🔍 3 AI platforms are deciding right now whether to recommend your practice

Google's New AI Crawler Can Access Your Website and You Cannot Block It

On March 20, Google officially added "Google-Agent" to its list of user-triggered fetchers. This new AI system, part of Google's Project Mariner, browses the web on behalf of users. Unlike traditional crawlers like Googlebot, Google-Agent does not obey robots.txt blocking rules. If a potential client asks Google's AI to find a therapist, Google-Agent will visit your site and summarize your content regardless of any blocking instructions you have set. This is separate from Google-Extended, which controls AI training use of your content. Google-Agent accesses your site live, in real time, to answer user queries.

This means your website is increasingly being read by AI, not humans. When someone asks an AI assistant, "Who are the best anxiety therapists near me?", the answer may be pulled directly from your site. If your content is clear, accurate, and well-structured, you benefit. If it is thin, outdated, or vague, AI systems will skip you in favor of competitors with better information, and you will never know it happened.

👉 Action: Ensure your website's service pages clearly list every therapy specialty you offer (anxiety, depression, couples counseling, trauma, EMDR, etc.) with plain-language descriptions. Add or update a comprehensive FAQ page covering common client questions: insurance, session length, cancellation policy, telehealth availability, what to expect in a first session. Confirm your website loads in under three seconds on mobile, since AI fetchers prioritize fast, accessible sites. Review your robots.txt file: if you are blocking Google-Extended or GPTBot, that is a strategic choice about AI training. But understand that Google-Agent cannot be blocked. Focus on making your public-facing pages as accurate and complete as possible so AI presents you correctly.

Google's March 2026 Core Update Is Punishing Incomplete Business Profiles and Thin Content

Google confirmed on March 10 that a broad core update began rolling out, completing around March 27. Over 55% of tracked websites experienced measurable ranking shifts within two weeks, with healthcare among the hardest-hit industries and volatility scoring 9.5 out of 10 on the SEMrush Sensor. For therapy practices, the biggest change is to local search: Google Business Profile completeness is now a stronger ranking factor, and practices with incomplete profiles (missing services, photos, hours, or attributes) saw disproportionate drops in the local pack, the three-listing map section that drives the majority of new client calls.

Google is also placing greater emphasis on profile activity and freshness signals overall. Practices that post updates, add new photos, and keep their business information current are outperforming those with stale, untouched profiles. The update also raised the bar on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) for healthcare websites. Therapy sites without visible author credentials, clear "About" pages, and referenced sources are seeing steeper declines, and Google is more aggressively penalizing bulk AI-generated content published without human editorial oversight.

👉 Action: Log into your Google Business Profile today and complete every available field: services, business description, hours, attributes, and Q&A. Add each therapy service individually with a clear name and brief description. Upload 5 to 10 new professional photos this week. On your website, ensure every clinical page includes author bios with credentials, a detailed "About" page, and links to your licenses or professional affiliations. If you have worked with an SEO agency in the past, ask them directly: "Did you purchase backlinks or use AI to bulk-generate content for my site?" If the answer is yes, those tactics are now actively hurting your rankings. AI-assisted content that goes through human review, is voice-matched to your site, and reflects genuine clinical expertise is not a problem. Mass-produced pages with no oversight are. Do not make panic changes to your content during the rollout period. Monitor your Google Search Console data over the next two weeks before drawing conclusions.

ChatGPT Is Now Recommending Therapists Using Your Google Business Profile Data

ChatGPT has rolled out local knowledge panels that show maps, photos, descriptions, and key business details when users search for local services. When someone asks ChatGPT "Who are the best anxiety therapists in [city]?", it now displays a map with pins, a list of recommendations, and clickable panels for each practice showing images, address, hours, and links. The feature launched post-ChatGPT 5.0 and is appearing across multiple service categories including healthcare. According to Near Media, the panels are being dynamically generated using first and third-party data sources, and testing has confirmed that changes made to a Google Business Profile update almost instantly inside ChatGPT.

This means the work you do on your Google Business Profile is no longer just about Google. Your GBP data is now feeding ChatGPT's local recommendations as well. If your profile is complete with services, specialties, accurate hours, and quality photos, you show up with a polished, professional panel when a potential client clicks your name. If your profile is incomplete or outdated, your panel looks bare, and ChatGPT users will click on a competitor who looks more established. This is not a future possibility. It is happening right now across the U.S.

👉 Action: Search for yourself on ChatGPT. Ask it "Who are the best [your specialty] therapists in [your city]?" and see if your practice appears. If it does, click your name and review what the knowledge panel shows: is the photo current? Is the address correct? Are the hours accurate? If anything is wrong, update it in your Google Business Profile, as changes are syncing to ChatGPT in near real time. If you do not appear at all, that is a strong signal your GBP is incomplete or your web presence lacks the structured data ChatGPT needs to identify you as a relevant local provider. Prioritize completing every field in your GBP, adding specific service entries for each specialty, and ensuring your website clearly lists your location, services, and credentials.

Google Maps Now Uses AI to Recommend Therapists, and It Pulls Directly From Your Profile and Website

On March 12, Google launched "Ask Maps," a Gemini-powered conversational AI feature inside Google Maps that replaces the old Q&A section. Instead of users typing "therapist near me" and scrolling a list, they can now ask full questions like "Find me a therapist who specializes in anxiety near downtown that takes insurance" and receive AI-curated recommendations with narrative summaries. Ask Maps is rolling out in the U.S. on Android and iOS, reaching Google Maps' more than 2 billion monthly users.

This changes how potential clients find you. Gemini generates its recommendations by pulling from three sources: your Google Business Profile (services, attributes, hours, description), your website (service pages, FAQ pages, and any structured data), and your Google Business Profile posts. Gemini also reads the language in your public reviews, which is something you cannot directly control. What you can control is making your profile, website, and posts so specific and complete that Gemini has everything it needs without relying on review content to fill in the gaps. Google confirmed that as of launch, Ask Maps does not include paid placements.

👉 Action: Log into your Google Business Profile and add every applicable attribute and service. List each therapy specialty as its own service entry with a clear description (for example, "EMDR Therapy for Trauma" rather than just "Therapy"). On your website, ensure each service page uses specific, plain-language descriptions of who you help and what you treat, not just clinical jargon. Add or update your FAQ page with questions potential clients actually ask: "Do you accept Blue Cross?", "Do you offer evening appointments?", "What is your cancellation policy?" Start posting to your Google Business Profile at least once a week using information from your professional directory listings. If you are a verified provider on Psychology Today, ZocDoc, Headway, or similar platforms, turn that into posts: "Verified provider on Psychology Today specializing in anxiety and PTSD," "Now accepting new clients through Headway for Aetna and Cigna," or "Listed on ZocDoc for in-network couples counseling." Each post gives Gemini fresh, specific data about your practice without requiring anything from your clients.

New Federal Bill Would Ban AI Chatbots From Impersonating Therapists

On March 19, Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) introduced the CHATBOT Act (H.R. 7985), a federal bill that would make it illegal for AI chatbots to falsely indicate or imply they hold a medical, legal, or financial license, or to suggest that chatbot output has been verified by a licensed professional. Enforcement would be handled by the FTC. The American Psychological Association, Common Sense Media, the Consumer Federation of America, and the American Occupational Therapy Association have all endorsed the bill. It was introduced alongside the SAFE BOTs Act and the GUARD Act, creating the most concentrated federal attention to AI chatbot safety in Congress to date.

For therapists, this signals growing federal intent to protect the distinction between licensed human practitioners and AI tools. If you use any AI-powered chatbot on your practice website or for client communication, this bill reinforces what several states already require: clear, prominent AI disclosure. The trend across both federal and state legislation is consistent: AI as an administrative tool is generally permitted, but AI that implies clinical expertise or licensure is increasingly restricted.

👉 Action: Review any chatbot or automated messaging tool on your practice website and confirm it clearly identifies itself as AI. Remove any language in chatbot scripts that could imply clinical expertise or licensure. Add a visible disclaimer: "This is an AI assistant. It does not provide therapy or clinical advice." If you are considering adding a chatbot, prioritize tools built specifically for healthcare with compliance safeguards. Track this bill's progress alongside existing state laws already in effect in California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, and Utah.

Quick wins for the week

• Review your website's FAQ and service pages to ensure AI systems can accurately summarize your practice when Google-Agent visits
• Log into your Google Business Profile and complete every field, especially services, photos, hours, and attributes
• Search for your practice on ChatGPT to see how your knowledge panel looks and whether your information is accurate
• If you have worked with a previous SEO agency, ask them directly whether they purchased backlinks or bulk-generated AI content for your site
• Add every therapy specialty as its own service entry in your Google Business Profile so Gemini's Ask Maps can recommend you for specific queries
• Confirm any AI chatbot on your website clearly identifies itself as AI and never implies clinical expertise
• Post at least once this week to your Google Business Profile using information from your professional directory listings (Psychology Today, ZocDoc, Headway) to feed Gemini specific data about your practice

Final thoughts

This week paints a clear picture: AI is now deeply embedded in how potential clients find you, and your Google Business Profile is at the center of all of it. A new Google AI crawler is reading your website right now, and you cannot stop it. Google's March core update rewards practices that invest in complete, well-maintained profiles and punishes those coasting on outdated listings. ChatGPT is pulling your GBP data into its own local recommendations. And Google Maps is using Gemini to recommend therapists based on what it finds in your profile, posts, and website.

Each of these changes individually is manageable. Together, they tell one story: your Google Business Profile is no longer just a listing. It is the single source of truth that every major AI platform uses to decide whether to recommend you. The practices that keep their digital presence complete, accurate, and specific will attract more clients. The ones that leave profiles half-finished and websites vague will lose ground to competitors whose information gives AI systems something to work with.

While you're providing therapy, we're monitoring policy changes, protecting your Google presence, and optimizing for AI search. You shouldn't need to become an SEO expert, compliance specialist, and tech strategist on top of being a therapist. "To our Moonraker clients, No action is needed from you, we are taking care of a these action steps for you as part of your campaign."