“The addiction treatment industry is facing a profound shift in how people seek information online. About 92% of AI-driven web traffic is now sent from ChatGPT, Behavioral Health Business reported. “Families even bring us transcripts from ChatGPT,” one strategist said. How can we elevate providers who are doing the right thing?
A summary of the Behavioral Health Business article…
Providers and those that support them find themselves rewiring once common practices to maintain highly coveted rankings in search engine results, chatbot output, ad placements and industry-specific directory listings.
The impact that AI’s proliferation has had on business is profound. Behavioral health is no exception: 77% of psychologists report speaking with patients who rely on AI for support, search or engagement with mental healthcare. Broadly, 34% of U.S. adults report using AI for health-related inquiries. On top of that, 88% of all health-related Google searches now generate a web AI overview, rather than immediately surfacing links to resources.
“Out of seven people suffering from addiction or mental health issues, only three have access to clinics. The other four are turning to AI chatbots to consult them and explore treatment options,” Kashif Riaz, an independent SEO consultant and search strategist for recovery and addiction treatment centers, told Behavioral Health Business. “Families even bring us transcripts from ChatGPT and ask, ‘This is what it told me. What do you recommend?’ That’s why, in marketing, I talk less about an ‘ideal customer profile’ and more about an ‘ideal patient profile’ for addiction treatment centers.”
Online advertising for addiction treatment care took off in the early 2000s when Google rose as the dominant search engine. As the substance use disorder (SUD) sector became immersed in the internet ecosystem of paid ads, pay-per-click search, review websites and lead-generation a wave of deceptive experiences, predatory referrals and misleading information was also building. That ultimately led to Google suppressing many paid ads for addiction treatment providers before it reopened the practice for providers as long as they passed a LegitScript certification.
Much of the conversations surrounding AI in behavioral health thus far have centered around its extreme potential harms, observed benefits and how to build safeguards. Consumer adoption isn’t slowing anytime soon, and the suite of AI-powered tools is guaranteed to keep expanding.
“The question becomes: How can we elevate providers who are doing the right thing and who are making a difference?” Jeremiah Calvino, co-founder of the addiction treatment directory Recovery.com, told BHB.
