I asked ChatGPT to recommend a dentist in Denver, CO. It recommended "Alpine Dental Partners," a general practice with solid reviews but no paid Google presence whatsoever. The top three dental offices on Google Maps, practices with 800+ reviews and premium ad placements, were completely absent from ChatGPT's answer. I ran the same query on Perplexity and Gemini. Between the three engines, only one business appeared in more than one response. The rest were completely different recommendations.
This is the new reality for dental practices that have spent years optimizing for Google. AI search engines are building a parallel recommendation system, and the practices winning there are not necessarily the ones winning on Google.
The Experiment
I asked three AI search engines the same question: "Can you recommend a good dentist in Denver for a family with young kids?"
ChatGPT's Response
ChatGPT produced a list of four practices. The response was detailed, mentioning each practice's specialties, patient experience highlights, and general reputation.
- Alpine Dental Partners — described as "family-friendly with a focus on pediatric comfort"
- Mile High Smiles — highlighted for "sedation options for anxious patients"
- Cherry Creek Family Dentistry — noted for "comprehensive family services under one roof"
- Bright Start Dental — described as "specializing in children's first dental visits"
Perplexity's Response
Perplexity gave three recommendations and cited its sources. Two of the four sources it linked to were blog posts from local parenting websites. One was a Yelp page. None were Google Maps listings.
- Stapleton Pediatric Dentistry — cited from a Denver parenting blog review
- Cherry Creek Family Dentistry — same as ChatGPT's third pick
- Highland Dental Arts — cited from a local "best of Denver" roundup article
Gemini's Response
Gemini recommended five practices, structured more like a list with brief descriptions. It emphasized credentials and technology.
- Denver Dental Studio — noted for "advanced digital imaging"
- Colfax Modern Dentistry — highlighted "same-day crowns and family scheduling"
- Mountain View Dental Group — described as "accepting new patients, evening hours available"
- Alpine Dental Partners — the only overlap with ChatGPT
- Pearl Street Family Dental — noted for "multilingual staff"
What Google Shows vs. What AI Shows
I ran the same query on Google Maps. The top three results were practices with 500-1,200 reviews, 4.8+ ratings, and active Google Ads campaigns. Not one of them appeared in any AI search engine's response.
The disconnect is total. Google rewards review volume, local SEO optimization, and ad spend. AI search engines reward something else entirely.
What the Recommended Practices Had in Common
Looking at the practices AI search engines recommended, three patterns emerged.
They appeared in local editorial content. Every practice that showed up in at least two AI engines was mentioned in a local blog post, neighborhood guide, or "best dentists in Denver" article published within the last year. These aren't major publications. They're local parenting blogs, community newsletters, and niche health directories. But AI search engines treat them as independent validation.
They had specific, detailed website content. The recommended practices didn't just have a homepage that said "We're a dental practice in Denver." They had pages addressing specific concerns: "pediatric sedation dentistry in Denver," "what to expect at your child's first dental visit," "Invisalign vs braces for teens." AI search engines scan pages looking for passages that directly answer specific questions. Practices with detailed, question-answering content gave the engines something to work with.
They were discussed in online communities. Two of the practices appeared in Reddit threads (r/Denver, r/denverparents) where people asked for dentist recommendations. One appeared in a Facebook group recommendation thread that had been indexed by search engines. Community mentions carry weight because AI search engines treat peer recommendations as high-trust signals.
What the Missing Practices Lacked
The Google-dominant practices that were invisible to AI search engines shared these traits.
Google-only strategy. These practices invested heavily in Google Ads, Google Business Profile optimization, and review generation on Google specifically. Their digital presence was concentrated in one ecosystem. When AI search engines look elsewhere for signals, these practices simply don't exist.
No editorial coverage. None of the missing practices appeared in any local blog posts, "best of" lists, or community recommendation threads from the past 12 months. Their reputation existed entirely within Google's review system and their own website.
Generic website content. Several had websites with pages like "General Dentistry," "Cosmetic Dentistry," "Contact Us." No specific answers to specific questions. AI search engines scan pages looking for passages that directly answer queries like "best family dentist in Denver for nervous kids." If your site doesn't contain an extractable answer to that question, the engine has nothing to cite. The practices that ChatGPT recommended had content structured so an AI could pull a specific, useful passage from it.
No community presence. Zero mentions in Reddit threads, Facebook groups, or local forums. For a dental practice that relies on word-of-mouth referrals in person, this might seem fine. But AI search engines treat online community discussions as digital word-of-mouth, and they weight it heavily.
What Dental Practices Should Do
The fix requires effort across multiple channels, but none of it is technically complicated.
Get mentioned in local content. Pitch local parenting blogs, neighborhood newsletters, and health-focused publications. Offer to write a guest post about children's dental health. Sponsor a local event that generates press coverage. The goal is to get your practice name into content that AI search engines will ingest.
Build detailed, specific website pages. Write pages that answer the exact questions patients ask AI search engines. "How much do braces cost in Denver?" "Best dentist for dental anxiety in Denver." "What age should kids start going to the dentist?" Each page should open with a direct, specific answer in the first 2-3 sentences. Include pricing ranges, your specific approach, and what makes your practice different. Dental practices that optimize for AI visibility see results specifically because they provide this specificity.
Generate reviews on multiple platforms. Don't funnel all review requests to Google. Split them across Yelp, Healthgrades, ZocDoc, and Facebook. AI search engines look for consensus signals across platforms. A practice with 300 Google reviews and zero presence elsewhere looks less credible to an AI than one with 150 Google reviews and 50 spread across other platforms.
Show up in community discussions. Monitor r/Denver, r/denverparents, and local Facebook groups for dentist recommendation requests. You can't post promotional content, but you can ensure your practice is remarkable enough that patients mention it. Ask satisfied patients to share their experience when they see recommendation threads. Why Reddit matters for AI search visibility explains why this channel carries disproportionate weight.
Publish content that demonstrates expertise. Blog posts about common dental concerns, procedure explainers, before-and-after case studies (with consent). Not for Google rankings specifically, but because AI models use this content to assess whether a practice is authoritative. A dentist who has published detailed content about pediatric sedation options appears more credible to an AI engine than one who simply lists "sedation dentistry" as a service.
How Long It Takes
Based on the patterns observed across AI search engines, here's a realistic timeline for dental practices.
Weeks 1-4: Claim and complete all directory profiles. Publish 3-5 detailed content pages answering specific patient questions. Reach out to 2-3 local publications.
Months 2-3: Start seeing mentions in AI responses for specific queries ("pediatric dentist Denver," "dentist for anxious patients Denver"). Generate 10-15 new reviews across non-Google platforms. Get mentioned in at least one local blog post or editorial roundup.
Months 3-6: Build consistent AI presence for your core services. Continue publishing 2-4 content pieces monthly. Maintain review generation cadence. Monitor which engines recommend you and which don't.
The practices that ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini recommended in my experiment didn't get there overnight. They accumulated presence across multiple sources over months. But the window is open. Most dental practices haven't started, which means early movers face less competition in AI search than they do on Google.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does my Google rating affect whether ChatGPT recommends me?
Not directly. ChatGPT doesn't access Google's API or crawl Google Maps in real time. It uses information from its training data, which may include content that references Google reviews (like blog posts comparing dentists), but your star rating and review count on Google are not direct ranking factors in AI responses. What matters is whether your practice is mentioned in the third-party sources AI engines actually cite.
Will patients actually find dentists through AI search?
Increasingly, yes. ChatGPT has 900 million weekly active users as of 2026. When someone asks "recommend a dentist near me" instead of searching Google, they get a direct recommendation rather than a list of ten options. Practices that appear in those recommendations capture patients who never see your Google listing at all.
Should I stop investing in Google if AI search is the future?
No. Google still drives more patient inquiries for most dental practices. But the trend is clear: AI search usage is growing rapidly while traditional search is plateauing. The smart approach is doing both, especially since many tactics that improve AI visibility (directory presence, editorial mentions, detailed content) also strengthen your Google presence.
Do I need to be on every AI search engine?
AI search engines disagree on their top recommendation in 50% of queries. A patient asking Perplexity might get a completely different answer than one asking ChatGPT. Focusing on just one engine means you're invisible to patients using the others. The tactics that work (third-party mentions, detailed content, community presence) tend to work across all engines simultaneously.
Can I pay for placement in AI search results?
As of May 2026, no AI search engine offers paid placement within its generated recommendations. Visibility is earned through third-party mentions, structured content, and community presence. Some engines display sponsored links alongside AI answers, but the recommendations themselves are algorithmically generated.