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    AI search

    AI Search Optimization (AEO and GEO) for Healthcare Practices

    Patients now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok and Google's AI Overviews which practice to see. An assistant can only recommend a practice it can read and verify. Many practice websites send AI crawlers an empty page. I make independent practices in Louisville, Kentucky and southern Indiana readable, verifiable and quotable by AI search, and I measure it in patients who book.

    See what AI crawlers get from your site, free

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    Tell me about your practice.

    I read every one myself. If the math doesn't work for your practice, I'll say so.

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    Step 1 of 2

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    What each crawler receives

    Illustration
    • GooglebotFull page · 1,840 words
    • GPTBotBlank page · 0 words
    • ClaudeBotBlank page · 0 words
    • PerplexityBotBlocked by robots.txt
    • GrokFull page · 1,840 words

    This is the most common failure I find: the page looks fine in a browser and is empty to AI assistants.

    Check what your site sends, free →

    The Detail

    The bad news first

    • Nobody controls what an AI assistant says. Not me, not Google, not anyone selling "ChatGPT rankings".
    • AI search doesn't fix a weak practice reputation. Assistants lean on reviews and third-party listings you can't edit.
    • Results are slower and noisier to measure than Google rankings. Answers change from one day to the next and from one person to the next.
    • If your site blocks AI crawlers or needs JavaScript to show text, nothing else on this page matters until that's fixed.

    Who this is for

    • Independent, owner-run practices: dental implants and full arch, oral surgery, periodontics, orthodontics, plastic surgery, med spa, bariatric and medical weight loss.
    • Practices that already show up in Google and want to show up in AI answers too.

    Not for: DSOs, private-equity or hospital-owned groups; chiropractic, urgent care, emergency, primary care or general family practice. Practices looking for a guaranteed mention in ChatGPT.

    AEO: answer engine optimization

    AEO makes your pages answer patients' questions directly, in a form an assistant can lift and quote.

    • The answer goes in the first two sentences of the page or section, then the detail.
    • One question per section, written the way patients ask it: "How long does a full-arch recovery take?"
    • FAQ answers that make sense on their own, with FAQPage structured data.
    • Facts stated plainly: which doctor, which procedure, which towns, how to book.

    GEO: generative engine optimization

    GEO makes sure AI models can find, read and trust your practice across the web, not just on your site.

    • Every AI crawler receives your full pages: robots.txt, firewall rules, and pages rendered on the server.
    • Structured data in the HTML says who the practice is, which providers, which services, which location.
    • The same name, address, phone, providers and services on your site, Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing, Healthgrades, Vitals, Zocdoc and specialty directories.
    • Reviews that name the treatment and the doctor, because assistants summarize them.

    What I check first: what each AI crawler actually receives

    I fetch your key pages five times, as Googlebot, GPTBot (ChatGPT), ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Grok's crawler. When they don't all get the same page, it is usually one of three things:

    • A firewall or bot filter refusing AI crawlers by name.
    • Page text that only appears after JavaScript runs, which most AI crawlers don't do.
    • A robots.txt from a template that blocks them.

    None of these show up in a normal SEO report.

    The Process

    What I do

    1. Weeks 1–2, audit

      Five-crawler fetch, structured data, robots and firewall rules, listing consistency, and a baseline: I ask the assistants the questions your patients ask and record whether you're named and which sources they cite.

    2. Weeks 3–8, fix

      Crawler access, structured data, answer-first rewrites of your key procedure pages and FAQs, listings made consistent, review requests that ask patients to name the treatment.

    3. Weeks 9–12, measure

      Re-run the crawler check and the assistant questions, compare with the baseline, and plan the next round.

    Where AI answers get their facts, and the pages that cover each

    This page is the hub. Each source an assistant draws on has its own page:

    What it's measured on

    • Whether every AI crawler receives your full pages.
    • Whether the assistants name your practice for your procedures, and which sources they cite.
    • Booked consults where the patient says an AI assistant sent them. I add that option to your intake "how did you hear about us" question so it's counted, not guessed.

    Mentions are a leading sign. Booked patients are the result. How I measure

    AI search on its own, or with SEO

    If you already have SEO with me, AI search is folded in. You can also hire me for it alone. If you need ads, the website and follow-up as one system, that's the New-Patient Engine.

    Questions answered

    Questions

    AEO (answer engine optimization) makes your pages answer patients' questions directly so an assistant can quote them. GEO (generative engine optimization) makes sure AI models can find, read and trust your practice across the web, including your site, Google Business Profile, reviews and directories.

    No. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says. What can be done is making sure it can read and verify your practice, and checking each month whether it names you and which sources it cites.

    Fetch your pages as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Google's crawler and compare what each receives. The free check at louisvilleweblab.com/tools/ai-crawler-check does this and shows the word count each crawler gets.

    Often, yes. Assistants that answer local questions draw on Google Business Profiles, reviews and directory listings. Inconsistent names, phone numbers or services across those sources make a practice harder for an assistant to trust.

    It doesn't hurt and takes minutes, but it won't fix a site that blocks AI crawlers or serves them an empty page. Those come first.

    Most of the groundwork is shared. SEO is about ranking pages in Google's results; AI search optimization is about being read, trusted and quoted by assistants. The failure points differ, such as blocked crawlers or pages that need JavaScript to show text.

    Why practices work with me

    Founder-run

    Dustin Hobbs builds and runs the work himself. There is no account manager in between.

    Measured in paying patients

    Reports count booked consults and started cases, not clicks or impressions.

    You own everything

    Your ad accounts, website, data and reporting are yours from day one.

    Written and reviewed by Dustin Hobbs, Founder of Louisville Web Lab · AI Search Optimization (AEO and GEO) for Healthcare Practices — AI search · Last updated

    Run your homepage through the crawler check first. It's free and takes a minute. If every crawler gets your full page and the assistants already name you, you may not need me for this. If not, book a call and I'll show you what I found.

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