Is your med spa named by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI?

ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode each build answers from web pages they can crawl and, for local questions, from business profile data. None of them sells a guaranteed spot. What a clinic controls is the same list it controls for ordinary search: crawler access, clear pages that state plain facts, an accurate Google Business Profile, and what other sites and reviews say about it.

Google says it plainly: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." A page has to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet (Google Search Central). That means the work below is ordinary SEO done carefully, plus a habit of checking what the AI tools actually say about you.

OpenAI states that sites opted out of OAI-SearchBot "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers" (OpenAI crawler docs). Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot and its published IP ranges, including in firewall rules (Perplexity crawler docs). If your host or a security plugin blocks unknown bots, check it. A robots.txt that says "allow" does not help if the firewall says no.

A study of the 100 highest-volume non-branded U.S. searches across 10 medical specialties, using Ahrefs data pulled on October 17, 2026, found an AI Overview on 46 of the 100 searches. Near-me searches mostly showed a local map pack instead (38 of 39 had a map pack, 7 of 39 had an AI Overview), while all 18 question and comparison searches had an AI Overview (Webpatch study). It is one snapshot, and results change by day and location.

For a med spa, that points to two jobs. The Google Business Profile still carries the ready-to-book "near me" search. The website carries the questions patients ask before they choose: what a treatment involves, who performs it, how a consultation works, and what it costs where you publish prices. The Google Business Profile guide covers the first job. The rest of this page covers the second.

1. Check access. Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Make sure Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot are not disallowed. Ask your host or web developer whether a firewall blocks bots.
2. Search your own name. Ask each tool "Tell me about [clinic name] in [city]." Write down anything wrong, missing, or out of date: hours, address, providers, services.
3. Run patient-style prompts. Use the prompts in the next section. Run each one three times in each tool, signed out or in a private window, and note whether your clinic is named.
4. Record a rate, not a screenshot. AI answers vary between runs. Write results as "named in 1 of 3 runs" rather than a yes or no.
5. Note the sources. When the tool shows links, list which sites it cited: your site, directories, review sites, news. Those are the pages that shape what it says.
6. Pick one fix. Start with the fact that was wrong most often, fix it at the source page, and re-test next month.

Replace the brackets with your city and the treatments you actually offer. Keep the wording the same each month so the results are comparable.

• Best med spa in [city] for [treatment]
• Who does [treatment] near [neighborhood], [city]?
• Med spa in [city] open on Saturdays
• How much does [treatment] cost in [city]?
• Which med spas in [city] have a nurse practitioner or physician on site?
• What should I ask at a [treatment] consultation in [city]?

Expect different answers from different tools. A June 2026 study that asked web-connected AI engines to name the best local business 1,350 times across 15 U.S. cities found their lists overlapped only 6.5% of the time on average (PromptRank). Test each tool on its own.

Google Search Console. The Generative AI performance report shows how often your URLs appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, device and date. Google says it has been rolled out to all websites worldwide as of August 31, 2026. It shows impressions only, not clicks or queries, and it may not appear for a site with too few AI impressions (Search Console Help). If the report is missing, also check that the site has not been excluded from Search generative AI features in Search Console settings.

Bing Webmaster Tools. The AI Performance report, in public preview, shows how often your pages are cited in Microsoft Copilot and Bing AI answers and the grounding queries behind those citations (Bing Webmaster Blog). Verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools if you have not.

Google also said on October 15, 2026 that it is adding more inline links to AI Mode and AI Overviews and testing a section that highlights official websites at the top of some answers (Google). A clear, accurate official site is what those links point to.

• One page per treatment you offer. Name the treatment, who performs it, how a consultation works, and how to book. A treatment menu inside an image or PDF gives a crawler nothing to read.
• Provider names and credentials in text. List each provider with their credential and role, and name the medical director where one exists.
• Name, address, phone and hours that match the Google Business Profile exactly. Put them in the footer as text.
• Short questions and answers on each treatment page. Write the questions patients ask your front desk, with direct answers. Keep medical statements accurate and reviewed by your clinical team.
• Prices or price ranges only if you publish them. If you do not publish prices, say how pricing is given, for example at consultation.
• Structured data that matches the visible page. Google says no special schema is needed for AI features, but structured data should match the text on the page.

Google also says you do not need new machine-readable files or AI text files to appear in its AI features (Google Search Central). Spend the time on the pages patients read. The med spa SEO guide and the website design checklist go deeper on page structure.

Be careful with any vendor that promises your clinic will be "recommended by ChatGPT" or placed first in AI answers. No AI engine publishes a formula that guarantees a clinic will be named, and Google notes that even a page meeting every requirement is not guaranteed to be crawled, indexed or shown. Ask instead what the vendor will change on your site and profile, and how they will report a monthly mention rate you can check yourself.

A simple spreadsheet works: date, tool, prompt, runs, times named, sources cited, and what was wrong. Add the Search Console AI impressions and the Bing citation count for the month. Over a few months you will see whether fixes to pages and the profile change what the tools say. If you want a second pair of eyes, the free Patient Leak Audit reviews the website, Google Business Profile, local visibility and booking flow together.

Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT or Perplexity?

No public program sells a guaranteed placement in their answers. They draw on pages their crawlers can read and on other sources about your clinic, so the practical work is crawler access, accurate pages, an accurate Google Business Profile and genuine reviews.

Do I need an llms.txt file or special schema for Google AI Overviews?

Google says you do not need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special schema.org markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. A page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet.

How do I see if my med spa appears in Google AI Overviews?

Open the Generative AI performance report in Google Search Console. It shows impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country, device and date. It does not show clicks or queries.

Should I block GPTBot but allow OAI-SearchBot?

That is a business choice. OpenAI treats them separately: OAI-SearchBot is used for ChatGPT search results and GPTBot for model training. Blocking OAI-SearchBot keeps a site out of ChatGPT search answers, according to OpenAI.

How often should I re-test?

Monthly is enough for most clinics. Use the same prompts each time and record how many runs named you, so you can compare months.

• Google Search Central: AI features and your website
• Search Console Help: Generative AI performance report (Search)
• Google Search Central Blog: Search generative AI performance reports (June 3, 2026; note on the Aug 31, 2026 worldwide rollout)
• Google: More ways to connect with the web from Search (Oct 15, 2026)
• OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User)
• Perplexity: Perplexity crawlers (PerplexityBot, Perplexity-User)
• Bing Webmaster Blog: AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools (public preview)
• Webpatch: AI answers across 10 medical specialties, 100 searches (Ahrefs data, Oct 17, 2026)
• PromptRank: How AI recommends local businesses (June 2026)

Studies by third parties are single snapshots with their own methods. Read their limits before you rely on a number.