AEO for family lawyers in Seattle: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank family lawyers in Seattle by visibility and citations. 6 providers measured quarterly across Google AI Mode: which providers the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Seattle family law firms handling divorce, custody, support, mediation, and complex domestic matters for local clients. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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According to AI engines, Dellino Family Law Group leads the pack when it comes to family lawyers in Seattle. With a visibility percentage of 25.0, they are frequently recommended. Other notable names include Elise Buie Family Law and McKinley Irvin. Dellino Family Law Group's dominance suggests a strong reputation and client satisfaction in this domain.
The rankings are influenced by where AI engines pull their information, with top sources including google.com, mckinleyirvin.com, dellinolaw.com, and elisebuiefamilylaw.com. Many of these are official sites of the firms themselves or aggregator/review sites, indicating they have substantial online presence and engagement. This reflects their efforts in maintaining a positive online reputation.
For those seeking a family lawyer in Seattle, understanding these rankings can guide decision-making. AI engines often value recent reviews, third-party validation, and the firm’s topical authority in family law. This means firms with active client engagement and visible expertise in specific subcategories can offer trustworthy services, and this should be key in your consideration.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Dellino Family Law Group and McKinley Irvin share the top visibility score of 25.0%, well above the category average of 10.4%, while Elise Buie Family Law trails at 12.5%. The composite score gap between rank 1 (36.2) and rank 4 (3.8) is steep, and ranks 5 and 6 score zero across all metrics. This concentration means three firms effectively own AI-surfaced awareness in the category, leaving Wechsler Becker, Goldberg Jones, and Pacific Northwest Family Law almost entirely absent from Google AI Mode responses.
The most striking divergence between visibility and citation belongs to Elise Buie Family Law. Its visibility sits at 12.5%, below Dellino and McKinley Irvin, yet its citation rate reaches 87.5%, the highest in the category and far above the 35.4% average. Dellino, by contrast, holds 25.0% visibility but only 62.5% citation. McKinley Irvin matches Dellino on visibility but trails on citation at 50.0%. Being named frequently and being trusted enough to cite are clearly not the same signal in this category.
All six brands list Google AI Mode as their top engine, confirming this audit reflects a single-engine landscape. The top cited sources include google.com, the direct domains of the top three firms, and third-party authorities such as reddit.com, attorneys.superlawyers.com, and justia.com. The presence of lasher.com, a firm not in the ranked brand set, among cited sources suggests the AI is pulling from a wider pool of legal content than just the tracked brands, which may be suppressing visibility scores for lower-ranked firms.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility fallers
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Dellino Family Law Group 62% → 25% · rank #1 → #1-38pp
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Elise Buie Family Law 50% → 12% · rank #2 → #2-38pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
dellinolaw.com
|
25% | 62% | Google AI Mode |
Dellino leads on composite score (36.2) but its visibility fell 37.5 points from the prior period despite a 25-point gain in citation rate. |
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| 2 |
elisebuiefamilylaw.com
|
12% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Elise Buie holds the highest citation rate in the category at 87.5%, more than double the 35.4% average, despite visibility sitting 12.9 points below Dellino. |
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| 3 |
mckinleyirvin.com
|
25% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
McKinley Irvin matches Dellino on visibility at 25.0% but scores 12.5 points lower on citation rate, producing a composite score 3.7 points behind rank 1. |
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| 4 |
wechslerbecker.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Wechsler Becker records zero visibility and only 12.5% citation, placing its composite score at 3.8, roughly 90% below the rank 3 firm. |
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| 5 |
goldbergjones-wa.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Goldberg Jones scores zero on all three metrics, visibility, citation, and composite, identical to rank 6 and indicating no current presence in Google AI Mode responses. |
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| 6 |
pnwfamilylaw.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on family lawyers in Seattle, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this AEO ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
AEO rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Run an AEO audit on your own family lawyers in Seattle brand
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about AEO for family lawyers in Seattle
Who leads AI visibility among family lawyers in Seattle?
Dellino Family Law Group and McKinley Irvin are tied for the highest visibility at 25.0%, both well above the category average of 10.4%. Dellino edges ahead on composite score (36.2 vs 32.5) due to a higher citation rate.
Which firm is cited most often by Google AI Mode in this category?
Elise Buie Family Law has the highest citation rate at 87.5%, the strongest in the category and more than double the 35.4% average, despite ranking second on visibility.
How concentrated is AI visibility in the Seattle family law category?
The top three firms hold all meaningful scores while ranks 4 through 6 are near or at zero. Wechsler Becker scores a composite of just 3.8, and Goldberg Jones and Pacific Northwest Family Law score zero across every metric.
What external sources does Google AI Mode anchor on for Seattle family law queries?
Beyond firm domains, the cited sources include reddit.com, attorneys.superlawyers.com, and justia.com. lasher.com also appears despite not being a ranked tracked brand, suggesting the AI draws on a broader content pool.
Are any brands growing in AI visibility in this category?
The data shows no visibility risers in the current period. Both Dellino and Elise Buie fell 37.5 points in visibility from the prior period, making them the two biggest fallers despite holding the top two ranks.
Which engine dominates AI citations for Seattle family lawyers?
All six tracked brands list Google AI Mode as their top engine, indicating this category's AI visibility landscape is currently a single-engine market with no observable presence from alternative AI platforms.