The 40-to-60-Word Answer: How to Write the Paragraph Search Engines and AI Quote

Short answer: The passage that gets quoted is 40 to 60 words, sits directly under a heading phrased as the question, answers it completely without referring to anything else on the page, and contains at least one specific: a number, a deadline, a statute, a place. Write that passage first, then write the section that supports it. Most law firm pages bury the answer in paragraph four after three paragraphs of context, and get quoted for nothing.

Why 40 to 60 words?

Because that is the length of the passages the systems extract. Google's featured snippets have hovered around that length for years. The AI Overviews and AI Mode citations we have logged since 2024 quote passages of one to three sentences. ChatGPT search does the same. Shorter and the passage lacks a specific; longer and the system trims it or picks a competitor's tighter one.

It is also the length a person reads on a phone before deciding whether to keep going.

What are the rules?

1. It follows the heading immediately. No preamble, no "great question".
2. It answers the heading's question completely. Someone who reads only the passage has the answer.
3. It stands alone. No "as mentioned above", no "this" referring to something outside the passage.
4. It contains a specific. A number, a deadline, a rule, a courthouse, a form.
5. It uses the words the reader used. If the heading says "how long does probate take", the passage says "probate takes", not "the administration process generally requires".
6. It does not hedge for four sentences. One qualifier is fine. "Usually" is fine. "Every case is different, and results depend on many factors, and you should consult an attorney" is three sentences that say nothing.

Before and after

Before (a real pattern, paraphrased, from an LA family law site):

Divorce can be one of the most stressful experiences of your life. At our firm, we understand what you're going through. Every divorce is different, and the timeline depends on many factors, including the complexity of the assets, whether children are involved, and how cooperative the parties are. Contact us to discuss your situation.

Sixty words, no answer.

After:

A California divorce takes at least six months from the date the respondent is served, because Family Code section 2339 imposes a six-month waiting period before the judgment can be final. Uncontested cases in Los Angeles County often finish close to that minimum. Contested cases with custody or property disputes commonly take twelve to eighteen months.

Fifty-eight words, three specifics, complete.

Before (estate planning):

A living trust is an important estate planning tool that can provide peace of mind for you and your family. Our experienced attorneys can help you determine whether a trust is right for you.

After:

A revocable living trust for a married couple in Los Angeles typically costs $2,500 to $5,000 from an attorney, including the pour-over wills, powers of attorney and health care directives that go with it. The main variables are the number of properties to transfer into the trust and whether the plan includes provisions for a child with special needs.

Where does it go?

Under every H2 that is a question, which should be most of them. On a matter page that means five to eight of these passages, each answering its own heading. On a blog post, one at the very top (we label ours "Short answer") and one under each question heading. The first passage on the page is the one most often quoted, so the page's most important question goes first.

What about the rest of the section?

It supports the passage. The table, the steps, the exceptions, the local detail, the example. A reader who wants more keeps going; a system that wants the answer already has it. The section should not restate the passage in longer form, which is what most content written "for SEO" does.

How do you find the questions?

From intake calls, from the "People also ask" boxes for the practice's queries, from the forum threads that now rank for them, and from Search Console's query report. A family practice has forty or fifty such questions; a criminal practice has about the same; an estate practice somewhat fewer. Each is a heading somewhere on the site with a passage under it.

What does not work?

• Bolding a keyword in the passage. Irrelevant to extraction; looks like 2012.
• Writing the passage as a question and then answering it in the next paragraph. The passage is the answer.
• Filling the passage with qualifiers to avoid liability. State the general rule; put "your case may differ" once at the end of the section. Rule 7.1 prohibits misleading statements, not clear ones.
• One passage per page. The systems quote sections, not pages. Every question gets one.

How do you check whether it is working?

Search the heading's question. If a competitor's passage is in the snippet or the AI answer, compare it to yours: it is probably shorter, more specific, or higher on the page. Fix that and re-check in a few weeks. The content strategy service writes and audits these passages across a practice's site, and the free visibility check shows which of the firm's questions are currently answered by someone else. The practice page template we use is built around them.