Will ChatGPT redirect patients to your pharmacy?

I'll tell you something that struck me recently. A pharmacist told me that a patient came to the counter and showed him her phone: “ChatGPT tells me I should consult a pharmacist about this. Can you help me?”This is no longer science fiction. More and more people are asking their health questions to an AI assistant before even searching on Google: “Which pharmacy near me offers consultations for shingles?”; “Can a pharmacist prescribe the contraceptive pill in Quebec?” This made me ask a question that I think should concern us all: when a patient asks this kind of question to ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, is your pharmacy likely to be mentioned?A new entry point—but not a replacementLet's be clear: generative AI can’t replace pharmacists. It can't assess a patient, ask the right questions or detect an interaction. What it can do, however, is provide guidance. It simplifies, summarizes and suggests options. And then it can say: “Consult a pharmacist.” That's where it gets interesting for us. If the AI directs the patient to a pharmacist, the question becomes: which pharmacist? Which pharmacy should you choose?GEO: a new word, but a simple principleYou've probably heard of SEO—the art of being visible on Google. But now there's increasing talk of GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. Basically, it's about increasing your chances of being noticed when search responses are generated by AI.I won't lie to you, it remains an ever-changing field. AI assistants don't all work the same way and they don't all consult the same sources. But one principle remains true: the more accessible, clear and up-to-date your information is, the more you increase your chances of being visible at the right time.What really mattersHere's what I've noticed: not everything you publish online carries the same weight. AI assistants primarily see what is public, structured and easy to interpret. In concrete terms, this means: Your website, with clear pages describing your clinical services.Your Google Business Profile—complete, up-to-date, with your services, hours and a good description.Your Google reviews. I often say this: they count for your local credibility and they are indexable.Articles, press releases, or content on public websites that mention you.Your presence in local directories, partner sites and media outlets.Banner ads, a web presence that is often standardizedI understand the reality on the ground. For many banner ads, the website and even the Google Business Profile are managed centrally. This makes sense: it ensures a consistent image and simplifies management.But this centralization has a side effect that I often see: local information becomes too uniform. But your patients aren't looking for “a pharmacy in general.” They're looking for a specific answer, in a specific context, right now.This is exactly where GEO (Google, Apple, Microsoft) becomes essential. The goal is to ensure that what is publicly visible meets three simple criteria: clarity (your services are named using the words patients actually use), credibility (the information is consistent and inspires confidence) and accessibility (the next step is obvious—how to contact you, where to find you).So, how do you know if you're “in the answer”?I'll be honest with you: there's no foolproof way to check if your pharmacy will be mentioned by ChatGPT or Gemini. Responses vary depending on the question, location and even the user. A test performed on your account won't necessarily give the same result as one performed on your patient's.What I suggest is running a few simple tests. Ask questions as your patients would, in different contexts:“Where can I get a consultation for shingles in [your city]?”“Which pharmacy can help with a urinary tract infection in [your neighbourhood]?”“Can a pharmacy prescribe the contraceptive pill in Quebec?”What you're looking for isn't necessarily for your name to appear directly in the answer. It's about the logic: can the assistant connect a specific request to a clear local offering?My takeaway from all this: GEO is simpleGEO is simply a modern way to ensure that when your patient is looking for an answer, your pharmacy is among the options we can understand and consider.AI assistants don't discover a pharmacy the way a human would. They recognize it through available signals: clear service pages, accurate local information, comprehensive profiles and a credible online reputation.In a world where health questions are increasingly being asked in a conversational way, visibility depends on being present in a clear, structured and reliable manner.Marilou Brouillet is the president and CEO of Pharmalead, a Canadian marketing agency specializing in social media, digital advertising, and website management for pharmacies.This article was initially published on our sister site ProfessionSanté.ca and has been translated from its original French.

Will ChatGPT redirect patients to your pharmacy?

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