Short answer. To check if AI recommends your dental practice, ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity what a patient would ask, such as "emergency dentist open on Saturday near Parramatta", with web search on and in a private window. Record whether your practice is named, whether your address or website appears, and which practices are named instead.
Why a dental practice should test this
A patient looking for a dentist often has a plain need and a place: a sore tooth, a child's first check-up, a dentist who takes a particular insurer. If an AI answers with three practices, those three get the call. A dental practice is local, and an AI answer for a local question depends on the place asked from, so test it as your patients would.
The general method is in how to check if AI recommends your business. This guide adds what matters for a practice.
Where an AI gets a dentist's details
What an AI says about your practice comes from pages it can read. Which ones depends on the AI.
- Gemini and Google's AI features use Google Search. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet, with no additional requirements for AI Overviews or AI Mode, and its guide lists keeping Business Profile information up to date as a best practice (Google Search Central). Adding or claiming a Business Profile is free (Google Business Profile help).
- Copilot sends its web queries to Bing (Microsoft Learn).
- ChatGPT uses several search providers; OpenAI has not said how much comes from Bing (OpenAI). A September 2026 investigation by Peec AI, a vendor, reports that its search draws on OpenAI's own index plus at least eight external providers, with several attributions unconfirmed (Peec AI).
- Claude is reported to use Brave Search, according to Anthropic's subprocessor list; Anthropic has not confirmed it in its documentation (TechCrunch).
- Perplexity runs its own index (Perplexity).
Full evidence and gaps are in which search engine each AI uses. In BrightLocal's November 2024 study of 800 local ChatGPT searches, healthcare searches mostly surfaced business websites as sources (BrightLocal). That is a vendor snapshot from a product that has changed, but it is a reason to make sure your own site states the basics clearly.
How to check, step by step
- Write eight patient questions with a place. Examples: "emergency dentist near me open this weekend" (swap in your suburb), "dentist for anxious children in Cork", "where can I get Invisalign in Austin". Leave your practice name out.
- Add four questions that name you. "What services does [practice name] offer?", "what are the opening hours of [practice name]?", "does [practice name] accept [an insurer you work with]?", "where is [practice name]?"
- Use a private window, with your location set to your patients' area. OpenAI says ChatGPT may share your general location with its search providers (OpenAI help centre).
- Turn web search on in each AI and look for source links.
- Ask every question three times on each AI. Keep the answers.
- Record for each run: named (yes or no), address or website given (yes or no), other practices named, and the sources listed.
- Ask again with search off. If you appear only with search on, you are findable now but not remembered. See memory versus live search.
What to check in the wording
For answers that name you, read each detail against the truth:
| Detail | Check |
|---|---|
| Address and phone | Match your current listing |
| Opening hours | Match today's hours, including holidays |
| Services | Only services you actually offer |
| Insurance or payment | Only what you actually accept |
| Dentists named | Current staff only |
Wrong details nearly always come from a page that is out of date or that disagrees with another page. Open the sources the AI listed, find the page, and fix it. If you cannot edit the page, contact whoever runs it.
Check that crawlers can read your site
Open yourpractice.com/robots.txt and make sure none of OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot or Claude-SearchBot is blocked by accident. OpenAI says a site that opts out of OAI-SearchBot will not appear in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI). Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot to appear (Perplexity). Anthropic lists Claude-SearchBot for search (Anthropic).
Check monthly, not once
The same question can return different practices from run to run, and from month to month. Repeat monthly and after any change of hours, staff or address. See why AI answers change every time.
Or have it done every morning
aipozi asks the questions you choose on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity every morning with live search on, and records whether your practice was named, whether your address was given, and who was recommended instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check if AI recommends my dental practice for free? Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all have free versions. Ask each the questions a patient would type, with web search on, and record whether your practice is named. If a free plan caps your searches, spread the four AIs across separate days.
Why does an AI list the wrong opening hours for my practice? It read a page that was out of date or that disagrees with another page. Open the sources the AI listed to find which one. Google also lists keeping Business Profile information up to date as a best practice for its AI features.
Do I need to be in Bing as well as Google? Yes, it is worth being in both. Microsoft documents that Copilot sends its web queries to Bing, and Gemini grounding draws on Google's index. For ChatGPT, OpenAI says it uses several providers and has not said how much comes from Bing.
Should I ask for my practice by name or by need? Both, in separate tests. Questions by need show whether strangers are sent to you. Questions by name show what the AI says about your practice, including insurance, hours and services.
Is it a problem if patients' reviews are not mentioned by the AI? Not necessarily. Reviews on other sites may be among the pages an AI reads, but how much each AI uses them is not documented by the AI companies. Look at the sources an AI lists for your area to see which review or directory pages it reads. For what to do next, see how to get recommended by ChatGPT.