Every January, marketing publications publish their predictions for the year ahead. Most are vague enough to be unfalsifiable. "AI will matter more." "Video will continue to grow." "Patient experience will be important."
We're taking a different approach. These are specific, opinionated predictions about what will separate thriving healthcare practices from struggling ones in 2026. Some of these predictions might be wrong. But at least they're clear enough to be proven right or wrong by December.
Here's what we believe will matter most this year.
1. AI Search Will Capture a Third of Patient Discovery
The biggest shift happening in healthcare marketing isn't about any single platform. It's about how patients find information in the first place.
According to Menlo Ventures' State of AI in Healthcare report, AI adoption in healthcare organizations increased 7x from 2024 to 2025. That's the supply side. On the demand side, patients are increasingly using ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity to research healthcare questions before they ever type a traditional search query.
Here's the fundamental problem this creates: unlike traditional search, where patients might scroll through multiple results, AI often surfaces only a few trusted sources. If you're not one of those sources, you're invisible.
Traditional SEO got you on the first page. AI visibility gets you in the answer. There's no scrolling through results when ChatGPT provides a direct recommendation.
What this means for your practice: The practices that win in 2026 will be optimizing for answer engines, not just search engines. This requires structured content, consistent business information across platforms, and authority signals that AI systems recognize. Being "pretty good" at SEO isn't enough when AI systems are picking winners and everyone else becomes invisible.
Our belief: We've been tracking AI visibility for our clients for over a year. The practices getting recommended by ChatGPT consistently have one thing in common: comprehensive, current business profiles and a steady stream of recent reviews. Neither is optional anymore.
2. The "Near Me" Economy Will Dominate Patient Acquisition
Here's a number that should shape your strategy: the vast majority of patients search online before booking an appointment. And three in four of those patients look specifically on Google Maps or local search.
The rise of "near me" searches is accelerating. Mobile "near me" queries have grown dramatically year over year, especially in metropolitan areas where patients have more choices.
This isn't surprising when you consider how people actually use their phones. Someone experiencing a symptom at 9 PM isn't going to call their PCP. They're going to search "urgent care near me" or "dermatologist open Saturday." The practice that appears in that moment wins the patient.
Practices with optimized local presence consistently see higher appointment bookings. An optimized Google Business Profile can generate 5 to 10 times more calls than a neglected one. We see this pattern repeatedly across our clients.
What this means for your practice: Your Google Business Profile is more important than your website for patient acquisition. Full stop. A patient searching "orthodontist near me" will see your GBP before they ever visit your site. If your profile is incomplete, has outdated hours, or lacks recent photos and reviews, you're losing patients to competitors with better local presence.
Our belief: Most practices treat their Google Business Profile as a box to check during initial setup. Winning practices treat it like their most important digital asset. Because that's what it is.
3. Review Velocity Will Matter More Than Review Volume
The days of "set it and forget it" review strategies are over. It's no longer enough to have 200 reviews if they're all from two years ago.
The data is clear: most patients trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And here's the nuance: a significant majority of patients require at least a 4-star rating to even consider a provider. Anything below that is disqualifying.
More importantly, both AI systems and human patients pay attention to recency. A practice with 50 reviews from the last six months looks more active and trustworthy than one with 500 reviews from 2021.
A one-star increase in a practice's rating can meaningfully boost revenue. Reviews aren't just about reputation. They directly impact the bottom line.
What this means for your practice: You need a system that generates a consistent stream of new reviews. Not a one-time campaign, but an ongoing process that asks every satisfied patient for feedback. The practices that do this well integrate review requests into their patient communication workflow.
Our belief: We track review velocity for all our clients. When review flow slows, we investigate. Because in our experience, a drop in reviews is an early warning sign that something in the patient experience needs attention.
4. Mobile Experience Will Become a Patient Qualifier
Here's a reality check: the overwhelming majority of healthcare searches now occur on mobile devices. Yet most healthcare websites are still designed desktop-first with mobile as an afterthought.
Mobile-friendly healthcare sites perform dramatically better in search rankings. But ranking is only half the equation. A patient who lands on a slow, clunky mobile site simply leaves.
This matters especially for aesthetic practices where patients are doing research at night, lying in bed, scrolling through galleries and comparing providers. If your site frustrates them, you don't make their shortlist. They'll never tell you. They'll just book with someone else.
What this means for your practice: Test your website on an actual phone. Not browser simulation, not developer tools. Use a real phone, in your hand, and try to find your phone number, view your gallery, and request a consultation. If any of those steps feel frustrating, your patients feel that frustration too.
Our belief: We audit every client's mobile experience quarterly. The number of practices with beautiful desktop sites and broken mobile experiences would surprise you.
5. AI Will Start Changing How Patients Arrive at Your Door
According to STAT News research, patients are already consulting ChatGPT before appointments. They're arriving with treatment options their doctors haven't considered, questions they've researched, and expectations shaped by AI recommendations.
Wolters Kluwer's 2026 healthcare AI trends report calls 2026 "the year of governance" for AI in healthcare, as health systems scramble to catch up with what clinicians and patients are already doing.
This creates both opportunity and risk for practices. The opportunity: patients who research thoroughly before booking are often more committed and more likely to convert. The risk: if AI systems don't recommend you, you're not part of the consideration set at all.
What this means for your practice: You need to understand what AI systems say about you. Search for your practice name and specialty in ChatGPT. Ask it "Who's the best orthodontist in [your city]?" and see what comes up. If you're not mentioned, you have work to do.
Our belief: AI visibility isn't a separate marketing channel. It's becoming the layer that sits on top of everything else. The practices that understand this early will build advantages that compound over time.
6. Patient Acquisition Costs Will Continue Rising
Healthcare organizations spent billions on social media advertising alone in 2025. Rising patient acquisition costs, slim operating margins, and AI disruption are the topics dominating conversations from private practices to health systems.
For independent practices, this creates a strategic choice. You can try to outspend DSOs and corporate consolidators on paid advertising. (You can't win that game.) Or you can invest in channels where money alone doesn't determine outcomes: local SEO, reviews, organic visibility, and AI optimization.
What this means for your practice: Paid advertising still has a role, but it shouldn't be your only strategy. The practices with the lowest patient acquisition costs have built organic visibility that generates leads without ongoing ad spend. That takes time to build, which is why starting now matters.
Our belief: We don't optimize for clicks. We optimize for consultations. If we can't track a lead to a real patient, it doesn't count as success. This focus on outcomes rather than vanity metrics is how we help practices get better ROI from every marketing dollar.
7. First-Party Data Will Become Your Most Valuable Asset
With third-party cookies effectively gone, healthcare organizations will rely heavily on first-party data. This means treating patients like members rather than appointments, building relationships through newsletters, personalized reminders, and ongoing communication.
The practices that build these direct relationships will have two advantages. First, they'll be less dependent on algorithm changes and platform policies. Second, they'll understand their patients better, enabling more personalized care and more effective marketing.
What this means for your practice: Every patient interaction is a chance to build your first-party data. Email addresses from intake forms, phone numbers from appointment confirmations, preferences from patient surveys. The practices treating this data as an asset will outperform those treating it as administrative overhead.
Our belief: Patient retention is underrated. The most profitable patients aren't new acquisitions. They're patients who trust you, return for additional services, and refer their friends and family. Marketing should strengthen these relationships, not just chase new ones.
8. The Referral Network Will Expand Beyond Physicians
There's a fundamental shift in how referrals happen. Referral sources used to be doctors. In 2026, many referrals will come from patient advocates: parents, caregivers, or condition-specific community leaders with strong digital voices.
For practices that serve families or communities with active online discussions, this matters enormously. The parent who shares their child's orthodontic experience in a local Facebook group influences more decisions than a physician referral ever could.
What this means for your practice: Think about who influences your patients' decisions and make it easy for them to recommend you. This might mean asking for Google reviews specifically, encouraging social media shares of results, or building relationships with local community leaders.
Our belief: Word of mouth hasn't disappeared. It's just gone digital. A patient advocate with 500 Instagram followers in your specialty might drive more referrals than a billboard.
9. Video Will Become Expected, Not Optional
Patients consume health information through short-form video at record levels across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and embedded website video.
For practices where visual results matter (cosmetic dentistry, med spa treatments, plastic surgery), video content isn't just nice to have. It's becoming the primary way patients evaluate quality and build trust.
What this means for your practice: You don't need Hollywood production values. Authentic, helpful video content often performs better than polished commercials. A 60-second tour of your office, a brief explanation of a procedure, or a patient testimonial can all build connection and trust.
Our belief: The bar for video content is lower than most practices think. The biggest barrier isn't quality. It's starting. Practices that create consistent, authentic video content build patient relationships that text and images alone can't match.
10. Convenience Will Win Competitive Markets
Three events are reshaping healthcare expectations: Medicaid unwinding (with millions of disenrollments), Amazon and Walmart entering the market with online shopping convenience, and AI capabilities streamlining previously complex processes.
Patients now expect the convenience they get from retail: frictionless scheduling, digital intake, transparent pricing, and rapid access to care. The practices that deliver this convenience will win patients from those that don't.
What this means for your practice: Evaluate every patient touchpoint for friction. How easy is it to book an appointment? How long does intake take? Can patients reschedule online? Every friction point is a chance for patients to choose a competitor.
Our belief: Patient experience isn't separate from marketing. A smooth, convenient experience creates the reviews, referrals, and repeat business that drive growth. Improving operations often matters more than increasing ad spend.
The Bottom Line
2026 will reward practices that understand a fundamental shift: patients have more choices and more information than ever before. The practices that thrive will be those that show up where patients are looking, make it easy to choose them, and deliver experiences worth recommending.
None of this happens overnight. But the practices that start building these capabilities now will have advantages that compound throughout the year.
If you want to see where your practice stands on these metrics, get a growth plan. We'll show you exactly what's working, what's missing, and what opportunities exist for your specific situation.