What Is AEO? How to Get ChatGPT to Recommend Your Clinic
A patient in Pune types into ChatGPT: “Which eye doctor in Pune is good for cataract surgery?” The answer names 2–3 doctors. Not ten. If you’re not one of them, that patient never sees you. That is why AEO matters.
What is AEO?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) means making your clinic easy for AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews to find, understand and recommend. Where SEO helps you rank in a list, AEO helps you get named in an answer.
How AI decides which doctors to name
- Consistent details: the same name, address and phone on Google, Practo, Justdial, your website.
- Detailed reviews: reviews that mention specific treatments help AI understand what you’re known for.
- Clear services: each treatment explained in simple words.
- Expert answers: updates and articles that answer real patient questions.
- Reputation signals: ratings, review volume and mentions across trusted sites.
The good news
Everything that makes you rank on Google Maps also prepares you for AI. A complete profile, steady genuine reviews and helpful content serve both.
A simple AEO checklist
- Check your details match everywhere online.
- Ask patients to mention the treatment in reviews (never script it).
- Add FAQs to your website and services.
- Post answers to common questions weekly.
- Make your qualifications and experience clear.
Try it yourself
Ask ChatGPT or Google: “best [your speciality] in [your city]”. Are you named? If not, that’s your gap, and it’s fixable.
Read how patients search in 91,500 searches analysed, and the full SEO guide for doctors.
Why this matters now
AI answers are increasingly shown at the top of Google search results themselves, above the map and the links. Patients are also asking voice assistants in the car or at home. In each case, only a handful of names are mentioned. Early movers build the reputation signals AI relies on, and those signals take time to accumulate.
What not to do
- Don’t create fake profiles or directory listings.
- Don’t write reviews for patients.
- Don’t publish exaggerated claims. AI tools and patients both value accuracy.
Want to know where your clinic stands?
Get a free Google profile check from Click2Cure. We review your profile on 12 points, show you exactly what is holding you back, and share what is realistic for a doctor like you in your city.
→ Get my free Google profile check
Written and reviewed by Dr Parita Pandya, ENT surgeon and founder of Click2Cure, a growth partner built exclusively for doctors. Numbers in this article come from Google’s own performance data for profiles actively managed by Click2Cure (April 2025 – August 2026).
Frequently asked questions
What is AEO for doctors?
Answer Engine Optimisation: making your clinic easy for AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews to understand and recommend.
How can I get ChatGPT to recommend my clinic?
Keep your details consistent everywhere, build detailed genuine reviews, explain services clearly and publish helpful answers to patient questions.
Is AEO different from SEO?
They overlap. SEO helps you rank in search results; AEO helps you get named in AI answers. A strong Google profile helps both.