Why Generative AI Search Matters for Health Systems — And What To Do About It

I recently read an article in the Economist entitled, "AI is killing the web. Can anything save it?" focused on how artificial intelligence is transforming the way we search for information — and the alarming drops in website traffic resulting from people being given answers (in Google AI Overviews and AI platforms like ChatGPT), rather than website links to follow. What caught my attention the most was a chart showing that healthcare sites have seen the largest drop in traffic.

Patients are increasingly getting answers inside the search experience instead of clicking through to hospital or health system websites. That trend is measurable and accelerating — and it changes both how patients discover care and how you should measure and invest in digital channels. Below I explain the behavior shift, the business impact for health systems, and practical next steps.

Patient Search Behavior is Changing

• Zero-click searches are mainstream. Studies show that approximately 60% of Google searches ended without a click in 2024. Like it or not, that’s the new majority behavior for many informational queries.
• Google (and others) are surfacing generative AI answers. Google rolled out AI Overviews to large audiences in 2024, placing AI-generated answers at the top of their search results — often removing the need to click further.
• Organic website traffic is falling. Cross-industry analytics show search referral visits declining year-over-year due to the rise of AI Overviews and zero-click search features. Many healthcare marketers I've spoken with recently are telling me that they're already seeing a 10-20% drop in organic traffic to their website.
• Patients are getting comfortable with AI answers. Recent studies show a rising willingness to accept AI-generated answers for basic health-related questions and searches — the exact degree of trust varies by age and the complexity of the question.

Why This Matters for Health Systems

1. Fewer site visits does NOT necessarily mean less demand — but it changes touchpoints. If a patient gets an answer in the search results page (ie: “where is the best place to go for primary care near me”), they may not visit your site — yet they can still call, book, or show up. The primary channel becomes the search result itself (ie: Google AI overview or generative AI answer).
2. Discovery and reputation signals now live in new places. Knowledge panels, AI overviews, and chatbots pull from review sites, structured data, and high-authority sources. That elevates the importance of patient reviews, directory listings, and structured markup as conversion drivers — not just your website content.
3. Traditional KPIs (pageviews, organic sessions) will become less predictive. Healthcare executives used to equate more organic traffic with more referrals and patients. With zero-click, raw traffic will understate brand exposure and influence. Measurement must shift to outcome-oriented metrics (ie: appointments, calls, conversions attributed to search visibility).
4. Content strategy must balance visibility inside AI answers and ownership. If AI summarizes your content without linking to your website, you lose organic website traffic and context. But you can still shape those summaries by making your content authoritative and well-structured (ie: using Schema markup).

What Health System Leaders Should Do

1. Reframe measurement and targets. Move from raw traffic targets to outcome-based KPIs: phone calls, appointment bookings, telehealth starts. Track calls from knowledge panels, bookings from Google Business Profiles, and conversions referred by AI platforms (where attribution exists).
2. Own the facts your patients will see. AI systems rely on structured markup to identify facts. Make sure to use Schema markup to provide detailed information about your services, locations, and providers, and keep your Google Business Profiles and major directory listings accurate and optimized. Healthcare reputation management platforms like RatingsMD can automatically embed the correct markup on your website and keep your online listings current. Information from these listings is often surfaced directly in AI answers.
3. Protect and amplify your online reputation. Prioritize publishing verified patient ratings and reviews on your website and on independent review sites like Ratings.MD. Make sure to do this for your service lines, specialties and locations — not just your providers. AI platforms aggregate these trust signals and having a strong online reputation improves your chance of being referenced or recommended in an AI answer.

Risk / Reward Summary

• Risk: If you treat website sessions as the primary measurement of reach, you will undercount patient interest and misallocate budget. Many institutions could see 10-20 percent drops in organic sessions for queries where AI overviews dominate.
• Opportunity: Health systems that optimize structured data and verified patient reviews can gain a competitive advantage from increased visibility in AI-powered search. Being the authoritative voice that AI systems draw from will protect referrals and direct patients to your services even without a click.

Final Thought

Search is evolving from “send them to your site” into “be the trusted answer when patients ask.” For health systems that serve complex needs and high-acuity patients, the stakes are high but so are the levers you control: trust, patient reviews, and seamless conversion paths. Treat generative/zero-click search as a new channel to be owned, measured and optimized — it’s a chance for health systems to become the trusted answer patients see first.