How to Get Your Dental Practice Found in ChatGPT and AI Search
As a dentist and digital marketing strategist for over two decades, I've witnessed every major shift in how patients find dental care. From Yellow Pages to Google to social media, I've helped practices navigate each transition.
What's happening right now with AI search is the most significant change I've ever seen — and most dental practices are completely unprepared.
Here's a scenario that should concern every practice owner: A potential patient opens ChatGPT and types "Find me a dentist in Fort Lauderdale who speaks Spanish and takes Delta insurance." Your practice speaks Spanish. You take Delta. You're located in Fort Lauderdale. But ChatGPT recommends two other dental practices instead.
Why? Because you're invisible to the AI systems that are increasingly making these recommendations for your future patients.
How AI Systems Like ChatGPT Find and Recommend Dentists
We're not just marketing to people anymore. We're marketing to AI. That means every time we post online, we're not just attracting patients, we're training algorithms. At Digital Floss, we see this in action every day.
ChatGPT doesn’t just search websites. It scans LinkedIn profiles, analyzes Instagram content, cross-referenced Facebook pages, and evaluates YouTube videos. It even considers review authenticity and practice storytelling across multiple platforms before making its recommendations.
Right now we’re seeing a very small number of dentists — say, 2 or 3 — recommended by ChatGPT out of hundreds of practices in a given area. Not because they're the best dentists, but because they’re the only ones visible across the digital ecosystem that AI now considers when making recommendations.
Recent research from Semrush predicts that large language model traffic will overtake traditional Google search by the end of 2027. ChatGPT already has more than 400 million weekly users.
Your patients are researching dental procedures, looking for practice recommendations, and asking AI to help them find dentists who accept their insurance.
What Platforms Does AI Scan When Recommending Dental Practices?
When a potential patient asks ChatGPT to recommend a dentist, the AI performs what I call "ecosystem scanning." Traditional search used to be simple: you would go to Google, Google would go to a website, and that was SEO. Now people are going to AI, and AI scans your website, goes into LinkedIn, then Instagram, then Facebook, then YouTube.
This fundamental shift means your marketing strategy can't focus on just one platform anymore. AI systems evaluate your credibility, expertise, and patient satisfaction across every digital touchpoint. If you're missing from key platforms, you simply don't exist in AI recommendations.
From my experience working with practices across the country, the ones getting consistent AI recommendations have created what I call an interconnected digital presence.
One of our clients saw 900 website visits in 30 days, generated 42 click-to-calls, and received 22 lead submissions from new patients — all without Google Ads. And that’s because we’ve built her a comprehensive digital ecosystem that AI can easily understand and recommend.
Why Instagram Posts Now Appear in Google Search Results
In July, 2025, Google began indexing Instagram content, meaning your Instagram posts now appear in regular Google search results. But what's even more significant is that AI tools like ChatGPT are also scanning Instagram content to make practice recommendations.
Instagram is now being indexed for SEO with Google, just like your website, which means that your Instagram captions now should be written like website SEO content.
Your hashtags need to include location-specific and service-specific terms. Your bio needs to clearly state what you do and where you're located.
If you've been avoiding Instagram because you think it's just for young people, you're making a significant strategic error. Instagram is now part of your SEO strategy whether you embrace it or not.
Do Google Ads Appear in AI Search Recommendations?
Google's new AI mode appears on billions of searches every month — and it's not influenced by ads. The only way you get recommended is with organic content from your website and content from your social media.
This means your Google Ads won't appear in AI-generated results. Rising Google Ads costs aren't just about competition anymore. Fewer people are using traditional Google search, which drives up costs for the remaining traffic while reducing overall effectiveness.
From my years of practice ownership and marketing experience, I can tell you that 2025 marketing looks fundamentally different. Content flows in from multiple platforms — Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and your website — to create emotional connections that move people from curiosity to calling your office.
The Early Adopter Advantage in AI Search Optimization
I've experienced this pattern before, and it's taught me valuable lessons about timing and opportunity. I built a website for my dental practice back in 2000 when everyone else was still using Yellow Pages. Eight years later I was still number one on Google.
When Facebook emerged, I jumped on that as well. A year and a half later, we had 50,000 followers and 50 patients a month from Facebook. By the time other dentists finally decided this was something they wanted to do, we were so far ahead that it was almost impossible for them to catch up.
We're in another age of that same opportunity with AI. The practices that started optimizing for AI search six months ago now have an almost insurmountable advantage. They're getting recommended by ChatGPT, appearing in Google's AI overviews, and building patient bases while their competitors wonder why their marketing isn't working anymore.
How to Get Your Dental Practice Recommended by ChatGPT
Getting found in AI search isn't about gaming algorithms or stuffing keywords into social media posts. It's about becoming the kind of practice that deserves to be recommended. AI systems can detect authenticity, and they prioritize practices that demonstrate genuine expertise and patient care across multiple platforms.
The most effective approach combines educational content that answers specific patient questions with authentic storytelling that builds emotional connections. When someone asks AI about dental implants, you want your content explaining the process, addressing common fears, and showcasing real patient experiences to be part of the recommendation.
Video content performs exceptionally well because AI can analyze authentic patient testimonials, real practice footage, and genuine doctor personalities. The practices getting recommended consistently have video content showing the actual doctor explaining procedures, real patients sharing their experiences, and behind-the-scenes footage that builds trust.
When Should Dental Practices Start AI Search Optimization?
The window for easy AI search optimization is closing fast. Every month you wait, more practices figure this out and claim their position in AI recommendations. Algorithm learning means that early positive recommendations lead to more recommendations, creating a compound advantage for practices that act now.
Don't wait until next year to be like the dentists who wished they had moved forward faster with websites or Facebook marketing. The practices that choose to adapt now will have the same advantage that early Facebook adopters had in 2010 or early Google Ads users had in 2005. Your patients are already asking AI for dental recommendations. The question isn't whether this shift will happen — it's already happening. The question is whether your practice will be the one AI recommends when patients in your area start searching.
At Digital Floss, we've been preparing for this AI revolution, and our clients are already getting recommended by ChatGPT, appearing in Google's AI overviews, and building patient bases while their competitors wonder what happened to their marketing ROI.
The practices that move now will have the same advantage that early adopters secured with every major marketing shift in the past 25 years. The practices that wait will spend years trying to catch up.
About Dr. Anissa Broussard
Dr. Anissa Broussard is a dentist with over 20 years of clinical experience and dentistry's leading digital marketing expert. She is the co-founder of Digital Floss, a full-service dental marketing agency specializing in AI-optimized strategies for dental practices, and DentalFlix, the premier online education platform for dental practice training. Named one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry, she was the first in the dental industry to discover how sales funnels can work in dental practices.
Dr. Broussard was recruited by ClickFunnels to create the Brick and Mortar Funnel Framework and holds a Fellowship with the Dental Speaking Institute. She has keynoted at major events including the AACD, Social Media Marketing World, and Funnel Hacking Live.
