AI search optimization makes your practice easy for ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features to find and recommend. Google says it is still SEO: a complete Business Profile, clear service and provider pages, steady reviews and consistent listings. No llms.txt files or special schema are required.
- rater8's 2026 report found 47% of US adults have used AI tools to research or find a healthcare provider.
- Google's May 2026 guide says optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO; no llms.txt, chunking or special schema needed.
- Google Business Profiles were 28.63% of local AI citations in BrightLocal's 2026 study; Yelp was second at 9.53%.
- ChatGPT needs your site to allow OAI-SearchBot, and it relies on outside search providers, so Bing and Yelp accuracy matter.
- Measure calls and booked appointments, not clicks; Pew found users clicked a result on 8% of visits with an AI summary vs 15% without.
What is AI search optimization for a healthcare practice?
AI search optimization is the work of making your practice easy for AI tools to find, understand and recommend when a patient asks a question like “Who’s a good pediatric dentist near me that takes Delta Dental?” You’ll hear it called GEO (generative engine optimization) or AEO (answer engine optimization). Both are built on the same foundation as good local SEO.
The difference is what the patient sees. Instead of ten links, they get a written answer that names a short list of practices and explains why. If your information is missing, outdated or contradictory, the AI tool simply recommends someone else, no matter how good your care is.
This is no longer a fringe behavior. The rater8 2026 Patient Choice Report found that 47% of US adults have used an AI tool to research or find a healthcare provider, up from 31% in 2025. Among respondents aged 45 to 60, the share was 64%.
How do AI tools decide which practices to recommend?
AI tools build local recommendations from a small set of sources: your Google Business Profile, your website, major directories and review sites, and map data from Google and Apple. Each tool weights those sources differently, which is why a practice needs to be accurate and consistent everywhere, not just on Google.
The largest study we’ve seen on this is BrightLocal’s analysis of 200,000 local AI searches, published in September 2026. Across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, Google Business Profile pages made up 28.63% of all citations, Yelp was second at 9.53%, and business websites accounted for 42% of citations overall.
Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Ask Maps
Google’s AI features lean hardest on your Business Profile. In the same BrightLocal study (2026), AI Mode and AI Overviews relied heavily on Business Profile data, while ChatGPT rarely used it. Google also says its AI features may use “query fan-out,” running several related searches across subtopics before writing an answer (Google Search Central, 2025).
In March 2026 Google added Ask Maps, a Gemini-powered conversational search inside the Google Maps app, starting in the US and India. Its recommendations draw on more than 300 million places and reviews from more than 500 million contributors, according to coverage of Google’s announcement (KOLD, 2026). Patients can now ask Maps which nearby office has weekend hours or is good with anxious patients, and get an answer built from your profile and reviews.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT search uses the person’s approximate location to find local results and “sometimes partners with other search providers,” according to OpenAI’s help center (2026). OpenAI also says a website must allow its crawler, OAI-SearchBot, to be eligible to appear. If your site or security firewall blocks that crawler, ChatGPT can’t cite your pages.
Because ChatGPT uses outside search providers (OpenAI’s help page links Microsoft’s privacy statement), it pays to keep your Bing Places listing and your Yelp page as accurate as your Google profile. BrightLocal found all three AI platforms in its study relied on Yelp.
Gemini and Perplexity
Google’s Gemini models can be grounded in Google Maps data covering “more than 250 million places,” including addresses, hours and user ratings, according to Google (October 2025). In practice, your Business Profile feeds Gemini, too. Perplexity answers with numbered citations to the web pages it used, so a clear, well-organized website and accurate directory pages are what it can quote.
Apple Maps and Siri
Apple replaced Apple Business Connect with a free platform called Apple Business on April 14, 2026, and existing Business Connect data moved over automatically (Apple Newsroom, 2026). Apple says your place card appears across Maps, Safari and Spotlight, and it lists Siri among the places businesses reach local customers. Apple Maps use is climbing: BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer survey found Apple Maps use as a review source nearly doubled, from 14% to 27% in a year.
- Patient asks a question
- AI runs related searches
- Reads profiles and reviews
- Names a short list
What does Google officially say about optimizing for AI Overviews and AI Mode?
Google says there is no special trick. Its guide to optimizing for generative AI features (Google Search Central, 2026) states that “optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO.” The same fundamentals that earn rankings earn AI citations.
That guide, published May 15, 2026, is specific about what you don’t need:
- No llms.txt or AI text files. Google says you don’t need new machine-readable files, AI text files, markup or Markdown to appear in Google Search.
- No “chunking.” There’s no requirement to break content into tiny pieces, and no ideal page length.
- No special writing style. Google says you don’t need to write a specific way for generative AI search or target every long-tail variation.
- No special schema. Structured data isn’t required, and there’s no special schema.org markup for AI features.
- No manufactured mentions. Google says seeking inauthentic “mentions” across the web “isn’t as helpful as it might seem.”
What Google does recommend is useful for practices: keep your Google Business Profile complete, because it “can help your products and services to be visible in both AI responses and other Google Search results.” Google’s separate AI features documentation adds that to appear as a supporting link, a page only needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet.
Our take after working with 3,200+ practices: be skeptical of anyone selling an “AI-only” package that skips the basics. If a vendor’s plan for AI search doesn’t start with your Business Profile, your website’s service and provider pages, and your reviews, it’s missing the parts Google says matter. Our AI search (GEO) service starts there for that reason.
Do reviews and listings affect whether AI recommends my practice?
Yes. Reviews and listings are among the main raw materials AI tools use. Google’s own help center says local prominence is based partly on how many reviews a business has, and Google’s AI features cite Business Profiles heavily. Patients increasingly read an AI summary of your reviews instead of the reviews themselves.
Google’s local ranking help page says more reviews and positive ratings “can help your business’s local ranking,” and that there’s no way to pay for a better local ranking. Those same profiles are what AI Overviews and AI Mode pull from.
Review summaries matter, too. In BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, 82% of consumers said they read AI-generated review summaries, and 23% of those would rely on the summary alone. Whatever patients repeat in their reviews, such as “gentle,” “on time” or “great with kids,” is likely to shape how an AI tool describes you.
Three rules keep this safe and effective:
- Ask every satisfied patient, steadily. A consistent flow beats occasional bursts. Our guide on how to get more patient reviews covers scripts and timing.
- Never buy, gate or incentivize reviews. Google can block new reviews, unpublish existing ones and show a fake-review warning on profiles that break its fake engagement policy.
- Reply without patient details. Thank reviewers in general terms. Never confirm that someone is a patient or mention their treatment, which can create a HIPAA problem.
Listings work the same way. When your hours, address or insurance list differ between Google, Apple, Bing, Yelp and Healthgrades, an AI tool has to guess, and it may repeat the wrong version. In the rater8 2026 report, 66% of patients who used AI tools said they had received incorrect provider information from one. Our listings management exists to close those gaps; for the full checklist, see why consistent practice information matters.
Does schema markup help AI tools find my practice?
Schema markup helps search engines read your practice facts accurately, but Google says it isn’t required for AI features and no special schema exists for them. Use it to label what’s already on the page, such as your locations, hours and providers, and make sure every value matches the visible text.
Google’s LocalBusiness structured data documentation (updated September 2026) asks for the most specific business type possible. For healthcare, schema.org offers types such as Dentist, Physician, MedicalClinic, Optician and VeterinaryCare.
| Schema type | Where to use it | Key properties to fill in |
|---|---|---|
| Dentist, Physician, MedicalClinic, Optician or VeterinaryCare | Each location page | name, address, telephone, openingHoursSpecification, geo, url |
| Organization | Home page | name, logo, url, sameAs (links to your official profiles) |
| Person | Each provider bio page | name, jobTitle, image, worksFor, sameAs (Healthgrades, hospital profile) |
Skip Review and AggregateRating schema for your own practice. Google only uses those for sites that review other businesses.
One 2026 change to know: Google stopped showing FAQ rich results on May 7, 2026, according to its Search documentation updates log. FAQ content is still valuable on your pages because it answers the exact questions patients ask AI tools. It just won’t produce the expandable search snippet anymore.
Is AI search sending patients, or just taking clicks?
Both. AI answers reduce clicks to websites, but they also pre-sell the practices they name, so the patients who do reach you are often further along. That’s why practices should measure calls, form fills and booked appointments from search, not raw website traffic alone.
The click loss is real. Pew Research Center (2025) found that users clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits to pages with an AI summary, versus 15% when there was none. Google, for its part, has said clicks from pages with AI Overviews “are higher quality,” with users more likely to spend more time on the site (Google Search Central Blog, May 2025).
Google is still the main stage. BrightLocal’s 2026 survey found 71% of consumers used Google to read reviews, down from 83% in 2025, while 45% used ChatGPT or other AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6%. Google says AI feature traffic is included in Search Console’s Performance report under the “Web” search type.
In our work, the practical answer is to track outcomes. Use call tracking on your website and Business Profile, watch Business Profile calls and direction requests, and ask new patients how they found you. “ChatGPT told me” is now a common answer.
What should a practice do about AI search this month?
Start with the sources AI tools already read: your Business Profile, your website, your reviews and your top listings. Most practices can fix the biggest gaps in a few weeks without any new technology.
- Complete your Google Business Profile. Confirm categories, hours (including holidays), services, insurance-related attributes, photos and booking link.
- Claim Apple Business and Bing Places. Match name, address, phone and hours exactly to Google.
- Check that AI crawlers can reach your site. Ask your web team to confirm robots.txt and firewall rules allow Googlebot and OAI-SearchBot.
- Write one clear page per service and per provider. Answer the questions patients actually ask: cost factors, insurance, recovery, who it’s for.
- Add accurate LocalBusiness schema to each location page, matching the visible text.
- Set up a steady, compliant review request after every visit, and reply to reviews without patient details.
- Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode who they recommend for your top three services in your town. Note what they get wrong and fix the source.
Common questions
What is the difference between GEO, AEO and SEO?
SEO earns rankings in search results. AEO (answer engine optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) aim to get your practice quoted or recommended inside AI answers. Google says optimizing for its generative AI features is still SEO, so in practice they share the same foundation: accurate profiles, helpful pages, reviews and a crawlable website.
Do I need an llms.txt file for my practice website?
Not for Google. Google’s 2026 guide says you don’t need new machine-readable or AI text files to appear in Google Search, and that it doesn’t use them. Other AI companies haven’t committed to using llms.txt either, so your time is better spent on clear service pages and accurate listings.
How do I check if ChatGPT recommends my practice?
Ask it the way a patient would, such as “best family dentist in [town] that takes Cigna,” with location sharing on, and repeat the test in Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. Note which practices appear and what details are wrong, then fix the source: your Business Profile, website or a directory listing.
Can I pay to appear in Google AI Overviews?
No organic placement can be bought. Google says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and AI Overviews and AI Mode use the same ranking and quality systems as Search. Ads can appear in some AI experiences, but that is separate from being recommended in the answer itself.
Why does AI give wrong information about my practice?
AI tools repeat whatever they find, so outdated hours, an old address on a directory or a departed provider on Healthgrades can surface in answers. In rater8’s 2026 survey, 66% of patients who used AI tools reported getting incorrect provider information. Correct the underlying listings and your website, and the answers usually follow.
Does schema markup guarantee my practice will appear in AI answers?
No. Google says structured data isn’t required for its AI features and there’s no special schema for them. Accurate LocalBusiness markup still helps search engines read your locations, hours and providers correctly, as long as it matches what’s visible on the page. See our website design approach for how we build it in.
