The short version
- We put 24 real patient questions about Toronto, ON Dentists to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode. The same handful of names recur, but only two (Urbanview Family Dental Clinic and T-Dot Dental) are named by all three.
- 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 The Richmond Dental Centre the quotes span $400, on Waterview Family Dental Clinic $290. 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 Toronto?” a few times and you'll see the same handful of names, right now that's Directions, The Richmond Dental Centre and Urbanview Family Dental Clinic. Only Urbanview Family Dental Clinic and T-Dot Dental are named across all three 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 62% of the time and fit 26%, directly and accurately.
It's the decision questions where it falls apart. Across the Toronto, ON Dentists businesses we tracked, on availability it hedged or deflected 76% the time, and on pricing the assistants' quotes for a single business diverged by as much as $400. 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. Dentix24 Dental Clinic tops the Toronto board at 57; Directions sits at 32, 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.