If you listened to last week’s episode of The Dental Marketing Mix, you heard co-founders Brian Craig and Dan Brian start to unpack how online advertising in dentistry is changing as AI-powered search becomes the norm. They talked about intent, visibility, and why the old “rank number one and you’re done” playbook is starting to break down.
In this episode, Dan goes deeper. Not into speculation or hype, but into what has actually been announced, tested, and publicly confirmed by the biggest players shaping search right now. The central question explored was simple but critical for dental practices to understand: what happens to dental marketing when ads don’t just sit next to search results, but start appearing inside the answers themselves?
That shift is no longer theoretical. It’s already underway.
The Rise of AI Overviews in Search
AI Overviews are Google’s AI-generated summaries that now appear at the top of many search results. Instead of ten blue links, users increasingly see a synthesized answer that pulls from multiple sources and presents a single, confident response.
From a user perspective, this is about speed and convenience. From a marketing perspective, it represents a fundamental change in how visibility and trust are earned.
By mid-2024, Google began testing ads that appear alongside or directly beneath these AI-generated summaries. Industry reporting at the time showed that these sponsored placements were positioned exactly where user intent is strongest: right at the moment someone receives an answer to their question.
This isn’t a radical departure from Google’s business model. Search advertising has always been about capturing intent. AI Overviews simply concentrate that intent into a smaller, more influential space on the page.
What Google Has (and Hasn’t) Said About AI Ads
One important clarification covered in the episode is where ads are not appearing.
Google has been explicit in public statements made in late 2024 and early 2025 that ads are not currently being placed inside its Gemini chatbot experience itself. Gemini, as a standalone AI assistant, remains ad-free for now.
AI-powered search, however, is a different story. Reporting from late 2025 and early 2026 indicates that Google has been actively discussing expanded AI-driven ad formats with advertisers. More experimentation is expected, not less.
The takeaway for dental practices is straightforward: ads are not going away. They are moving closer to the answer, closer to trust, and closer to the moment a patient decides what to do next.
How OpenAI Is Approaching Advertising Differently
Dan also spent time discussing OpenAI’s approach, because it highlights a very different monetization strategy.
In January 2026, OpenAI formally announced that it would begin testing ads inside ChatGPT. This was not a rumor or a leak. It was a direct public announcement.
Here’s what OpenAI stated clearly at the time:
- Ads would appear only in the free version of ChatGPT and in the lower-cost Go plan.
- Paid tiers such as Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise would remain ad-free.
- Ads would be clearly labeled and displayed separately from AI responses, not embedded into the answers themselves.
- Ads would not influence how ChatGPT answers questions.
- Conversation data would not be sold to advertisers, and users could opt out of ad personalization.
- Ads would not appear for minors or for sensitive topics like health or politics.
Strategically, this creates a sharp contrast. Google is integrating advertising into AI-powered search results. OpenAI is monetizing access to AI while preserving a clean, ad-free experience for paying users.
Both approaches exist for the same reason: AI systems are expensive to operate, and monetization has to come from somewhere. But the user experience, and the marketing implications, are very different.
What This Shift Means for Dental Practices
For dental practices, the most important takeaway is not about which company is “right.” It’s about how patient behavior is changing.
First, search is shifting from clicking links to trusting answers. When an AI system confidently summarizes the best options, many users stop scrolling altogether.
Second, ads are moving closer to authority. Instead of being clearly separated from organic results, they now appear near or alongside AI-generated answers that feel authoritative by default.
Third, and this is especially important for practices that have invested heavily in SEO, visibility is no longer just about ranking first. It’s about whether your practice appears in the sources that AI systems rely on, summarize, and recommend.
This is why we continue to emphasize fundamentals like:
- Strong local SEO
- Consistent and high-quality reviews
- Clear, accurate website content
- Brand signals that reinforce trust and legitimacy
These are not outdated tactics. They are the exact inputs AI systems are using today to determine which practices deserve visibility.
Why “Being the Answer” Matters More Than Ever
In an AI-driven search environment, your practice doesn’t just compete for clicks. It competes to be included in the answer itself.
That changes how dentists should think about content, reputation, and marketing strategy. It’s no longer enough to ask, “Do we rank well?” The more important questions are:
- Do AI systems recognize us as a trusted local authority?
- Are we visible in the sources AI pulls from?
- Do our reviews, listings, and content reinforce credibility at a glance?
Practices that understand this shift early will have a meaningful advantage as AI-powered search becomes the default experience for more users.
How DentalScapes Can Help
If you’re curious how your own practice looks through this new lens, we’re happy to help.
At DentalScapes, we offer a free local SEO and AI visibility audit as part of a no-pressure strategy call. This audit helps you understand where your practice is showing up today, where AI systems are likely pulling information from, and where there may be gaps or opportunities.
You can book that over here.
TLDR
AI-powered search is changing where ads appear and how patients make decisions. Ads are moving closer to the answer itself, and visibility is increasingly about trust, authority, and inclusion in AI-generated summaries.
Key takeaways:
- Google is testing ads alongside AI Overviews, placing them closer to high-intent moments.
- Ads are not currently appearing inside Google’s Gemini chatbot, but AI-powered search is a major focus.
- OpenAI is testing ads only in free and lower-tier ChatGPT plans, keeping paid users ad-free.
- Dental marketing success is shifting from rankings alone to being recognized as a trusted source.
- Local SEO, reviews, content clarity, and brand signals matter more than ever.
- DentalScapes offers a free local SEO and AI visibility audit to help practices understand where they stand and how to adapt.
Ready to Crush AI Advertising?
If you want to get ahead of these changes and future-proof your dental marketing, schedule a free strategy call with DentalScapes and let’s take a look at how your practice shows up in the AI-driven search landscape.