Originally published September 17, 2024. Updated September 23, 2026: product names and facts brought up to date, with sources. The original argument stands.
The digital landscape is ever-evolving, a truth healthcare executives know all too well. Just as video marketing transformed healthcare communication a decade ago, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how patients find and interact with healthcare providers. When we first wrote this post, the new names were Google’s Search Generative Experience and OpenAI’s SearchGPT. Both are now everyday products: Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT search. AI in search can seem intimidating, but understanding it is not about succumbing to fear. It is about using the change to your advantage.
What Has Changed Since 2024
- SearchGPT became ChatGPT search. OpenAI announced the SearchGPT prototype on July 25, 2024, built it into ChatGPT as ChatGPT search on October 31, 2024, and opened it to everyone, with no sign-up required, on February 5, 2025.
- Google’s experiment became AI Overviews, then AI Mode. After testing in Search Labs, AI Overviews began rolling out to everyone in the U.S. on May 14, 2024. AI Mode, a fuller conversational search, started rolling out to everyone in the U.S. on May 20, 2025. In July 2026, Google said it had brought AI Overviews and AI Mode together into one Search experience and that AI Mode had passed 1 billion monthly active users.
- Chatbots went mainstream. In a Pew Research Center survey from February 2026, about half of U.S. adults said they use AI chatbots, 44% said they use ChatGPT, and about four in ten said they use chatbots to search for information.
- Fewer clicks when an AI summary appears. Pew’s analysis of March 2025 browsing data found that people who saw a Google AI summary clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no summary appeared.
- Google’s advice has barely changed. Google says the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no additional requirements or special optimizations. In 2026 it published a guide to its generative AI features and added generative AI performance reports to Search Console, now available to all sites. Bing Webmaster Tools has a similar AI Performance report for Copilot citations.
So, should you be concerned? Be prepared, not afraid. Fewer searches end in a click, so each visit has to count. But the pages that AI answers cite are still chosen by search systems that reward clear, expert, trustworthy content. That is work healthcare organizations can do.
Google’s long reign as the king of search is no secret.
AI now shapes how search engines find, rank, and summarize content.
From its humble beginnings, Google’s success has hinged on providing accurate and relevant search results. They achieved this through their innovative PageRank algorithm, user-friendly interface, strategic advertising platforms like AdWords (now known as Google Ads), and continuous expansion into new services and markets. This dominance, however, is facing a new challenger: AI.
Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) represent significant leaps in AI capabilities. In simple terms, generative AI is like a creative engine capable of producing various content forms, including text, images, music, and even code. LLMs, on the other hand, are specialized in understanding and generating human-like text. They excel in tasks like translation, writing different kinds of creative content, and answering your questions in an informative way, even if they are open ended, challenging, or strange. Imagine a technology that doesn’t just find websites but understands your search intent and generates comprehensive, conversational answers – that’s the potential of AI-powered search.
People are already using these tools for health questions. In the same 2026 Pew survey, one in five U.S. adults said they use AI chatbots to get medical advice. Our look at the future of AI chatbots in healthcare covers where that is heading. This shift in behavior is why healthcare organizations need to adapt their digital marketing strategy.
The rise of platforms like OpenAI‘s ChatGPT and Perplexity, which offer conversational search with cited sources, further demonstrates this changing landscape. Healthcare organizations should see AI not as a threat, but as an opportunity to connect with their audience in new ways.
Remember, be open minded and receptive to change.
This is where 210 Digital Marketing can help. We have worked only in healthcare since 2005, through the move to video and now the move to AI answers. We can help you:
- Optimize your online presence for AI-powered search with the same healthcare SEO and AEO fundamentals Google says still apply.
- Turn clinician expertise into articles and healthcare video that answer the questions patients actually ask.
- Train your teams to use AI tools for marketing while keeping protected health information out of consumer tools.
- Measure what AI answers send you, from Search Console and Bing reports to analytics that tie visits to booked patients.
Remember, be open minded and receptive to change. Accept and celebrate some bits of the change, explore and engage with other bits. Just as we encourage expanding professional networks for better adaptation to change, embracing AI is about building new skillsets and evolving your strategies.
The key is to approach these advancements with a positive attitude and a willingness to adapt. Instead of fearing the unknown, view this as an opportunity to future-proof your healthcare organization and improve patient engagement in AI-driven search. For a current, detailed playbook, read how healthcare organizations can win AI Overviews, or schedule a conversation with us.
By Jace A.
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How we research and fact-check: every statistic links to its source. Read our editorial standards.
