Google AI Overviews: what do they mean for your practice's visibility?

Google AI Overviews are summaries Google shows above the regular search results, generated by a Gemini model and linking to their sources. For your practice, that means general questions are increasingly answered within Google itself, while searches that include a location, a treatment or an intention to book still lead people to a practice. Being cited as a source does not take tricks. It takes good pages, a complete Google Business Profile and visible expertise.

This article explains what AI Overviews are, which searches still bring visitors and what a physiotherapy practice, clinic or dental practice should actually change. We cover ChatGPT in a separate article; this one is about Google only.

What exactly are AI Overviews?

If someone types 'what helps with a frozen shoulder', Google may show a short answer at the top, compiled from several websites. Below or beside it are links to the pages the information came from. AI Overviews are also available in Dutch.

Google says an overview only appears when it adds something to the regular results, so many searches show none. Just as important: according to Google, no special code, extra file or markup is needed to be used as a source. A page has to be indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet. That is ordinary, solid SEO.

Which searches still bring clicks?

A general question such as 'how long does a sprained ankle take to heal' was always answered mostly by information sites, and that traffic rarely turned into an appointment. The searches that count have a different aim: the person wants to choose a provider. They come in four kinds.

• Local: 'physiotherapist Amersfoort', 'dentist Utrecht East'. Here the local results and the map with business profiles play a large role.
• Booking: 'physio appointment without referral', 'emergency dentist today'. The person wants to arrange something now.
• Price: 'dental implant cost', 'price of a physio session'. Someone looking at prices is preparing to buy.
• A specific treatment or complaint: 'shockwave therapy heel spur', 'dry needling neck'. The more specific the search, the more likely the person wants a practice that does exactly this.

An AI Overview can appear for these searches too. The difference is that the searcher still has to make a choice, and to make it they click through to a practice. Your job is to make sure yours is the link they choose.

1. Create a page for each treatment and each complaint

The mistake we see most often when reviewing practices: every treatment sits on one page, or all traffic lands on the homepage. An AI Overview about 'dry needling for neck pain' can only point to you if you have a page that answers exactly that question.

Give every core treatment and every common complaint its own page. Explain who it is for, how a treatment works, how many sessions are usual, what it costs and whether insurance covers it. If you have more than one location, add a page per location with the address, opening hours and the team there. Link your blog posts and treatment pages to each other so Google sees how they fit together.

2. Write FAQs that answer straight away

AI Overviews draw on pages that answer a question clearly. Add a block to every treatment page with the questions patients really ask, and put the answer in the first sentence. Not 'That depends on many factors', but 'After the intake we tell you how many sessions you need and what they cost.'

Note that since 2026 Google no longer shows a special FAQ display in search results. The questions do not work through markup, but because the answer sits on your page as plain text.

3. Use structured data that matches the page

Structured data is code on your website that tells Google what a page contains, such as your practice name, address, phone number and opening hours. For a practice the LocalBusiness type, or a more specific one, matters most. Google does not require it for AI Overviews, but it helps, provided the data matches what a visitor sees on the page.

Two mistakes come up often: opening hours in the code that no longer match the site, and star ratings for your own practice added to the code. Google does not allow the latter for your own business; review markup is meant for sites that review other businesses.

4. Keep your Google Business Profile complete

Google explicitly advises keeping your Business Profile information up to date. In practice we often find profiles with no services listed, which leaves Google less sure which treatment searches you match. Check the following:

• Choose the right primary category and list every service, per location.
• Write a description that says what you do, for whom and where.
• Post recent, real photos of the practice and the team rather than stock images.
• Add a booking link and, if you use it, WhatsApp as a contact option.
• Make sure your address, phone number and opening hours are identical everywhere.

5. Build reviews on Google and on healthcare platforms

Reviews show that real people have visited you. Make asking for one a fixed step, for example with a link in the email after the final session. For healthcare practices in the Netherlands, a profile on ZorgkaartNederland is a sensible addition. Also check what your own site displays: we came across a practice whose review widget accidentally showed a score of zero. An error like that does more harm than having no widget.

Reply to reviews without confirming that someone is your patient. That is part of your duty of confidentiality.

6. Make authors and expertise visible

For health topics, Google says its systems give even more weight to trustworthiness and expertise. Google recommends stating who wrote an article, with a link to more information about that person.

An anonymous 'about us' page is a missed opportunity. Show real people with a photo, training, specialisms and registrations such as a BIG number where that applies. Put the name of the physiotherapist or dentist who wrote or checked each article underneath it. And make no claims about results you cannot back up.

7. Measure what it brings in

Connect Google Search Console to your website. Visits from AI Overviews are counted in the Performance report under the Web search type. Watch the trend per page. Also set up conversion tracking, with a thank-you page after every booking or enquiry, so you can see which pages bring appointments and not just visitors.

Where to start

Start with your Business Profile and your about page. Then build pages for your three most important treatments or complaints, with FAQs and a named author, and check in Search Console which pages are growing. If you would like someone to look with you, book the free Clinic Scan: Thomas calls you briefly first, we analyse nine areas and you get the plan in a 30-minute call. You are free to carry it out yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to adapt my website specifically for AI Overviews?

No. Google says no special markup or extra files are needed. A page has to be indexed and eligible for a snippet; after that, the same things count as in regular SEO.

Can I see how many visitors come from AI Overviews?

Not separately. Google includes those visits in the Search Console Performance report, under the Web search type.

Will AI Overviews cost my practice patients?

For general information questions, people may click through less. For searches with a location, a price, a specific treatment or an intention to book, the searcher still has to pick a practice, and that is where good pages and a strong Business Profile win.