How Often Does ChatGPT Recommend Dentists? 2026 US Data
Most US dental practices we scanned in 2026 were not named by ChatGPT or Google AI Mode in any answer. Here is how often each engine named a practice, how consistently it did so, and what a dental practice can do about it.
How often does ChatGPT recommend dentists? The short answer
Rarely, and not consistently. Of the US dental practices we scanned, 23% were named by ChatGPT in at least one answer, and 14% were named by Google AI Mode. Counting both engines together, 30% of practices were named at least once, so most got no mention at all.
Even counting the practices that were never named, the average practice appeared in only 11% of its ChatGPT answers and 7% of its Google AI Mode answers. These scans ran from July 13 to October 4, 2026.
Most US dental practices we scanned were not named by either engine
We asked ChatGPT and Google AI Mode the questions a patient would ask, along the lines of "best dentist in Austin", and recorded which practices each answer named. Across the 30 dental practices in this snapshot, 30% appeared in at least one analysed answer from either engine.
Every other practice was absent from every answer we analysed for it. For those practices, the answers to the questions we asked on these two engines named other dentists, or none.
Show the data
| Series | Value | Businesses |
|---|---|---|
| Either engine | 30% | 30 |
| ChatGPT | 23% | 30 |
| Google AI Mode | 14% | 28 |
Source: ClientRadar scan data, n = 28 to 30 businesses, July 13 to October 4, 2026.
Getting named once is not the same as getting named consistently
"Named at least once" is a generous bar. A practice that shows up in a single answer and is missing from its other answers clears it.
So we also measure a stricter number: for each practice, the share of its answers that named it, averaged across all practices. Across both engines, that average was 9%. On ChatGPT it was 11%, and on Google AI Mode it was 7%.
This average includes the practices that were never named, which pulls it down. The gap between the two measures still tells you something. If every practice that ChatGPT named had been named in all of its answers, the average share would equal the share named at least once. It is well below that, which means even the practices that did get named were missing from some of their answers. With three questions per engine, that can mean one or two answers out of three, so seeing your practice in one ChatGPT answer does not prove it appears for the other questions patients ask.
ChatGPT vs Google AI Mode: which one names more dental practices
In this sample, ChatGPT named more dental practices than Google AI Mode, named them in a larger share of answers, and cited far more links per answer. Here is the side-by-side.
| Engine | Practices named at least once | Average share of answers naming the practice | Average cited links per answer | Answers citing at least one source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 23% | 11% | 32.5 | 100% |
| Google AI Mode | 14% | 7% | 14.1 | 96% |
The two engines were measured over slightly different sets of practices. Naming figures cover 30 practices on ChatGPT and 28 on Google AI Mode; citation figures cover 31 and 29 respectively.
How many dental practices does each engine name at least once?
ChatGPT named 23% of the 30 dental practices we asked it about. Google AI Mode named 14% of the 28 practices we asked it about.
Neither figure is high. For a dental practice, that means the default outcome on both engines, in our sample, was not being named.
How often each engine names a practice across its answers
The consistency gap holds on both engines. On ChatGPT, the average practice was named in 11% of its answers. On Google AI Mode, it was 7%.
Show the data
| Series | Value | Businesses |
|---|---|---|
| Named at least once, ChatGPT | 23% | 30 |
| Named at least once, Google AI Mode | 14% | 28 |
| Average share of answers naming it, ChatGPT | 11% | 30 |
| Average share of answers naming it, Google AI Mode | 7% | 28 |
Source: ClientRadar scan data, n = 28 to 30 businesses, July 13 to October 4, 2026.
We would not read too much into the exact distance between the two engines. The sample is small, and a handful of practices moving in or out of answers would shift both numbers. ChatGPT came out ahead on both measures in this sample, but the sample is too small to say that will hold more widely.
For a broader comparison across business types, see our post on ChatGPT vs Google AI Mode for local business recommendations.
ChatGPT cites far more links per answer than Google AI Mode
The sharpest difference between the two engines is how much they cite. ChatGPT's answers about dentists carried an average of 32.5 cited links each, more than twice Google AI Mode's average of 14.1.
Both engines almost always cite something. ChatGPT cited at least one source in 100% of its answers, and Google AI Mode in 96%.
Show the data
| Series | Value | Businesses |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 32.5 | 31 |
| Google AI Mode | 14.1 | 29 |
Source: ClientRadar scan data, n = 29 to 31 businesses, July 13 to October 4, 2026.
Why ChatGPT may not recommend your dental practice
The answers we analysed almost always came with cited sources. If those sources do not mention your practice, that is one plausible reason an answer leaves you out, though our data cannot confirm it for any single practice.
Answers are built from cited sources, not from your website alone
When nearly every answer cites links, and ChatGPT cites dozens of them per answer, the answers draw on many pages at once. Your own website may be one of them; which other kinds of sites get cited is outside this snapshot.
We cover that question in a separate study on what sources ChatGPT uses to recommend dentists.
What the data here does not show is cause and effect. We cannot say, from these numbers alone, that a practice was left out because of thin reviews or a weak directory presence. We can only say the engines cite many sources when they answer.
Different engines, different shortlists
The combined share named by either engine, 30%, is higher than ChatGPT's 23% on its own. That means some practices were named by Google AI Mode and never by ChatGPT. The two engines are not reading off the same list.
So a result on one engine is not a reliable stand-in for the other. A practice that looks fine on Google AI Mode can be absent on ChatGPT, and the reverse.
What a dental practice can do about it
None of the steps below guarantees a mention. They are the steps we would take given what the data shows: answers cite many sources, vary between engines, and name a practice in some answers but not others.
Check where you stand on both engines
Start by asking both ChatGPT and Google AI Mode the questions your patients ask, several times each, and note whether your practice appears. Our guide on how to check if ChatGPT recommends your business walks through it step by step. Write down which practices are named instead of yours, and which links the answers cite.
Strengthen the sources the engines cite
Open the links the answers cite, and fix any listing where your practice is missing or its name, address, phone, hours or services are out of date. Those cited pages are the most direct evidence you have of what the engines were reading when they answered.
You can see which kinds of businesses AI engines tend to name on our AI recommends page.
Track it over time instead of checking once
Because named practices were still missing from some of their own answers, a single check is a snapshot of one moment. Repeating the same questions on a schedule shows whether your presence is steady, growing or slipping, and whether changes to your listings line up with changes in the answers. Weekly tracking across more engines is what our paid plans are for.
How we got this data
The naming figures in this post cover 30 US dental practices, scanned from July 13 to October 4, 2026, on two engines: ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. We query each engine through its official API and record which businesses each answer names and which links it cites.
Who is in the sample: US dental practices checked with our free scan
The practices in the naming figures were all checked with our free scan, which asks three questions per practice on ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. The free-scan-only figures match the overall ones: 30% named at least once and an average share of 9%, over 30 practices.
The number of practices behind each figure differs slightly by measure and engine. Google AI Mode naming figures cover 28 practices. Citation figures cover 31 practices on ChatGPT and 29 on Google AI Mode, and an answer reused for two practices is counted once.
Limits: two engines, three questions per practice, API results vs consumer apps
This is a small sample, and it is self-selected: these are practices whose owners or marketers chose to run a scan. It does not represent all US dentists, and we would not generalise from it to dentists as a whole.
The snapshot covers two engines only. Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews are not in these numbers. Three questions per practice is a narrow slice of the ways a patient might search, so a practice's result could look different on other questions.
Finally, we query the engines through their official APIs, and what an individual patient sees in the ChatGPT or Google apps can differ.
The takeaway for dental practices
In our data, being named by an AI engine is the exception for a dental practice, and being named across all of its answers is rarer still. Check both engines, open the sources their answers cite, fix the listings you control, and measure again rather than trusting a single result.
If you want to see where your own practice stands, you can run a free scan on ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
Frequently asked questions
How often does ChatGPT recommend local dentists?
Not often in our data. ChatGPT named 23% of the US dental practices we scanned in at least one answer, and the average practice appeared in 11% of its ChatGPT answers. Most practices were never named.
Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my dental practice?
ChatGPT's answers lean on cited sources: 100% of its answers about dentists cited at least one link, with an average of 32.5 links per answer. If those sources do not mention your practice, that is one plausible reason you are left out. Our data does not prove a specific cause for any one practice.
Is ChatGPT or Google AI Mode more likely to recommend my dental office?
In our sample, ChatGPT named more practices: 23% at least once, against 14% on Google AI Mode. The sample is small, and some practices were named only by Google AI Mode, so it is worth checking both.
If ChatGPT named my practice once, will it name it every time?
Not necessarily. Practices that were named were still missing from some of their answers. On ChatGPT, 23% of practices were named at least once, but the average practice appeared in only 11% of its answers. Checking several questions, more than once, gives a truer picture than a single answer.
How do I get my dental practice recommended by ChatGPT?
No step guarantees a mention. Start by checking which links the answers cite, then fix any listing where your practice is missing or its details are out of date. Track the same questions over time to see whether anything changes.
