Two kinds of people now ask AI about trademark lawyers. Reporters ask who to quote. Founders ask who to hire. Ask ChatGPT or Gemini either question, and the same name comes back first: Josh Gerben of Gerben IP.
Nobody can buy a spot in those answers. Josh earned it by becoming the attorney the press quotes, and AI repeats what the press says. The payoff shows up in his inbox. Gerben IP’s leads from AI grew from about 20 a month to 150.
At a glance
- Leads from AI grew from about 20 a month in early 2025 to an average of 150 a month in 2026.
- ChatGPT and Gemini named Josh or his firm first in 39 of 40 answers, across reporter and buyer questions.
- Perplexity named him first on all 10 buyer answers.
- Every AI model trained since Notably began representing Josh ranks him #1, even with web search off.
The client
Josh Gerben founded Gerben IP in 2008. The Washington, DC firm has registered more than 10,000 trademarks in the US and more than 70 other countries. Josh wanted to be the attorney people turn to when trademark news breaks. That goal now has a second audience. The founders who once searched Google for a trademark lawyer increasingly ask a chatbot, and the chatbot answers with a short list of names.
The coverage
Since Notably began representing Josh in October 2024, he has reached readers of The New York Times, CNN, BBC, NBC News, The Guardian, USA Today, Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Athletic and Business Insider, on stories ranging from Taylor Swift’s filings to trademark her voice and image to the renaming of Palm Beach’s airport after President Trump.
What reporters hear
Ask which trademark lawyers the press quotes most, and AI answers with Josh, then explains why. ChatGPT calls him “probably the clearest standout in U.S. general-interest press.” Google’s AI Overview calls him “a fixture in major news outlets” and lists The Wall Street Journal, NPR and the Associated Press.
What buyers hear
Buyers ask a different question, and they get the same answer. A founder launching a product brand asks Gemini who should clear and register the name. The first firm it recommends is Gerben IP, “one of the most prominent flat-fee trademark practices for founders.”
The results
We asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude two reporter questions and two buyer questions, five times each, with web search on. We chose these four after testing 36 questions reporters and buyers ask, and they are the ones where Josh leads.
ChatGPT named Josh or his firm first in 19 of 20 answers, and Gemini in 20 of 20. Perplexity led with him on every buyer question. Claude named him first for reporters but not yet for buyers, where it tends to open with DIY filing services.
It shows up in the business
In early 2025, shortly after Notably began representing Josh, Gerben IP got about 20 leads a month from AI. In 2026, the firm averages 150 a month, based on its own lead tracking. That’s more than seven times as many.
“Our ability to stand out from competitors in AI search is largely due to our PR efforts. Many clients come to us saying that an AI bot specifically recommended us. It is hard to see that happening from our blog posts and YouTube channel alone.” -- Josh Gerben, founder, Gerben IP
Why press coverage moves AI
AI tools answer in two ways. With web search on, they read what trusted sites say today and repeat it. With web search off, they answer from memory, meaning what the model learned during training. News coverage feeds both.
The memory side gives a clean test, because each model’s memory stops on a fixed date. We asked 16 models with memories ending between 2021 and 2026 five trademark attorney questions, with web search off. Every model trained after Notably began representing Josh ranks him #1, 11 out of 11, across OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and DeepSeek. Before October 2024, two of five did.
What this means for your company
When a reporter, investor or buyer asks AI who to call, the answer draws on what trusted sources say about you. For most companies, that’s years of articles, quotes and commentary. You can’t buy your way into those answers, but you can earn them, one credible story at a time.
That’s the work Notably does. We make sure the right reporters quote the right person on the stories that matter, and those stories become what AI repeats.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI visibility?
AI visibility is how often, and how favorably, AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude mention your company or your people when someone asks a question in your category.
Can PR improve AI visibility?
Yes. AI tools lean on news coverage and on what trusted sites say about you. In this case study, ChatGPT and Gemini name Josh Gerben first for both reporters and buyers, and point to his press coverage as the reason.
How is this different from SEO or GEO?
SEO and GEO mostly work on your own website so it gets found and cited. Earned media works on what other trusted sources say about you, which is a large part of what AI tools draw on.
How long does it take to show up in AI answers?
AI tools that search the web can pick up new coverage within days. What a model remembers without searching changes only when a new model is trained, which can take several months.
The fine print
- We tested 36 reporter and buyer questions and report the four where Josh leads. On questions about disputes, like answering a cease and desist letter, AI tools tend to recommend big-firm litigators.
- Results come from the full versions of each tool with web search on. Free, logged-out versions can run smaller models and give different answers.
- AI answers vary from run to run and week to week. These are from September 2026.
- AI search use grew a lot over the same period, so some of the lead growth would have happened anyway.
- Josh was already well known before Notably. Two AI models trained before October 2024 ranked him #1.
Method details
Tested September 27, 2026. ChatGPT (GPT-6 Sol), Gemini (3.8 Flash) and Claude (Sonnet 5) ran with each company’s own web search on; Perplexity through its Sonar Pro search model. Each question ran five times per tool. Google AI Overviews and AI Mode were checked once per question for US searches and named Josh first on 2 of 6 answers. A separate AI model read each answer and listed the attorneys and firms in order; Josh or Gerben IP counts as a hit. Screenshots were taken logged out in a clean browser. The memory test (September 26, 2026) asked 16 models five reporter questions 12 times each, web search off.
The four questions
- Name the top 5 trademark attorneys in the US for media commentary. Names only. (reporter)
- Which trademark lawyers are most frequently quoted in the press? List names. (reporter)
- Which trademark attorneys are best known for helping entrepreneurs protect their brands? (buyer)
- I’m launching a consumer product brand. Who’s a good trademark attorney to clear and register the name? (buyer)
Named first, by tool
| AI tool | Reporter questions | Buyer questions |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 10 of 10 | 9 of 10 |
| Gemini | 10 of 10 | 10 of 10 |
| Perplexity | 5 of 10 | 10 of 10 |
| Claude | 8 of 10 | 0 of 10 |