The Impact of Google AI Overviews on Healthcare SEO – A MedComm Expert's Take

When you search on Google today, there are more than 10 blue links--the usual sponsored and organic search results. A good half of the screen is dominated by AI Overviews, a rebranded version of Google's Search Generative Experience, or SGE. This changes how your brand will rank in Google forever, pushing a major shift in marketing and digital visibility in all industries, especially healthcare. As a healthcare professional or a HealthTech brand, the earlier you understand the impact of Google AI overviews on healthcare SEO, the faster you can use this AI tool to your advantage, the better.

How Does Google AI Overview Impact Healthcare?

Google AI overview is a set of concise, precise and structured answers to a search query. Instead of bombarding a user with multiple links to choose from and asking them to deep dive further to find answers, AI overviews provide a more streamlined experience.

They give direct numbers, stats, and actionables from the best quality results available.

Why is it a concern in healthcare?

Stats say AI Overviews are most prevalent in healthcare, followed by B2B technology and e-commerce, so yes, the impact of Google AI overviews on healthcare SEO is worth spending time on.

• Keywords in healthcare SEO become king

Moreover, not all search triggers Google AI overviews. Here's what falls under the capacity of Google AI overviews:

• Concise facts, often numbers, ranges or pointers

• Outcome, or 'what happens after this' type searches

• Comparisons, like 'this vs that'

• Rationale or 'why to do this'

• Definitions, that are standard

• Boolean, like AND, OR NOT

• Instructional, like 'how to do this'

This makes 'keyword research' indispensable. Your content needs to match user intent exactly — both in wording and depth — to be picked up by the AI and cited. Vague or generalized keyword strategies will no longer perform well.

• Top of funnel healthcare content is affected

Informational content — such as symptom explainers, preventive care tips, or wellness articles — often lives at the top of the marketing funnel.

This is where AI Overviews now dominate.

If users find what they need directly in the overview, they may never click through to your site, reducing traffic and engagement significantly.

• Bottom-funnel content stays unaffected

Content aimed at conversions — such as booking a consultation, finding a doctor near me, or comparing treatments of this brand to that — tends to remain unaffected.

These queries are typically more specific and action-driven, and users still rely on provider websites to make final decisions. AI Overviews don’t fully replace this level of decision-making yet.

• Measuring organic SEO in healthcare gets tough

The 'invisible attribution' is not welcome; thanks but no thanks.

What are we talking about?

Traditional SEO metrics — like click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, and organic session volume — become less reliable. A user may receive their answer directly in the overview and never visit your site, even if your content contributed to that answer. This 'invisible attribution' makes performance tracking more difficult.

• The paid and unpaid healthcare content gets mixed

AI Overviews often appear above both organic and paid results, making it harder to distinguish between what’s editorial, sponsored, or AI-generated.

This blending of paid and unpaid content creates uncertainty for users and complicates marketing strategies for healthcare organisations investing in both types of campaigns.

How Can You Best Use the Impact of Google AI Overviews on Healthcare SEO?

"The AI Overview is great for brand awareness and trust, but has individuals opting out of a website visit.”

How do you fix it?

It's best to focus on two targets with different approaches:

1. Creating brand awareness for the users and your AI friend in Google

2. Optimise your location pages and service web pages for larger, heavier, transactional keywords to increase conversion-orientated terms, organic traffic, and improved patient interaction.

Here are a few tips to do that:

1. E-E-A-T above all – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

2. Citations and references for every detail in healthcare.

3. Add fresh perspectives backed by evidence and experience.

4. Quality backlinks are essential.

5. Case study marketing in healthcare and honest reviews.

   
   

6. On-page optimisation includes:

   - Rework the headings and make them pain point-focused. Structure them to resemble a real question that users ask in healthcare. Do not make them sound like ChatGPT generated salesy statements.

   - Add more keyword-rich content to blog posts (long-tail keywords) and enhance their internal linking structure.

   - Delete all instances of page duplication.

   - Publish more in-depth articles instead of promotional blurbs

   
   

7. Repurpose everytime you repost the same content on different platforms.

8. Use a different variety of content – written, scripted videos and scripted interviews.

9. Make sure you incorporate pertinent data and organised information.

10. Reduce crawling's computational burden.

    
    
    
    

    Takeaway

    For healthcare brands – healthcare professionals and healthcare device companies – get into a meeting with your marketers and content strategists today, if you haven't already. The rise of Google AI Overviews means it's no longer enough to simply rank on page one.

    
    

    You now need to understand the impact of Google AI overviews on healthcare SEO and optimise for visibility within the AI Overview itself — by creating high-authority, well-structured, keyword-rich content that aligns tightly with user intent.

    
    

    Those who adapt will continue to earn trust and traffic. Those who don’t risk being filtered out of the conversation entirely.

    
    

    Can drmedhcomms Help Improve The Impact of Google AI Overviews on Healthcare SEO?

    
    

    Yes.

    
    

    I am Dr Medha Gupta, Medical Writer & MedComms Expert, and I come from a background of clinical practice and medical communications. My expertise lies in that I drive healthcare professionals and HealthTech brands Into 5X More visibility (without ads and paid campaigns) with written content.

    
    

    I specialise in creating high-quality, evidence-backed healthcare content that aligns with Google’s evolving algorithms — including AI Overviews from the clinical perspectives of a clinician and a patient.

    
    

    From optimising keywords and metadata to crafting authoritative, user-focused narratives, we help healthcare brands not just show up but stand out. Whether you're aiming to improve top-funnel awareness or drive conversions through trustworthy content, drmedhcomms ensures your message gets picked up, cited, and trusted — even in an AI-driven search landscape. Let us help you future-proof your healthcare SEO strategy.