Conversational AI is becoming a primary source for medical information. In the US, 58% of people who visit biotech and pharma sites and use Google Search also use ChatGPT (according to EverPanel, Evertune’s consumer panel of almost 25 million people).
Pharmaceutical marketers need to rethink traditional SEO to stay visible and trusted when patients and healthcare professionals ask AI models like ChatGPT or Gemini for treatment options. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) isn’t just about ranking on page one anymore. It’s about ensuring that large language models (LLMs) pull accurate, compliant insights about your brand from a multitude of reputable sources. Here’s how pharma marketers can adapt and thrive in AI discovery.
1. Broaden Your Source Footprint
Traditional SEO focuses on your corporate site’s authority. GEO demands more. AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity scour widely—citing official sites, news outlets, patient forums, even second-page Google results. To make your drug “discoverable,” syndicate core messaging across multiple channels:
- Medical news outlets: Secure bylines or guest posts about trial milestones
- Healthcare databases: Ensure up-to-date listings in PubMed, clinical registries
- Patient forums: Partner with moderators to seed accurate FAQs
- Educational blogs: Contribute disease-state primers on patient advocacy sites
Think of each channel as a thread in a spiderweb. The more strands carrying your message, the higher the chance an AI will “see” and trust your content.
2. Maintain Scientific and Ethical Rigor
As you are very much aware, health information carries real-world stakes and regulatory bodies (FDA, EMA) insist on accuracy and context. In GEO:
- Embed full context: Include indications, dosage guidelines and safety warnings in your source copy
- Use clear disclaimers: While an AI may truncate long disclaimers, having them in the original text reduces hallucination risk (a hallucination is when the model generates information that sounds plausible and confident but is actually incorrect or made-up because it’s predicting the next word based on learned patterns rather than verifying facts)
- Fact-check routinely: Query LLMs for your product details and compare output against your official channels. If errors surface, publish clarifications on high-impact sites immediately
By flooding the ecosystem with consistent, vetted data, you starve out misinformation and reinforce your brand’s trustworthiness.
3. Evolve "Authority" for AI Queries
Search engines have long favored .gov and .edu domains for health topics. Generative AIs, however, also prize recency and diverse publication types. Leverage this by:
- Coordinating with PR teams: Align press releases, media pitches and SEO calendars so AI-scraped news stories reinforce peer-reviewed data
- Targeting major newswires: A well-placed announcement in a recognized outlet (think Reuters, major dailies) can echo in AI replies as readily as a journal abstract
- Diversifying sources: Identify the sites that are the most influential in your field for LLM education and work with them to publish your research and news
When an AI summarizing “new diabetes treatments” cites your New York Times story and your white paper in tandem, your brand narrative wins.
4. Build Topical Authority and Education
Pharma brands often run unbranded disease-state portals. In GEO, these hubs become more critical than ever:
- Deep dives over drug pages: Publish lifestyle advice, self-management tips, and FAQs that go beyond your molecule
- Patient-centric storytelling: Integrate KOL (key opinion leader) interviews or real patient experiences to enrich authenticity
- Comprehensive guides: A “Complete Migraine Management Handbook” can position you as a go-to resource—so an AI recommending migraine remedies is likely to cite your guide
By educating first and branding second, you win the AI’s “vote” for the most helpful, authoritative source.
5. Optimize for AI-Specific Behaviors
Generative engines love structured data. Make it easy for them:
- Schema markup: Implement MedicalCondition, Drug and FAQ schemas so AI can reliably extract indications, side effects or usage instructions
- Plain-language summaries: Offer short, bulleted trial result summaries that an AI can lift verbatim in response to “What did the XYZ trial show?”
- Internal linking: Structure your site so follow-up questions flow logically—overview → side effects → patient support—enabling AIs to traverse your content like a decision tree
Think of schema and summaries as signposts guiding the AI straight to your key data. For more tips on how to optimize your content for LLMs, see here: AI Search Optimization: 10 Steps to Get Your Brand Recommended by AI and LLMs
6. Monitor, Learn, Adapt
GEO is moving fast. Find a GEO partner with a platform that builds your brand for AI discovery, like Evertune AI, to support the following:
- AI Brand Monitoring: Track how often and in what context your drug is recommended across LLMs, how it’s ranked and perceived against competitors and what words and sentiment LLMs use to describe it
- AI Content Strategy: See which features, benefits, or pain-points LLMs surface most for your category and generate key messages on topics consumers care about but where your drug is underrepresented. Identify high impact sites and communities that AI cites most frequently in your niche so that you can target them for PR, partnerships, or social engagement.
- Continuous Tracking & Reporting: Track your AI Brand Score, Sentiment Score, and Brand Share of Voice across high-impact sources to see if your content strategy is actually gaining ground. If competitors show up in AI recommendations but you don’t, it’s time to fill the gap—whether by creating net-new content or syndicating what’s already working.
Patients and HCPs may not yet trust AI’s black box fully—but digital-native audiences increasingly start here. The earlier your drug is embedded in AI training data, the stronger your first-mover advantage.
Key Takeaway
GEO doesn’t replace compliance—it amplifies the need for it. By weaving together multi-channel distribution, scientific rigor, diversified authority signals and AI-friendly site architecture, pharma brands can become the default go-to when generative engines handle health queries. The payoff? Not just heightened visibility, but the power to shape treatment narratives at scale—one AI-powered conversation at a time.
