Patients now ask AI assistants the same questions they used to type into Google: “best dentist near me for implants,” “is lip filler at a med spa safe,” “who does CoolSculpting in Scottsdale.” The assistant answers with a short list of practices. Most practices have no idea whether they’re on it.
How AI assistants choose which practice to name
AI assistants don’t keep their own directory of practices. They pull from what they can read on the web and from search indexes, then summarize. A practice gets named when the assistant finds:
- Consistent facts. The same name, address, phone, hours, and services everywhere it looks.
- Clear answers. Pages that state plainly what you offer, who it’s for, what it costs, and where you are.
- Outside proof. Reviews, directory listings, local news, and professional associations that mention you.
- Access. A site that AI crawlers are allowed to read and that loads without heavy scripts.
What’s included
- AI visibility tracking. We run a fixed set of patient questions through ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Perplexity every month and record which practices get named.
- Entity cleanup. We make your practice facts match across your site, Google profile, directories, and healthcare listings.
- Answer-ready content. Treatment pages and FAQs written so an assistant can quote them: direct answers, real prices or ranges, and clear location signals.
- Structured data. Schema markup for your practice, providers, services, and FAQs.
- Crawler access. We check that your site doesn’t block the crawlers that feed AI search, and that key content isn’t hidden behind scripts or images.
- Third-party mentions. We find the sources AI assistants cite for your market and get your practice listed or mentioned there.
Who this is for
Practices that already have local SEO in place, or are starting it now, and want to be found by patients who skip the search results page entirely.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI search optimization?
It’s the work of making AI assistants name your practice when someone asks for a recommendation, for example “who’s the best Invisalign dentist in Austin?” Some people call it generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). It builds on local SEO, but it also depends on how your practice is described across the web, not only on your own site.
Do patients really use ChatGPT to find a dentist or med spa?
A growing share do, and Google now shows AI Overviews above many treatment searches. The patients who ask an assistant are often comparing options before they book. If the answer names three other practices, you lose that patient before they ever see the map pack.
Is this separate from local SEO?
No. Most of what helps AI search also helps local SEO: a complete Google profile, consistent listings, strong reviews, and clear treatment pages. We add the parts that are specific to AI assistants, and we track your visibility in both.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend us?
No one can. The answers change with the question, the location, and the model. What we can do is test a fixed set of patient questions every month, show you where you’re named and where you’re not, and fix the gaps.