For years, getting found online started with keywords.
What are people typing into Google? Where does our firm rank? What phrases should we target?
Those questions still matter.
But there’s a new question tax and accounting firms need to start asking:
What is my ideal client asking ChatGPT?
Because people don’t necessarily talk to AI the way they search Google.
Someone might search Google for:
CPA near me
But that same person could ask ChatGPT:
“I own four rental properties and a small business. Can you recommend a tax advisor near me who understands real estate and can help me reduce taxes throughout the year?”
Same person. Same underlying need.
But there’s a lot more information in the second search.
The prospect just told the AI who they are, what they need, what expertise they’re looking for, and potentially what kind of accountant should be recommended.
That’s why the new keyword isn’t really a keyword.
It’s a conversation.
And those conversations should start influencing the content your firm creates.
Your Prospects Are Already Asking AI
This isn’t something firms need to prepare for five years from now.
It’s happening.
BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer research found that 45% of consumers used AI tools for local business recommendations during the previous year, up from just 6% the year before. ChatGPT led the individual AI platforms, with 31% of consumers saying they’d used it for business recommendations. (BrightLocal)
More recent BrightLocal research found that 31% of consumers now use AI tools for local business recommendations at least monthly. (BrightLocal)
That doesn’t mean Google is disappearing.
Far from it.
BrightLocal found that three-quarters of consumers used more than one channel during their most recent search for a local business. Among people using AI, most continued their research elsewhere rather than immediately contacting the recommended business. (BrightLocal)
Think of the new client journey this way:
Ask → Discover → Validate → Contact
A prospective client might ask ChatGPT who they should hire, Google the firms it recommends, read reviews, visit a website, check LinkedIn, and finally make contact.
Your job is to give them reasons to choose you throughout that journey.
But first, you have to become part of the conversation.
The New Keyword Is the Client’s Situation
Let’s say you want more real estate investor clients.
Traditional keyword research might identify phrases such as:
- Real estate CPA
- CPA for real estate investors
- Real estate tax accountant
- 1031 exchange CPA
Those still matter.
But now consider the questions someone can ask AI:
“What should I look for in a CPA if I own multiple rental properties?”
“Can you recommend a tax advisor who understands real estate investors in Phoenix?”
“I have W-2 income and five rental properties. Do I need an accountant who specializes in real estate?”
“My current CPA files my taxes but doesn’t give me much planning advice. What should a proactive real estate tax advisor actually be doing?”
Those questions tell you much more than a keyword ever could.
They reveal the client’s situation, pain point, desired expertise and intended outcome.
And that’s the opportunity.
Instead of asking only:
What keywords should we rank for?
Start asking:
What conversations do we want our firm to be part of?
You Don’t Have to Guess What People Are Asking
This sounds complicated.
It doesn’t need to be.
There are now tools that can help uncover the questions people are asking.
Start with Semrush Prompt Research
Semrush has built a database of more than 289 million AI prompts across platforms including ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, and AI Overviews. Its Prompt Research tool lets you enter a topic and see related AI prompts, estimated demand, intent, brands appearing in answers, and sources being cited. (Semrush)
You don’t need to become an SEO expert to use it.
Suppose you want more construction clients.
Start with: construction accountant
Or: construction tax planning
Or: CPA for contractors
Look at the questions and topics appearing around them.
You’re looking for patterns:
What problems keep appearing?
What questions indicate someone may actually need an accountant?
Where could our firm provide a genuinely useful answer?
That’s enough to get started.
You can also use tools such as AnswerThePublic and AlsoAsked to discover related questions people search for on the web.
And don’t overlook the easiest source of all:
Your clients.
Think about the questions prospects ask during consultations. Look at emails clients send. Talk to the people answering your phones. Review the questions that repeatedly come up during tax season and advisory meetings.
Those are content ideas hiding in plain sight.
Pick the Clients You Actually Want
Here’s where this becomes powerful.
Don’t start by creating hundreds of articles.
Pick one type of client you want more of.
Maybe that’s:
- Real estate investors
- Dentists
- Construction companies
- High-income executives
- Restaurants
- Professional service firms
- Business owners approaching retirement
- Families with complex tax situations
Then find the questions those people are asking.
Suppose you want business owners preparing to sell their companies.
They may be asking:
“When should I start tax planning before selling my business?”
“How can I reduce the taxes when I sell my company?”
“Should my CPA be involved before I talk to a business broker?”
“What should I be doing three years before selling my business?”
“What kind of accountant should help me prepare a company for sale?”
Now look at your website.
Does your firm provide strong answers to those questions?
If not, you just found your next five pieces of content.
Don’t Answer One Question. Own the Conversation.
This is where many firms get content wrong.
They publish one article about a topic and move on.
Instead, take an important client question and build around it.
For example:
What Real Estate Investors Should Look for in a CPA
Inside that article, answer related questions:
- When does a real estate investor need a specialized CPA?
- What tax strategies should a real estate CPA understand?
- How should rental property depreciation be handled?
- When might cost segregation make sense?
- How do passive activity rules affect rental losses?
- What should investors know before a 1031 exchange?
- What records should real estate investors maintain?
- What questions should you ask before hiring a CPA?
Now you’ve created something far more valuable than a page repeating “real estate CPA” ten times.
You’ve demonstrated expertise around the actual questions a prospective client has.
Then expand the topic.
Create a real estate investor service page.
Publish supporting articles.
Add FAQs.
Create short videos answering individual questions.
Turn individual insights into social posts.
Publish anonymized examples showing the types of problems your firm helps solve.
You’re not trying to manipulate ChatGPT.
You’re building a body of evidence that says:
This firm knows real estate investors.
Your Website Matters More Than You Might Think
There’s another reason this strategy matters.
In a BrightLocal study examining sources appearing in ChatGPT local search results, business websites represented 58% of the sources studied, ahead of business mentions and directories. (BrightLocal)
Your website isn’t simply somewhere a prospect lands after AI recommends you.
It can be part of the evidence AI uses to understand your firm.
That makes specificity incredibly important.
Instead of saying:
We provide comprehensive tax planning services.
Say:
We provide year-round tax planning for business owners who want to reduce tax surprises, evaluate entity structure, plan major purchases, and make better tax decisions before year-end.
Instead of:
We specialize in real estate taxation.
Say:
We work with real estate investors who own rental properties, are evaluating 1031 exchanges, need guidance on depreciation and cost segregation, or are building larger property portfolios.
The second version is better for humans because it immediately communicates relevance.
It’s also easier for machines to understand.
Put the Same Story Everywhere
Creating the article isn’t the finish line.
Remember how people are searching now.
They may ask AI first and then verify what they’re told elsewhere.
Your expertise should therefore be reinforced across your entire digital presence:
- Website
- Service and niche pages
- Blog articles
- FAQs
- Google Business Profile
- Professional profiles and directories
- Reviews
- Social content
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Third-party mentions
BrightLocal’s research across AI search platforms found that businesses’ own websites remained a major source, while directories, listings, social platforms, and other third-party content also contributed to AI results. (BrightLocal)
If your website says you specialize in dentists, your articles answer dentists’ questions, your professional profiles mention your work with dental practices, and your clients authentically describe that experience in reviews, you’ve created a much stronger signal.
Everything reinforces everything else.
A Simple 30-Minute Exercise
You can start doing this without rebuilding your website.
Set aside 30 minutes.
Step 1: Pick one type of client you want more of.
Don’t pick ten.
Pick one.
Step 2: Find 10 questions they’re asking.
Use Semrush Prompt Research, AnswerThePublic, Google, questions from your existing clients, or simply ask ChatGPT to help expand the list.
Step 3: Look at your website.
Can someone find a strong answer from your firm for each question?
Step 4: Find the gaps.
Those gaps become your content plan.
One might become a major article.
Several might become FAQs.
Another might deserve its own service page.
Others could become videos, social posts, or newsletter topics.
That’s it.
You don’t need a complicated AI search strategy.
You need to understand the conversations your best prospects are having and consistently demonstrate that your firm belongs in those conversations.
Don’t Try to Game ChatGPT
There will inevitably be people promising secret tricks for ranking inside AI.
Be careful.
This isn’t about stuffing conversational questions onto your website.
And it’s not about publishing hundreds of generic AI-generated articles.
The objective is much simpler:
Become a genuinely useful source about the subjects you want your firm to be known for.
Answer real questions.
Be specific about who you help.
Demonstrate actual expertise.
Build strong service and niche pages.
Publish useful supporting content.
Keep your business information accurate.
Build authentic reviews.
Create authority beyond your own website.
Make it easy for both people and machines to understand what your firm does exceptionally well.
Be Where They’re Asking
For twenty years, digital marketing was largely about getting onto the page where someone was searching.
That’s changing.
Your future client may not simply search:
CPA near me.
They may tell ChatGPT:
“I’m 58, own a $5 million business, want to sell it within five years, and my current accountant mostly prepares my tax return. I need someone who can help me plan before the sale. What kind of accountant should I look for?”
Think about how much opportunity exists inside that question.
That person has essentially described your ideal client, their problem, their timeline, and the expertise they’re seeking.
The firms that understand those conversations can create content specifically designed to help them.
And when someone eventually asks AI:
“Who should I talk to?”
You want enough credible evidence across the web for your firm to belong in the answer.
The new keyword isn’t a keyword. It’s a conversation.
Make sure your firm is part of it.
Want to Know If AI Understands Your Firm?
CountingWorks PRO helps tax and accounting firms build the digital signals that make them easier to find, understand, trust, and recommend across traditional and AI-powered search.
Start with our Future-Ready Firm Blueprint to see how your firm’s website, content, reviews, local presence, and authority signals work together, and where you may be missing opportunities to become the answer your future clients are already looking for.
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