms: Why Your Google Rankings Don't Mean AI Will Recommend You

KDD '24 research found only 12% of AI-cited URLs overlap with Google's top 10. Your law firm can rank #1 for 'DUI lawyer Towson' and be completely invisible to ChatGPT.

By Ashton Ellis

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Trust25Entity10Retrieval15Citation5Measurement0COMPOSITE AI VISIBILITY SCORE7–15/100MAKIFTowsonLegal MarketAUDIT DATA · 2025What We Found AuditingAI Visibility for Law Firms📍 Towson, MDEntity layer: most common failureCitation triggers: absent in every firmJS rendering: silent retrieval blockMAKIF Pilot Audit · Baltimore–Towson · 2025
Local Research10 min read

AI Visibility for Maryland Law Firms: What We Found Auditing 46+ Towson Firms

We used the MAKIF-46 framework to score 46+ Towson-area law firms across criminal defense, personal injury, family law, estate planning, and other practice areas. The findings were consistent — and troubling.

By Ashton Ellis

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Practice Area Deep Dive10 min read

Why Towson DUI Lawyers Aren't Showing Up in AI Search — A Practice Area Deep Dive

We tested 7 buyer-intent DUI queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI. Not a single Towson DUI attorney was cited for any of them. Here's why — and what content would change it.

By Ashton Ellis

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Practice Area Deep Dive9 min read

Why Maryland Personal Injury Firms Lose AI Citations Despite Top Google Rankings

Maryland personal injury firms collectively spend over $5M/month on SEO. Most are invisible in AI search. The reason is a specific Maryland law most national-template firm sites get wrong.

By Ashton Ellis

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Practice Area Deep Dive8 min read

The Maryland Estate Planning AI Visibility Gap (And Why It Won't Last)

Estate planning has the lowest AI search competition of any law practice area. A Maryland firm that publishes correctly structured content can dominate AI citations in this market within 90 days — but the window closes once a competitor moves.

By Ashton Ellis

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