AI visibility for practices and healthcare providers
Looking for a provider now often starts with a question to an AI system: "Who treats back pain near me without a long wait?" The answer names a few – which makes it a recommendation, not a list.
The ones named are those whose range of services is readable as text, whose hours and access are stated clearly, and who can be tied to a place. Directories often carry more weight than the practice website itself.
One particularity we take seriously: healthcare professions are subject to advertising restrictions under German law and the relevant professional code. Much of what an ordinary company website may do is not permitted here. We work strictly within that frame and promise no treatment outcomes. What is permissible in your case we clarify together with you.
Why do AI systems cite portals rather than practices for health questions?
Because portals expose the range of treatments, consultation hours, access and location in a machine-readable form, while on many practice websites the same information sits in an image or a graphic. A language model cannot read an image, so it falls back on the portal entry – even when that entry is out of date. Putting treatments, hours, accessibility and catchment area on your own page as text puts you back in control of what is said about you.
Measurement series in progress
We publish a figure only once at least three companies in a sector have been measured with 100 or more answers each. For in healthcare that is not yet the case – so there is no figure here rather than an estimate. The method is identical to the sectors where we do publish one.
Our own measurement series, data through 13.09.2026. Four AI systems (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok), measured weekly. No company names, no estimates – where the data is too thin, no figure is shown.
How customers actually ask
Question types from our own measurement series, reworded generically – company, place and product names removed.
- „Which practice near me is accepting new patients?"
- „Who treats back problems and has appointments soon?"
- „Which practice offers late afternoon hours?"
- „Where can I get an appointment without a long wait?"
- „Which care service covers my part of town?"
- „Which pharmacy delivers to my home?"
- „Who offers therapy for children?"
- „Which practice has step-free access?"
- „Who speaks English at the practice?"
- „Which provider accepts statutory health insurance?"
What is usually missing
- Services shown as an image
Many practice sites present their offering as a graphic or flyer. An AI system reads nothing from it. The same terms as text make the practice findable for the questions patients actually ask.
- Hours and access unclear
Opening hours, how to book, step-free access, parking: these are asked about explicitly. If they are missing from the text, the practice drops out of practical questions.
- No connection to a place
District, neighbouring towns, catchment area – without these a model cannot match the practice to a "near me" request.
- Directories take over the description
When the site offers little, models fall back on directories. There you find an entry you did not write – often with outdated details.
How we work with you
- Where does your practice stand?
We ask four AI systems about providers in your field and region – without naming you.
- Building blocks for your site
Services as text, hours and access machine-readable, structured data. All within professional rules.
- Rework your existing site
We make existing content readable, without outcome claims or comparative statements.
- A new website
If the site is technically dated or missing mandatory information, we rebuild it.
- Ongoing support
Hours, team and services change. We keep them current and keep measuring.
Questions
- Are we even allowed to advertise as a practice?
- Factual information about your services is permitted – that is exactly the area we work in. Outcome promises and certain comparative or before-and-after presentations are not. We stay within that frame; the final judgement in an individual case rests with you or your professional body.
- We already have enough patients. Why be visible?
- Then visibility is not about advertising but about accuracy: if AI systems talk about your practice, the details otherwise come from directories – often outdated. Even without seeking new patients, you want the hours and services to be right.
- Do we need to collect reviews?
- No, and we explicitly advise against generating them. Fabricated reviews are unlawful. What counts are verifiable statements about what you offer.
- What does it cost?
- That depends on scope – for a single practice it is usually considerably less than for a company with many sites. We discuss it in a first call; the GEO check beforehand is free.
Other sectors
Not quite your fit? The questions differ by sector – the method does not.
Where do you stand in healthcare?
The GEO check takes seconds and costs nothing. For the full picture we measure four AI systems against the questions above.