MARKETING

AI and algorithms now a top patient referral channel

People aren’t just using AI chatbots to do their homework for them, get relationship advice, and generate Studio Ghibli-style images of themselves. According to a new survey, a growing number are also asking ChatGPT to find them a dentist.

What's happening: According to fresh data from Rater8's 2025 Patient Choice Report, more patients are leaning on AI to choose their healthcare providers. AI tools now influence 26% of choices, essentially neck‑and‑neck with primary care provider referrals at 28% and review sites at 29%. Trust is catching up too: One‑third trust AI results as much as traditional search, nearly one in five trust AI more, and only 11% are outright skeptical. 

• Patients still anchor on authenticity, though. In AI summaries, verified patient reviews are the most valued signal, beating credentials and convenience.

Why it matters: If your clinics don't show up in AI-driven recommendations, you effectively don't exist to a growing segment of patients. For these prospects, the “referral” starts when an AI builds a short list, often just a few names. That short list is assembled from structured facts, consistent listings, and the public proof of quality in your reviews. Data clarity, patient proof, and machine‑readable content win rather than scale alone.

How you can adapt: Just like SEO has become a must-have for successful DSOs, generative engine optimization (GEO) is quickly becoming a table stakes marketing practice to influence AI search results. 

To succeed, DSOs need a single source of truth that machines can ingest, verify, and cite. That means clean local data for every site and dentist, structured in a way AI systems can parse, backed by authentic reviews and clearly authored clinical content. Traditional SEO is still the base, but success in AI answers depends on whether an LLM can quickly understand who you are, what you offer, where you offer it, and why you are credible. 

What does that mean in practice? Here are ten steps you can take to get started:

1. Build review velocity and recency. Reviews are a key signal for AI systems. Trigger review requests automatically post‑visit using both email and text based on patient preference. Ask for details that matter to future queries, including the procedure, the provider, and the location.
   

2. Answer the internet like a human, in Q&A form. Write service pages and FAQs in natural language that map to common questions: “Do you offer same‑day crowns in Phoenix?” “What does Invisalign cost at our Plano office?” Short, scannable answers help generative systems cite you as the answer source.
   

3. Give machines a single source of truth. Standardize every practice page with canonical name, address, phone, hours, insurances, services, languages, and booking links. Keep Google Business Profiles (GBPs), major directories, and your website aligned.
   

4. Add structured data to your websites. Implement LocalBusiness and Dentist schema on every practice and provider page, with precise hours, geo, services, and identifiers. Use the most specific subtype and validate in Google Search Console.
   

5. Tighten your local profiles across ecosystems. Clean up your Google Business, Apple Business, and Bing Places profiles (or set them up if you haven’t already) with accurate categories, contact info, and hours.
   

6. Build strong provider‑level pages. AI often recommends clinicians by name. Create individual pages with bios, specialties, locations, procedures, and a subset of verified reviews.
   

7. Demonstrate E-E-A-T. AI tools are notoriously prone to “hallucinations” (also known as: making stuff up), a problem their designers are attempting to overcome by prioritizing content that meets higher standards for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT). Ensure your web pages meet this bar by including bylines with dentist credentials, affiliations, and publication dates.
   

8. Make booking machine‑friendly. Use clear “Book Online” links, click‑to‑call, and, where supported, appointment schema.
   

9. Operationalize content at scale. Create a quarterly content calendar and publish short explainers and local FAQs that match patient intent, then repurpose to short video and social posts. AI pulls from across social media, not just your homepage.
   

10. Connect the dots for the Knowledge Graph. Use sameAs markup to link brand, locations, providers, and reputable profiles. Maintain consistent names, bios, and identifiers across your site, GBPs, and key directories

Bottom line: AI is now an important referral source, and you can influence. Treat reviews as fuel, your web data as infrastructure, and your content as answers. Build the discipline, then scale it location by location. Patients are asking machines who to trust. Make it easy for the machines to say your name.