The short version
- We put 24 real patient questions about Dallas, TX Dentists to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. The same handful of names recur, but only five (Dallas Dental Arts, Arts Family Dentistry of Dallas, Oak Cliff Dental Center, Turtle Creek Dental Associates and Prism Health North Texas Dental Care) are named by all four.
- Being listed isn't being answered for. AI nails what you do and whether you do it, then breaks down on the questions that decide the appointment.
- Ask what you charge and every assistant invents a different number: on casper-family-dentistry-of-dallas the quotes span $310, on Arts Family Dentistry of Dallas $250. Ask whether you take a patient's insurance and it usually can't say. Ask when you're available and it hedges: “I can't book on your behalf, call them.”
- Fix the gaps below (pricing, insurance and a real reason to choose you) and you move from a name in a list to the business AI can actually book.
First, find out if AI surfaces you at all
Which businesses AI names isn't random. Ask ChatGPT “who's the best dentist in Dallas?” a few times and you'll see the same handful of names, right now that's Dallas Dental Arts, Arts Family Dentistry of Dallas and Dallas Dental Group. Only Dallas Dental Arts, Arts Family Dentistry of Dallas, Oak Cliff Dental Center, Turtle Creek Dental Associates and Prism Health North Texas Dental Care are named across all four assistants.
If your business isn't in that set, AI isn't recommending you yet, and no amount of ad spend changes that. Check where you rank →
Showing up isn't the same as being answered for
AI is good at the surface questions. It answered what they offer 69% of the time and fit 38%, directly and accurately.
It's the decision questions where it falls apart. Across the Dallas, TX Dentists businesses we tracked, on availability it hedged or deflected 68% the time, and on pricing the assistants' quotes for a single business diverged by as much as $310. Those are the exact questions a patient asks right before they book.
We roll this into a depth score: how completely AI can carry a patient to a booking. North Dallas Smiles tops the Dallas board at 61; Turtle Creek Dental Associates sits at 44, not because it's a worse business, but because AI has nothing concrete to say about why you'd choose it. Depth is the difference between a name in a list and the business AI actually books the appointment with.
The five things AI needs to know about you
These are the five dimensions we grade depth on, and the exact checklist for moving from “mentioned” to “booked.” Get each one accurate, complete and current everywhere AI looks.
The fastest way to close the gap
This is exactly what Courtyard does. It builds a living knowledge base of your practice and connects it to your booking, hours, services, fees and accepted insurance, so AI stays accurate and can recommend and book through you, not an aggregator. Set up in about 10 minutes, first month free. Then watch your depth score climb week over week.
The more AI understands your practice, the more patients it sends.