When Patients Ask AI, AAO Answers 

A parent notices her eight-year-old’s crossbite. Instead of calling the family dentist, she first opens ChatGPT and types: “How do I find a good orthodontist near me?” 

More patients now begin their care journey in this way. Increasingly, the answer they get points back to the American Association of Orthodontists. 

In daily tracking of that exact question this fall, ChatGPT referenced AAO on 22 of 22 days and linked back to the site on 21. Across the full set of “find an orthodontist” questions AAO monitors on ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini, AAO appeared in 82% of AI answers, and 67% included a direct link to aaoinfo.org. 

That visibility is turning into website visits. In September 2026, roughly 4,300 new visitors found AAO through AI platforms, nearly all from ChatGPT. 

Why It’s Happening 

AI tools build answers from sources they deem trustworthy. AAO and its digital partner, SteadyRain, have been structuring aaoinfo.org so that these tools can easily find, understand, and cite it. The practice is called Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO: clear, specialist-reviewed answers to the questions that patients actually ask. 

The results reach well beyond “find an orthodontist” questions. Google reports that aaoinfo.org pages appeared in its AI-generated search results more than 10 million times between mid-May and mid-October 2026, with average daily appearances up roughly 39% during that time. The most-surfaced topics read like a chairside chat: palatal expanders, mewing, what to eat with braces, and how to clean a retainer. 

What It Means for Your Practice 

Each of those answers carries the same message: see an orthodontist, a specialist with years of additional education beyond dental school. When AI tools cite AAO, they reinforce the value of specialty care and steer patients toward the Find an Orthodontist locator, where they find AAO members. 

No single practice could build that presence alone. It rests on AAO’s collective authority, sustained content investment, and the trust that comes from representing 19,000+ member orthodontists. 

What You Can Do 

Ensure your Find an Orthodontist profile is complete and current. When AI sends a patient to the locator, your listing is the next thing they see.  

Patients may change how they search, but AAO’s commitment to its members won’t. Wherever they look, AAO will keep working to make sure the answer leads to you.