SEO for AI Search

Article Summary

SEO for AI search is no longer about ranking on Google alone. Today's prospective patients and clients search across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI-powered platforms.

Medical and legal practices that publish genuinely helpful, expert-led content on a technically sound website will be better placed to appear across traditional and AI-powered search. In this article, we explain how search behaviour is changing, what remains the same, and how to improve your AI search visibility.

In our latest webinar, PinkSEO Founder Silvia Del Corso and James Armstrong, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Social Firefly, discuss how AI is changing the way people search online.

Discover why SEO remains essential, how AI search differs from traditional search, and how a joined-up approach to SEO, social media and digital marketing can help your business thrive.
 

Search Has Changed, But People Haven't

For years, Google dominated online search. Businesses focused almost entirely on ranking in traditional search results because that was where prospective customers looked for answers.

Today, the landscape is broader.

People increasingly use AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity alongside Google Search, particularly when researching a complex health, legal or business question. These tools can provide a summarised response before someone visits an individual website, although users may still consult several sources before choosing a doctor or solicitor.

Although the technology has changed, human behaviour has not. People still search because they want to:

• Learn something.
• Find a suitable professional, such as a solicitor, consultant, therapist or specialist clinic
• Buy a product or service.
• Compare professionals, treatments, legal services, experience, locations, fees and other factors before making a decision.
• Solve a problem, whether it's a legal issue, a health concern or a business challenge.

The difference is simply where they begin that journey.

AI Search Is Expanding, Not Replacing Google

When choosing a doctor or solicitor, people are not only looking for information. They are deciding whether they can trust a particular professional with an important and often highly personal matter.

Google remains the largest search engine by a significant margin.

However, AI platforms are growing rapidly, giving businesses more places where they can be discovered.

Rather than treating Google and AI search as competing channels, it is more useful to see them as connected parts of the same discovery journey. A prospective patient or client might encounter a practice in an AI answer, research it on Google and then visit its website, reviews or professional profiles before making contact.

That means your SEO strategy should focus on making your expertise visible wherever people search.

Why AI Overviews Have Changed Website Traffic

One of the most significant changes within Google Search has been the introduction of Google AI Overviews. These are different from standalone AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity: they appear directly within Google’s search results.

For some searches, particularly informational questions, Google presents an AI-generated summary before the traditional organic search results.

This creates what many call "zero-click searches", where users receive the information they need without visiting a website.

For businesses, this can lead to:

• fewer clicks for articles that answer simple informational questions
• more competition for visibility within the search results
• new opportunities to appear as a supporting source AI Overviews
• greater importance being placed on clear, trustworthy and distinctive information

Appearing as a supporting source may still increase brand awareness and trust, although practices should measure enquiries and qualified leads rather than treating visibility alone as success.

"The internet is evolving. We can no longer rely on single specialisms because AI search tools assess businesses using all of the signals they give across the web." Silvia Del Corso, Founder, PinkSEO

SEO Still Matters More Than Ever

Despite the emergence of generative AI, the foundations of SEO remain remarkably consistent.

Whether your content is being evaluated by Google Search or AI models, the same core principles apply.

Successful SEO for AI search still depends on three fundamental areas:

1. Technical SEO

Your website should be easy for search engines and AI platforms to crawl and understand. This includes:

• clear site architecture
• fast page speed
• logical heading structure
• strong internal linking
• mobile-friendly design

Additionally, structured data can help search engines understand particular details about a page and may make it eligible for enhanced search features. However, there is no special AI schema or structured data that guarantees inclusion in an AI answer.

These technical foundations make it easier for AI engines to interpret your content accurately.

2. Helpful, Expert Content

Search systems aim to surface helpful and reliable information, making genuine professional expertise particularly valuable for medical and legal topics.

Rather than producing generic articles, focus on creating quality content that answers real questions using your own experience and knowledge.

Google uses the concept of E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, when explaining what high-quality content can look like. E-E-A-T is not a single ranking factor, but strong trust signals are especially important for health and legal content because inaccurate information could seriously affect someone’s wellbeing, finances or rights.

AI can help with research, structure and early drafts, but it should not replace professional knowledge, fact-checking or editorial review. For medical and legal practices, all published content should be checked by a suitably qualified professional and kept accurate and up to date.

3. Authority Signals

Search engines continue looking beyond your own website.

Relevant mentions, reputable backlinks, reviews, professional profiles and wider brand recognition can reinforce the credibility and discoverability of a practice online.

Different AI platforms select and cite sources in different ways, so no individual signal can guarantee inclusion in an AI-generated answer.

The stronger your reputation across the web, the more likely AI platforms are to reference your content.

Ofcom's Online Nation 2025 report found that Google Search was used by 82% of UK online adults in May 2025. It also reported that around 30% of searches showed AI Overviews, demonstrating that AI-generated information is already becoming part of everyday search behaviour. Ofcom’s 2026 research also found that 54% of UK adults use AI tools, compared with 31% the previous year.

AI Wants Confidence, Not Just Keywords

One of the key messages from our webinar was that businesses can no longer think about individual marketing channels in isolation.

Your website, digital marketing activity, professional profiles, social media presence and wider online reputation all contribute to how easily your practice and expertise are discovered online.

AI search tools can draw on information from websites and other online sources when producing answers. Clear, consistent information across your website, professional profiles and reputable third-party sources can therefore make your practice easier to identify and understand.

For example, a medical practice can demonstrate credibility through medically reviewed treatment pages, detailed consultant biographies, qualifications, registrations, published research, clear clinic information and genuine patient reviews.

This information helps prospective patients and search systems understand who provides the treatment and why they are qualified to do so.

Likewise, a law firm can demonstrate its expertise through detailed solicitor profiles, clear practice-area pages, accurate legal commentary, recognised accreditations and carefully anonymised case examples.

Consistent information across the firm’s website and reputable professional sources makes its experience easier for prospective clients and search systems to understand.

This means your content, brand consistency and online authority should work together rather than independently.

Every touchpoint helps build confidence in your expertise, whether someone discovers your business through Google Search, AI search results, LinkedIn or another trusted source.

SEO for AI search is no longer just about optimising a website.

It is about strengthening your wider digital presence so that search engines, AI platforms and prospective patients or clients can more easily understand your expertise and assess whether your practice is a credible source of information.

"Social media shouldn't exist in isolation. It works best when it's supporting your wider marketing strategy and helping people discover, trust and remember your business." James Armstrong, Creative Director & Co-Founder, Social Firefly

How Professional Practices Can Build Visibility Through Helpful Content

Content does not need to be expensive or highly produced to be useful. A doctor explaining a procedure clearly or a solicitor answering a common legal question can help prospective patients and clients understand their options while demonstrating the professional’s expertise. Consider creating:

• clear explanations of treatments, procedures or legal processes
• answers to frequently asked questions.
• short videos featuring doctors, solicitors or other qualified professionals
• medically or legally reviewed guides
• anonymised case studies, where appropriate
• team and professional profile videos
• commentary on relevant regulatory or industry developments
• webinar or podcast discussions

Medical and legal practices must also consider their professional obligations. Doctors should protect patient confidentiality and ensure that public information is accurate and not misleading. Solicitors must protect client confidentiality and ensure that marketing claims, including claims about likely outcomes, credentials and client feedback, are clear and accurate.

The most successful videos focus on solving a problem rather than selling a service.

By providing useful information first, your prospective patients and clients are more likely to trust your expertise and remember your business when they need professional support.

The Future of SEO Is Broader, Not Smaller

Every major development in search has prompted predictions that SEO is finished.

The rise of voice search, mobile search and now generative AI have all raised the same question.

In reality, SEO has simply evolved.

Rankings and website visits still matter, but they no longer provide the complete picture. Practices should also monitor qualified enquiries, branded searches, visibility within AI-generated results and whether their content is being cited or referenced.

AI visibility measurement is still developing, so these findings should be considered alongside established data from Google Search Console, analytics and enquiry tracking.

Businesses that continue investing in expertise, quality content, technical excellence and helpful information are the ones that continue to thrive.

The channels may change.

The principles do not.

Final Thoughts

SEO for AI search is not about chasing the latest AI platform or rewriting your entire website for algorithms. It is about building a trustworthy online presence that search engines, AI models and prospective customers all recognise as valuable.

Businesses that focus on expertise, technical excellence and genuinely helpful content will be well placed to succeed across both traditional search and the rapidly expanding world of AI search.

PinkSEO helps medical and legal practices build strong SEO foundations and improve their visibility across Google and the wider AI search landscape. Would you like to understand how visible your practice is across traditional and AI-powered search? Book your free SEO consultation today and we will help you identify the most important opportunities for your website.