Deepfake Lawsuits Expand, ChatGPT Rolls Out Ads, and Why Digital PR Is the Ultimate Growth Engine
🚨 Plus: The AI Scam Cloning Law Firm Websites
👋 Good morning. Chris Dreyer here. Courts are testing the limits of liability in the AI era as deepfake lawsuits expand and plaintiffs ask whether generative platforms actively contribute to harmful content. At the same time, OpenAI has begun testing ads inside ChatGPT. The advertising landscape for PI may see a dramatic shift, turning one of the fastest-growing AI platforms into a space where firms could compete for attention inside the conversation itself.
This week, I also break down why digital PR is a growth engine for personal injury firms. The firms gaining ground are not waiting for coverage to happen. They track trends, prepare commentary, and show up consistently when the news cycle moves. I talk about how that compounds over time.
Let’s dive in.
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Digital PR Is a Growth Engine for Personal Injury Law Firms
It’s easy for some personal injury firms to treat media exposure as something that happens by chance. A big case breaks. A partner gives a quote. Then everyone moves on.
But that approach leaves too much to chance.
The firms pulling ahead right now treat media visibility as something they build on purpose. They show up in the news cycle. They comment on trends. They publish insights tied to real-world events. They become a familiar name long before a victim ever searches for a lawyer.
Digital PR sits at the center of that shift, and the firms doing it right treat it as a case-generation strategy.
The latest State of Digital PR research from BuzzStream makes the point even more firmly. Digital PR is becoming more effective, but also more competitive. Teams that approach it systematically are outperforming those that treat it as occasional outreach.
Could personal injury law firms win at digital PR?
Absolutely. To my mind, PI attorneys have an unfair advantage. Because accidents happen daily. Regulations change. Safety failures surface in shiny new tech. Lawsuits spike.
Journalists need expert voices who can explain what is happening and what it means for the public.
Digital PR, done right, positions attorneys as credible sources in moments that shape public perception. Over time, that exposure compounds. Your firm becomes familiar and easier to trust when someone finally needs legal help.
That is not theory. Research from Edelman, arguably the biggest PR firm in the world, shows trust in institutions and experts continues to influence decision-making, especially in high-stakes categories. People rely on credible voices when they feel uncertain or vulnerable.
Personal injury sits squarely in that space.
BuzzStream’s report reinforces another point. Digital PR no longer lives only inside communications teams. It overlaps with search, content, and brand building. Coverage influences search rankings. Mentions influence reputation. Authority influences referrals.
In other words, it affects the entire demand pipeline.
If you’ve designed a solid media-first content strategy, you’re not just focused on running ads or publishing blog posts. You’re shaping how often your firm appears in the public conversation about safety, risk, accountability, and legal rights.
And take it from me…
The firms getting this right operate more like newsrooms than campaign machines. They track injury trends. They monitor breaking stories. They prepare commentary in advance. They build relationships with journalists. They move quickly when news breaks.
They do not wait for attention. They earn it. (Hat tip to Jon Hollan)
Here’s how you can start leveraging DPR at your firm:
Build media response muscle. Treat news monitoring like intake. Track accident trends, safety recalls, regulatory changes, and major verdicts. Prepare attorneys to respond quickly with clear, useful commentary.
Turn attorneys into visible experts. Encourage partners and litigators to publish insights tied to real events, not abstract legal theory. Reporters need interpretation, not self-promotion.
Create a standing media list. Build and maintain relationships with journalists covering transport, health, consumer safety, insurance, and law. Reach out before you need coverage, not only when you want it. Here’s a useful tool to get going.
Link PR to search and content. Use media coverage to strengthen site authority, inform new articles, and expand your presence across platforms. Treat earned media as fuel for the rest of your marketing system.
Measure outcomes, not activity. Track whether coverage increases branded search, backlinks, referral mentions, and consultation quality. Do not count emails sent or pitches delivered. Focus on whether visibility produces real demand.
And keep this in mind…
Perhaps the biggest return on investment in digital PR is how it makes the firm more visible in AI searches. AI search overwhelmingly favors third-party authority, relying mostly on earned media (reviews, news, independent publishers, and expert sources) and less on social content, brand websites, and any claims you make about yourself.
As a category, personal injury runs on attention and trust. Don’t be shy about becoming part of the broader public conversation around injury and accountability.
Digital PR can drive massive growth, even if you’re a small firm.
🔗 State of Digital PR Report (2026) →
How To Tell Your Firm’s Story
Something we keep saying at Rankings: PI is hardwired for story. Yet if you visit many personal injury websites, it’s a sea of sameness.
Bland, generic copy promising some version of “We will fight for you.”
But what if there was a better way?
Donald Miller’s brand storytelling framework offers one. His core premise is simple: The customer is the hero. The law firm is the guide.
Most PI firms reverse that. They position themselves as the hero of the story. The settlements. The awards. The verdicts. The years in practice.
That structure feels impressive. But just how impressive is it really if every firm in your metro is doing it?
More than that, this kind of messaging doesn’t move people. So consider this:
In injury law, the hero is the person whose life was disrupted by an accident. The parent who cannot work following a crash. The driver facing surgery. The family staring at medical bills.
That’s your prospective client.
And when your messaging reflects your clients’ reality, they’ll reward you with their attention.
Here is the PI storytelling playbook that works:
Start with the client’s problem, not your credentials. Name what they are experiencing. Insurance pressure. Medical uncertainty. Lost income. When you articulate the stakes clearly, prospects feel understood. Only after that do your qualifications carry weight.
Play the guide, never the hero. In every strong story, the hero acts and the guide provides clarity. Think Yoda, not Luke. Your firm’s role is to combine empathy and authority. Empathy shows you understand the fear and disruption. Authority proves you know how to win. That balance builds trust faster than bravado.
Use your “About Us” as an “origin of empathy” story. This is where you talk about yourself strategically. Not as a résumé. As a reason. What happened that made you care about this work? Why are you on a mission to help injury victims? When prospects see why you care, they believe you will fight for them for the right reasons.
Show the path to success with you as the guide. You win when the client can picture themselves succeeding with your help. Lay out a simple plan: Call us. We investigate. We handle the insurer. You focus on recovery. Replace legal complexity with visible steps.
Leverage story for organic social. This framework extends beyond your website. Consider how one local dentist structures her posts: She opens with the patient’s emotion. “She started to cry.” “He couldn’t talk.” The patient is the hero. The dentist steps in with calm expertise and a solution. If you’re sensitive about dental issues, you see yourself in these stories, and that transformation drives engagement. PI firms can do the same. Share the intake moment. The turning point in a case. The relief after resolution. Lead with the client’s journey, not your firm’s accolades.
PI is already built on story. But if you want to give your practice an advantage, you have to start telling that story the right way. Here’s Donald Miller. 👇
Deepfake Lawsuits Expand as Plaintiffs Target AI Platforms
Plaintiffs are moving aggressively against AI companies as courts begin testing liability for deepfake content. A new wave of lawsuits alleges that generative AI platforms enabled the creation and spread of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes, opening fresh fronts in litigation over platform responsibility.
A class action lawsuit targets xAI over Grok’s image tools. In a California state court filing, plaintiffs allege that xAI’s Grok chatbot generated and shared nonconsensual explicit images of women, including public figures and private individuals, and assert claims tied to image abuse and monetization of AI-generated content. The complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief.
The complaint challenges longstanding platform immunity defenses. Plaintiffs, attempting to sidestep Section 230 protections that have shielded tech companies in prior cases, argue that Grok did more than passively host third-party content. Instead, they allege that Grok actively created or materially contributed to the unlawful images.
State attorneys general are escalating scrutiny. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced an investigation into Grok’s image features, and other state officials have signaled concern over AI tools that allegedly generate explicit content involving real people without consent.
Regulators and lawmakers are tightening the legal framework. Congress passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which strengthens enforcement against nonconsensual intimate imagery, and federal agencies have begun examining how AI systems manage and moderate harmful content.
The litigation reflects a broader shift. As generative AI tools move from experimental use to mass deployment, plaintiffs and regulators are testing whether courts will treat these systems as neutral platforms or as actors that create and amplify harmful content.
For personal injury firms, the cases speak to a developing liability landscape where reputational harm, emotional distress, and image-based abuse claims may expand alongside the technology itself.
OpenAI Rolls Out Ads In ChatGPT
Personal injury law firms may soon have a new paid channel inside ChatGPT. OpenAI has begun testing advertisements in the platform, transforming one of the world’s fastest-growing AI products into a media environment where firms could compete for visibility as users ask legal and injury-related questions.
With hundreds of millions of weekly users globally, ChatGPT is no longer just a research tool. It has become a discovery layer where people ask questions, evaluate options, and form preferences inside a single conversational interface.
According to a TechCrunch report, ads are now appearing for U.S. users on ChatGPT’s free tier and lower-priced subscription plans. OpenAI says its Plus and Enterprise customers will not see ads. The company is positioning this as an early pilot and says it will iterate based on feedback.
In a post on its website, OpenAI detailed how the program works and the guardrails it says will protect user privacy.
Large agency groups are already lining up brands. Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu have secured placements in the OpenAI ad pilot, signaling that holding companies view conversational AI as premium inventory. OpenAI previously indicated that early advertisers would pay at least $200,000 to participate in the test.
Ads appear inside conversations, not as traditional banners. ChatGPT labels and embeds sponsored responses within the flow of a query. The format relies on contextual relevance rather than keyword auctions, aligning brand messages with what users are actively discussing.
OpenAI emphasizes brand safety and privacy. The company says advertisers will not access individual chat histories and that ads will rely on contextual and aggregated signals. Sensitive categories, including health and politics, will carry restrictions.
Measurement remains limited in the early phase. Initial reporting suggests impression-based metrics dominate, with higher minimum spends and tighter controls than in typical paid search. For now, the program looks more like a controlled brand test than a scaled performance engine.
The bigger picture is this: AI platforms are evolving into hybrid environments that blend answers, recommendations, and paid visibility. That’s a massive shift in the advertising landscape. As more people turn to conversational AI to find information and services, PI firms will need a clear strategy for how they show up inside ChatGPT—both to build trust and to drive conversions.
Claude, on the other hand, looks to be heading in another direction.
Criminal Network Clones 150 Law Firm Websites in AI-Powered Scam Campaign: Cybersecurity firm Sygnia uncovered a coordinated network that built more than 150 cloned websites impersonating law firms in what researchers describe as a persistent and technically complex fraud operation. The investigation began after a single law firm reported impersonation sites. The cloned sites appear designed to target victims of prior fraud by offering asset recovery services and claiming no payment is required before funds are recovered. Sygnia said AI and automation tools make it easier for attackers to create convincing professional websites at speed and scale.
Social Media Addiction Claims Head to Trial: Lawyers opened a landmark Los Angeles trial accusing Meta Platforms and Google of designing Instagram and YouTube in ways that addict children and harm their mental health, setting up a bellwether case that could shape thousands of similar lawsuits nationwide. The plaintiffs argue internal research shows the companies understood the risks but continued to optimize features to keep young users engaged. Meta and Google deny the claims, saying their platforms include safety tools and contesting the science around social media addiction.
Royal Caribbean Faces Suit Over Surf Simulator Injuries: A Pennsylvania man sued Royal Caribbean Cruises, alleging he suffered serious injuries while using the FlowRider surf simulator aboard one of the company’s ships. The complaint says the attraction creates dangerous conditions that expose passengers to an unreasonable risk of harm and that the cruise line failed to adequately warn users or modify the design. The plaintiff claims the simulator’s forceful water flow caused him to lose control and sustain lasting injuries requiring medical treatment. Royal Caribbean has denied liability and has not yet responded publicly to the allegations.
News Outlets Sue Perplexity: A group of news publishers filed lawsuits against Perplexity AI, alleging the company reproduced and summarized their copyrighted articles without authorization, according to Bloomberg Law. The complaints argue that Perplexity’s AI-generated answers substitute for visiting original news sites, diverting traffic and advertising revenue. Publishers claim the practice undermines the economic foundation of journalism and seek damages and injunctive relief. Perplexity has said it respects publishers and offers attribution and links, but the cases set up a broader legal fight over how generative AI tools use and monetize news content.
Instagram Head Defends Platform Design in Youth Addiction Trial: Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified in Los Angeles that the company weighed growth against user well-being as it debated lifting a ban on face-altering filters, in a trial alleging Meta and YouTube fueled a youth mental health crisis. Emails shown in court revealed internal concerns that removing the ban could draw criticism for prioritizing growth, while Mosseri and CEO Mark Zuckerberg favored allowing certain filters with limits. Plaintiffs claim the platforms contributed to depression and body dysmorphia in young users. The case tests a federal law that shields online companies from liability for user-generated content. The outcome could shape hundreds of similar lawsuits nationwide.
Harvey is in talks to raise $200 million at an $11 billion valuation. The legal AI startup is negotiating a new funding round led by Sequoia and GIC, according to two sources familiar with the deal. If completed, the round would increase the company’s valuation from $8 billion just two months ago.
The proposed raise would mark another sharp step up in valuation. Harvey doubled its valuation to $8 billion in a $160 million financing round in December. The new talks suggest another rapid valuation reset within a matter of weeks.
Harvey’s growth provides the backdrop for the valuation jump. The company reached $190 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2025 and counts more than 1,000 customers, including major law firms where roughly 100,000 lawyers use its software.
The company continues to expand beyond Big Law. Harvey has begun selling to in-house legal departments at companies such as Comcast and Verizon, broadening its customer base as competition intensifies across the legal AI market.
Harvey and Sequoia declined to comment on the reported talks, and GIC did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
🔗 Forbes →
Jordan Lundy on Fixing Intake Before Spending Another Dollar on Marketing
Jordan Lundy runs a 70-year-old firm with deep brand recognition in his market. He did not treat that history like a crutch. Instead, he treated it like a starting point.
When he began reviewing intake recordings and campaign data, he saw something most legacy firms never confront. Leads were coming in, but conversions were not keeping pace. He figured marketing wasn’t the problem. Intake was.
Based on our conversation, here’s what PI firm owners should pay attention to:
If you do not convert non-branded search, your brand is not enough. Jordan moved serious budget into non-branded search and LSAs after seeing them outperform branded terms. His logic is straightforward. When someone searches “best car accident lawyer,” they are not searching for you by name. You either appear in that moment or you miss the case entirely.
Rename intake what it actually is. It is sales. Jordan stopped treating intake as a receptionist function. He calls it the sales team. He tracks conversion by rep. He listens to recordings. He trains for conviction, not just information gathering. When someone says, “I’m talking to other lawyers,” the response matters. Tone matters. Urgency matters.
Speed is measurable. So measure it. He set a seven-minute response benchmark for chat and web form leads. Conversion improved. He analyzed two years of after-hours data and cut paid ads overnight when the numbers did not justify the spend. He adjusted staffing by hour of day to make sure stronger performers handled higher-volume windows.
The scoreboard drives behavior. Build the right one. Jordan discovered that tracking conversion percentage alone encouraged intake reps to protect ratios late in the month. He shifted the focus to activity and output, tracking things like calls answered, retainers sent, and cases signed. Once he changed the metrics, behavior changed.
In Jordan’s words:
“The worst thing you can do is say, ‘Wow, this was a good month. This was a good quarter. Let’s keep doing it the same way.’ That’s a losing strategy.”
Jordan did not tear down a legacy brand. He strengthened it by tightening execution behind it. And that discipline scaled the firm past $100 million in settlements last year. Have a listen:
🎧 Personal Injury Mastermind: Episode 385 →
LawPro.ai Turns Medical Records, Case Files Into Structured Case Intelligence
PI firms sit on mountains of records, yet finding the details that matter still takes too long. LawPro focuses on turning medical records, billing statements, and case files into structured, searchable intelligence that attorneys can use immediately.
Instead of scrolling through PDFs or building spreadsheets by hand, the platform applies AI across intake, medical review, and valuation so teams move from raw files to informed decisions faster.
LawPro turns case files into citation-linked, searchable intelligence. LawPro’s Case Assistant allows attorneys to ask plain-language questions about the file and receive responses tied directly to the underlying record. When you ask about treatment dates, diagnoses, or gaps in care, the system links the answer back to its source. That traceability strengthens deposition prep, negotiation strategy, and internal review.
Medical records convert into structured chronologies instead of static PDFs. The platform processes uploaded records and surfaces key events, treatment timelines, and continuity checks. Instead of manually building a chronology, teams can quickly understand how care progressed and where inconsistencies appeared. That clarity sharpens demand narratives and trial preparation.
Economic damages (specials) move from spreadsheet math to structured analysis. LawPro’s SpecialsAI identifies, extracts, and organizes billing-related information into usable financial summaries. That reduces manual math errors and gives firms clearer visibility into case value.
Snapshot connects intake to outcome within a single workflow. The Snapshot capability presents a unified view across intake, records, and valuation. Instead of juggling disconnected tools, firms see structured case intelligence in one system designed for plaintiff practices.
For personal injury firms, the value lies in operations. Attorneys still exercise judgment. LawPro.ai organizes the record so judgment rests on structured, searchable facts rather than manual review. In high-volume PI practices, that difference shows up in faster evaluations, tighter demands, and fewer avoidable errors.
If your team spends hours reviewing records and calculating damages, this platform aims to compress that time without sacrificing defensibility. Definitely worth a look.
Before you go
Disclaimer: Personal Injury Mastermind takes all reasonable steps to ensure accuracy in the materials we share, including articles, newsletters, and reports. These materials are intended for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. They may not reflect the most current laws or regulations. Always consult a qualified attorney for advice on a specific legal matter.
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@chrisdreyerco As a former publicist I love how deeply you grasp the relevance of DPR -- especially in a world that prioritizes fast marketing tactics over slow marketing methods that actually lead to more momentum and accrued impact over time. And that you call out Donald Miller...? Cherry on top of a chef's kiss post.