I’m not accepting any more website briefs created entirely by AI.
There. I’ve said it.
And before anyone thinks I’ve suddenly become anti-AI, I haven’t. I use AI. I think it’s brilliant. There are plenty of things it can help us do faster, better and more efficiently.
But I don’t think your law firm’s website strategy is one of them.
At least, not at the point where the important thinking needs to happen.
Your website brief is supposed to be the thinking.
When a law firm comes to me with a website brief, I want to understand what is actually going on underneath it.
- Who are you trying to reach?
- What do those people need from you?
- What do you want them to understand about your firm that they might not get from looking at five other firms?
- Which services really matter to the growth of the business?
- What makes you different?
- What should your website actually do for the firm?
- And, perhaps most importantly, what don't you need?
That last question gets surprisingly little attention.
Instead, I’m increasingly seeing website briefs that have clearly been generated by AI.
They are impressively comprehensive.
They contain pages, features, SEO recommendations, content requirements, calls to action, technical specifications and a whole host of other deliverables.
They look very professional.
And that is precisely the problem.
AI can make a mediocre website brief look like a very good one
The difficulty with an AI-generated website brief isn't necessarily that everything in it is wrong.
It's that it can be plausible without being particularly useful.
AI is extremely good at taking a vague request such as:
“We need a new website for our law firm.”
…and turning it into a beautifully structured document covering everything a typical law firm website might contain.
The problem is that your law firm isn't a typical law firm.
You don't necessarily need all those pages.
You don't necessarily need all those features.
You don't necessarily need all those SEO deliverables.
And you certainly don't want to commit yourself to paying for things simply because an AI tool decided they ought to be included in your brief.
Which brings me to another slightly awkward question…
Shall we let Claude price it too?
Because once AI has created your enormous website specification, you've effectively handed your website project to someone who doesn't know your firm, your clients, your ambitions or your budget.
And now all those things it suggested have become part of the brief.
Which means they may well become part of the price.
You can end up paying for a website that contains a lot of things you never actually needed.
The danger is that AI puts you in a passive role
This is the bit that concerns me most. When you ask AI to create your website brief, it feels like you're being productive.
And, technically, you are. It has saved you hours. You have a comprehensive document.You skim through it and think:
“Yep, that all sounds about right.”
There's probably something about SEO in there too.
You don't know whether you actually need it, but it sounds sensible.
And because the thing is so flipping long, you never quite get to the end of it.
So you accept it.
That's the danger.
AI has done the thinking for you rather than helping you think.
And those are two very different things.
The best website thinking happens between people
The early stage of a website project is where I think the magic happens.
It's where you start pulling apart what you've always assumed about your firm.
You realise that the thing you thought was your biggest selling point isn't actually what your clients care about.
You discover that one particular type of client is far more important to your future growth than another.
You realise that three of your practice areas don't need three enormous sections of the website.
You find the story that explains why someone should choose your firm.
You work out what you actually want the website to achieve.
And sometimes you discover that what you thought you needed isn't what you need at all.
Those are breakthrough moments.
They don't come from asking AI to produce another 2,000 words.
They come from conversations.
From questions.
From someone challenging your assumptions.
From having to explain something out loud and suddenly hearing it differently yourself.
That's why I don't want an AI-generated website brief dropped into my inbox.
I'd much rather talk to you first.
So what should you use AI for?
Plenty.
Once we've done the important thinking, AI can be incredibly useful.
It can help you:
- explore different ways of expressing an idea
- organise information
- generate initial content ideas
- identify questions your clients might be asking
- help with research
- create content variations
- analyse existing copy
- speed up repetitive tasks
- support your ongoing SEO and content strategy
That's where I think AI becomes a genuinely useful assistant.
But it should be assisting the thinking, not replacing it.
There is a big difference between:
“Here is everything AI thinks a law firm website should contain.”
and:
“Here is what we've worked out this particular law firm actually needs.”
The second one is where you get somewhere interesting.
Let's create your website brief together
This is something I feel strongly enough about that I've renamed my old Law Firm Power Hour.
It's now the Law Firm Website Sense Check.
Because that's really what I want it to be.
A chance to stop.
Cut through the noise.
Work out what your firm actually needs.
And create a meaningful website brief based on your business, your clients and where you want the firm to go - rather than a generic list of things that an AI tool thinks a law firm website ought to have.
Human thinking first. AI where it genuinely helps.
That's my approach.
And I think your website deserves it.
