Get more new patients when people ask AI.

AI search optimization for healthcare gets your practice named when patients ask Google’s AI or ChatGPT who to see. Google showed an AI answer for 8,658 of the 10,000 searches in our study, so patients often read the AI’s answer before they see any practice’s website. Here is how patients ask, how each AI picks a practice, and what you can safely say.

How patients ask AI for a doctor or dentist

Patients ask in three steps, and each step is a chance to be named.

First, they ask about the problem. Many of these answers end with “see a dentist” or “see a doctor.” That is where a practice can be named.

• Why does my tooth hurt when I drink cold water?
• Do I need a referral to see a physical therapist?
• When should I see a doctor for back pain?
• How long do lip fillers last?

Next, they add a filter. Patients rarely ask for “the best” and stop there. They add the details that matter to them.

• Dentist near me that takes my insurance and new patients
• Family doctor near me with evening hours
• Kids’ dentist who is good with anxious children
• Physical therapist for a knee injury who speaks Spanish

Last, they check one practice.

• Is YourBrand Family Dental good for nervous patients?
• Does YourBrand Family Dental take my insurance plan?
• What do patients say about the doctors at YourBrand Family Dental?

The filters decide who gets named. If your site and profiles don’t say which plans you take, or that you are taking new patients, the AI can’t match you to those questions. Good care alone won’t fix that.

How ChatGPT and Google’s AI pick a doctor or dentist

Both AIs lean on what other websites say about a practice, more than on the practice’s own site. In our study, 80.69% of the links next to brand names in Google’s AI Overviews went to other websites. In ChatGPT, it was 57.58%.

Each one leans in its own way:

• Google’s AI stays close to Google’s results. About half (49.83%) of the pages it linked were already in Google’s top 10 for the same search. A practice named on the pages that rank for “dentist in [your town]” has an edge.
• ChatGPT names practices it already knows. In our study, 85% of ChatGPT’s mentions of well-known brands had no link to the brand’s own site. The more trusted places describe your practice, the easier it is to name.
• They rarely use the same pages. The two shared only 3.33% of their linked pages. A plan for one won’t cover the other.

Health topics are also held to a higher standard. Pages that are clear, accurate and checked by a named, licensed provider give patients and AI more reason to trust them.

AI SEO for dentists

AI SEO for dentists starts with the facts patients filter on. Then it gets your practice named on the pages AI reads for each treatment.

• Say the facts plainly, in the same words everywhere. List the insurance plans you take, whether you take new patients, emergency visits, sedation for nervous patients, languages, hours and parking. Put them on your site and on every profile.
• Give each treatment a page that answers the patient’s question. Implants, clear aligners, crowns, whitening and kids’ care each need their own page. Say what it is, how long it takes, how it feels and what the cost depends on.
• Ask for reviews that describe the visit. A review that says “gentle with my son” or “fixed my crown the same day” gives the AI something to match. Never offer anything in return for a review.
• Get named on local lists and guides. Local “best dentist” lists, community pages and dental guides that rank for your town all count.
• Treat each location on its own. A group with five offices needs five sets of facts, reviews and listings.

Health claims: what you can and can’t say

Health claims follow stricter rules than most ads, and AI can repeat any claim it finds next to your name. A line on an old profile can end up in an answer. So every claim about your practice should be one you’d be happy to see repeated.

A few general rules most practices follow:

• Don’t promise results. Words like “painless,” “permanent” or “guaranteed” can mislead. Say what is typical, and that results vary.
• Be careful with “specialist.” Many state boards limit it to providers with recognized specialty training.
• Get written consent for patient stories. That includes before-and-after photos and testimonials. Show typical results, not only the best ones.
• Keep reviews real. Never write, buy or filter reviews.
• Protect privacy in your replies. When you answer a review, don’t confirm the person is a patient or mention their care. Patient privacy law covers replies too.
• Name the provider who checked it. Health pages written or reviewed by a named, licensed provider are easier to trust.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your state board and privacy rules have the final say. We never post fake reviews, and we never need patient records. You approve every page and profile before it goes live.

Where AI finds practices

The AI learns about your practice from many kinds of pages:

• Review sites and your Google listing. Stars, recent reviews and what patients say about the visit.
• Doctor and dentist directories. Profiles that list your providers, training and services.
• Insurance provider lists. The “find a provider” lists that show which plans you take. Make sure yours are current.
• Hospital and health system pages. For doctors who work with them.
• Local news and “best of” lists. Community stories and local rankings for your town.
• Health guides and Q&A pages. Articles that answer patient questions and name providers.
• Videos, forums and social media. These matter far more in Google’s AI than in ChatGPT.

Our study shows how big that gap is. About half of Google’s AI Overviews linked to YouTube at least once (50.81%), and about half linked to Reddit (49.87%). Social media played a much smaller part. ChatGPT almost never linked to any of them.

So more social posts won’t move ChatGPT much. Being named on review sites, directories and local pages that rank matters for both. We get your practice onto the pages each AI trusts and the pages that rank, and then we obsessively track what each AI says.

Practices are local businesses too, so this builds on our AI search optimization for local businesses. We use the same approve-first process in other licensed fields, like our GEO for law firms work. Your free AI visibility audit shows which practices AI names in your area and which pages to get on first.