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Smarty POV: How ChatGPT & AI are Reshaping SEO
May 29, 2025
What is happening?
As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, it’s dramatically changing how patients/users discover and engage with online content, especially in sensitive, high-trust fields (like healthcare & behavioral health). From AI-powered search engines to zero-click answers, the landscape of SEO is undergoing a major transformation.
Here’s what you need to know—and how to adapt your digital strategy.
How do we stay ahead of the curve?
Evolution of Content Creation & Strategy
AI enables rapid generation of high-quality content (blog posts, product descriptions, FAQs, etc.), reducing the cost and time of content marketing, resulting in content creation at scale. Previously, optimizations and tasks were handled by SEO tools or subject-matter experts (SMEs), this can now be accomplished in a shorter turnaround time with ChatGPT and other AI tools.
Basic informational content (e.g., “What is anxiety?”, “What are bunions?”, “Does my health insurance cover XYZ?”) is easily handled by AI and often doesn't lead to clicks to website visits. What stands out now is content depth, expertise (trusted sources and authoritative speakers), and originality.
SEO Implication:
Easier to target long-tail keywords (and questions)
Risk of content saturation—many sites generating similar AI-written material may become the new norm
Search engines may devalue low-quality or redundant AI content, especially if it's unoriginal
What works now:
In-depth articles tackling complex or nuanced questions.
Original insights from licensed professionals/specialists
Case studies, real-world examples, and practitioner perspectives that AI can’t replicate
Accuracy and ethicality of content - maintaining human oversight while utilizing any AI tool
Pro tip: Align content with patient intent—what they’re really trying to understand or solve, and make sure your site delivers more than AI-generated summaries can.
Zero-Click Searches Are Changing Traffic Patterns
Today, over 65% of Google searches end without a click. With tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE or also known as Google AI Overview), users often get instant answers directly on the search page for questions about symptoms, treatments, and conditions. Alternatively, more users are receiving answers to their questions through AI tools such as ChatGPT, Reddit Answers, or Voice Search etc., during their search journey.
What works now:
Patients may never reach your website if their question is answered by AI directly in the search results. Your goal now is to become the source that AI pulls from, not just the destination.
What to do:
Aim for inclusion in featured snippets and AI summaries.
Focus on rich, well-structured content with schema markup
Use clear, authoritative answers to common patient questions
Optimize for Voice Search Results with conversational keywords and NLP (natural language processing). Include FAQs on-site etc.
Local SEO Optimization Is Crucial
AI is making local search smarter. Whether someone is looking for “therapist/doctor near me” or “bilingual counselor in Chicago,” Google and AI tools are prioritizing verified local listings. Being visible locally is critical as AI search interfaces streamline how users find, evaluate, and contact providers directly from search results.
What to do :
Keep your Google Business Profile (Google Maps) accurate and up to date
Collect and manage positive patient/user reviews
Use location-based keywords naturally in your content and metadata
E-E-A-T Principles: Cornerstone of Ranking Success
Google's focus on Experience (newly added to the E-A-T principle), Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) are pivotal to search rankings, especially those in healthcare. This includes citing reputable sources, showcasing author credentials, and regularly updating content to reflect the latest research and best practices. Unique content and first-hand experiences will really set your search rankings apart from the rest.
How to build E-E-A-T (examples):
Publish content authored or reviewed by licensed professionals
Cite reputable medical or academic sources
Regularly update your content to reflect current research and best practices
Add biographies, credentials, and contact information to boost trust and authenticity
Exposing Data to LLMs through llms.txt
The llms.txt file is an emerging standard designed to improve how Large Language Models (LLMs) access and understand website content. Similar to robots.txt (which controls crawler access for search engines), llms.txt provides explicit instructions for AI crawlers and LLMs, allowing site owners to specify how their content should be used for training or referencing by generative models.
How to Utilize LLMS.txt:
By implementing an llms.txt file, website owners gain more control over their digital content footprint, ensuring attribution, usage restrictions, or exclusions are clearly defined. This not only helps protect intellectual property but also contributes to better search visibility by aligning a site with future-forward practices that LLM-driven platforms (such as ChatGPT and AI Agents) may prioritize for trusted content sources.
What does the future of SEO look like?
AI is not replacing SEO—it’s redefining it. To succeed in this new landscape, behavioral health professionals must:
Elevate their content beyond what AI can synthesize
Prioritize trust, authority, and localized engagement
Embrace tools that allow them to respond to how people search today, not how they searched five years ago.
How can Smarty help your business?
Our team is here to help you combat the new wave of Search with:
Personalized SEO strategies to curate your content for AI ingestion and crawlability
Technical audits of your current website properties to assess for AI readiness
Growth opportunities to scale website and expand on current content (FAQs, blogs, keywords etc.) to reach the correct user intent and audience for your brand
UX/UI recommendations to enhance user experience - some users will still prompt AI to provide link outs upon completion of a search
Resources
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