AEO by industry · Health & wellness
Get recommended when patients ask AI.
Patients ask AI for a provider before they ask anyone else. But the engines check health directories and credentials, not just Google. Here is the plain-English playbook, plus a guide for each specialty.
Patients now ask ChatGPT for the "best dermatologist near me" or "urgent care in [city]," and AI search engines often pull from Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, and WebMD when naming a provider. If your practice is not on those sites with complete, reviewed profiles, you are invisible to that process. Being strong on Google is a start (a practice called answer engine optimization), but it only reaches Gemini. Our research shows most of what AI quotes comes from sites other than your own. Here is what works across every kind of practice, plus a guide for each specialty.
01
Common ground
Four things that are true for every practice.
No matter your specialty, these four things decide whether AI recommends you. Get them right first. The specialty guides further down the page build on them.
Your credentials get checked
AI cross-references your name against public databases (the NPI registry, board-certification lookups, state medical boards) before it recommends you. What is on your site has to match.
Patients ask about symptoms first
People ask AI about conditions, procedures, and costs long before they pick a provider. Practices that answer those questions become the ones AI names.
You live on health directories
Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, and WebMD are where AI looks for providers. A Google-only presence leaves you invisible to four of the five engines.
Trust has to be earned carefully
Medical recommendations carry a higher bar, and HIPAA limits what you can say. Plain patient education (not patient stories) is the safe, effective way to build it.
Key takeaway
Complete health-directory profiles, credentials that match the public record, and plain patient education are true for every practice. The specialty directories change; these do not.
02
Where AI looks
How each engine recommends a provider.
AI search engines do not keep their own list of doctors. They search the web, then build a recommendation from what they find, and each one reads a different set of sites. Being strong on Google alone does not cover you.
| Engine | Where it looks | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | Google Search + Business Profile | Pulls your Google reviews and specialty categories. Rank on Google and you show up here. |
| ChatGPT | Mostly Bing, plus health sites | Often pulls from Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, and WebMD when naming a provider. |
| Perplexity | Its own search, likes fresh pages | Leans on health directories and recent, well-sourced medical content. |
| Grok | Reddit and X | Quotes patient recommendation threads in local and health subreddits. |
| Claude | Brave Search | The toughest one. Wants verifiable credentials and educational, non-salesy pages. |
In our doctor recommendation experiment, the practices AI named had complete profiles on more than one health directory, recent reviews, and provider pages whose credentials matched the public record. A Google-only presence rarely made the cut.
03
Playbook
The moves that work everywhere.
These moves work for any practice. They go past the basics (a website, a Google listing, a few reviews) into what actually earns an AI recommendation in healthcare.
Complete Healthgrades and Zocdoc
These two are the health directories AI checks most. Claim them, fill every field (specialties, insurance, education, board certs), and give each provider their own profile.
Add a credentials page per provider
Full name as in the NPI registry, NPI number, board certifications, and license. When your site matches the public record, AI trusts you more.
Answer conditions, procedures, and costs
One page each: 'what to expect during [procedure]', 'signs of [condition]', 'how much does [procedure] cost'. Open with a direct answer in the first two sentences.
Publish insurance and pricing
List every plan you accept and typical costs. Confirm each provider is current in your insurers' 'Find a Doctor' directories too.
Get reviews on health platforms
Not just Google. Point patients to Healthgrades and Zocdoc, aim for 5 or more a month, and keep it HIPAA-safe: focus on experience, never clinical detail.
Earn editorial and community mentions
Pitch local 'best doctors' lists, offer expert quotes to health reporters, and watch patient recommendation threads on Reddit and Facebook.
Key takeaway
A Google Business Profile wins you Gemini and nothing more. The other four engines want complete health-directory profiles, credentials that match the public record, and plain patient education.
04
Your business
Find the guide for your specialty.
The playbook above works for every practice. The directories, credentials, and patient questions do not. Each guide below covers the sites that matter, the board or license AI checks, and the content that earns a recommendation in that specialty.
Dental practices
Healthgrades, Zocdoc, and Yelp, with board certification and procedure-education and insurance-acceptance pages.
Therapists
Psychology Today and TherapyDen, with clear specializations (anxiety, CBT, EMDR) and fee and insurance pages.
Med spas
RealSelf and Healthgrades, with provider medical credentials and treatment-specific pricing pages.
Veterinary clinics
Yelp and Google plus VCA and Banfield, with AAHA accreditation and emergency-vs-routine and cost pages.
Dermatologists
AAD Find a Dermatologist and RealSelf, with ABMS board certification and condition and procedure pages.
Chiropractors
Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades, with the state board license and condition (back pain, sciatica) and technique pages.
Physical therapists
Healthgrades and Google, with the APTA and state license and condition and recovery-timeline pages.
Plastic surgeons
ASPS Find a Surgeon (ABPS members only) and RealSelf, with procedure cost and before-and-after pages.
Optometrists
Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades, with the state optometry license and eye-condition and vision-plan pages.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Part of the AEO by Industry guide. See also how each AI engine recommends differently and the full AEO guide.