AI, Online Reviews, and Social Media Become More Important in Provider Research and Selection
MONTVALE, N.J. — August 19, 2025 — rater8, a leader in healthcare reputation management, today unveiled its latest report, The Next Evolution of Patient Choice: The Rise of AI in Healthcare Search, which includes new findings based on a recent survey of more than 1,000 patients across the United States to understand how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media tools are reshaping the patient journey.
According to the report, AI tools are gaining ground in the provider selection process. The majority (70 percent) of patients are open to or already using AI tools to research and compare providers, signaling an imminent shift in provider selection practices. AI recommendations are now on par with traditional sources of information: 29 percent of patients listed review sites as one of their top sources of information when selecting a provider, followed closely by provider referrals (28 percent) and AI recommendations (26 percent). That influence is expected to rise, as 73 percent of patients reported adopting new behaviors or tools to research providers in the past year, including AI chatbots like ChatGPT, voice search assistants like Siri and Alexa, and social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
At the same time, AI-generated search results are becoming a more reliable, trustworthy information source—more than half of respondents (52 percent) said they trust AI results as much or more than standard search, while only 11 percent said they do not trust them at all. Alongside AI tools, half of respondents say search engines and reviews are still a top influence when choosing a doctor (50 percent), with insurance websites (35 percent) and friends/family (32 percent) now coming in well behind.
Additional highlights include:
- Patients are increasingly open to AI, but trust still comes from authentic patient reviews. Even though the majority (57 percent) of respondents say they are very or somewhat willing to rely on AI to rank or summarize doctors, what they care about most in AI Overviews is verified reviews from other patients (40 percent).
- Social media is playing an increasingly important role in doctor selection. More than one third (35 percent) of patients have chosen a doctor based on their social media presence and almost a quarter of respondents (24 percent) listed social media as a top influence in choosing a new provider. 18 percent of patients said they started using it in the past year to research doctors.
- While 25 percent of respondents started using voice search like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant to find doctors this year, they are primarily relying on these tools for practical information like contact details and directions rather than complex activities like reviews and research into quality of care.
“This report reveals a fundamental shift in how patients find and choose a doctor—and it is all driven by technology and AI. There is a major opportunity for healthcare organizations to grow if they embrace these new tools. This is one of many reasons that we are committed to arming healthcare practices with the tools and information they need to improve online visibility and engage with patients consistently, no matter how the landscape evolves,” said Evan Steele, Founder and CEO, rater8.
The report maps out how the patient journey is changing based on the latest evolution of patient search behavior and includes a breakdown of the most used AI tools and a ranking of the most helpful/accurate AI tools for provider research (ChatGPT took top spot). For healthcare organizations, the report also offers ways to keep pace with new tools and patient behaviors, as well as key takeaways to improve online visibility in 2025 and beyond.
To dive deeper into the findings, request the detailed report, or explore the methodology visit: https://rater8.com/the-next-evolution-of-patient-choice-2025-report/.
About rater8
rater8, the healthcare industry’s leader in reputation management, helps medical practices establish pervasive online visibility. The rater8 Visibility Engine (raVE) effortlessly gathers authentic reviews and real-time feedback from verified patients, all with the support of award-winning customer service. Based in the United States, rater8 is a rapidly growing healthtech innovator serving 25,000 providers at practices and hospitals of all sizes and specialties. Learn more at https://rater8.com/.
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