Can ChatGPT recommend therapists? What happened when I tested 10 cities.

This was the single most striking pattern. In 8 out of 10 cities, a practice with "anxiety" literally in its name appeared in the top recommendations: Anxiety Treatment Center of Austin, Portland Anxiety Clinic, Calm Anxiety CBT Therapy Clinic (Chicago), Nashville Anxiety and Performance Counseling, Anxiety Specialists of Atlanta.

The keyword domain effect was equally visible. The providers ChatGPT linked to directly had URLs like anxietyaustin.com, nashvilleanxiety.com, anxietytherapistchicago.com, and portlandanxietycounseling.com. Having the searched condition in your domain name appears to be a strong AI signal.

This does not mean you need to rename your practice. But it does mean that having a dedicated page with a clear URL like yourpractice.com/anxiety-therapy is likely more impactful than you think.

Over 85% of recommended providers had their own website. Not a Wix one-pager. Not just a Psychology Today profile. A real site with multiple pages, content about their approach, and clear contact information.

The exceptions were a handful of providers that ChatGPT found through directory aggregation rather than direct websites. But the providers it featured most prominently and linked to directly all had their own sites.

The majority of recommended providers had a specific page on their website about anxiety. Not a bullet point in a list of specialties. A full page describing their approach to anxiety treatment, who they help, and what therapy looks like. Many had URLs like /anxiety-therapy, /therapy-for-anxiety, or /specialties/anxiety.

This makes sense. ChatGPT is looking for content that matches the query. A page titled "Anxiety Therapy in Austin" with 500 words of relevant content is much easier for AI to match than a generic "About Me" page that mentions anxiety in a list of 15 specialties.

This was a surprise. ChatGPT did not just search Google and return the top results. It pulled from specific therapist directories and cited them by name. The directories it referenced most frequently across all 10 cities:

If you are listed on GoodTherapy and Psychology Today but not on Zencare or SonderMind, you are missing surfaces where ChatGPT is looking. Being on multiple directories does not just help with traditional SEO. It gives AI more sources to cross-reference.

ChatGPT consistently highlighted providers who named their modality. "Evidence-based approaches like CBT" appeared in the response for every single city. Practices that explicitly mentioned CBT, ACT, EMDR, DBT, or mindfulness-based approaches on their websites were described in more detail than those that did not.

This makes sense. When a client asks for help with anxiety, ChatGPT is looking for signals of credibility. Naming a specific, researched approach ("We use CBT and exposure therapy for anxiety") is a stronger signal than "I help people with anxiety."

In 9 out of 10 cities, the majority of recommendations were group practices or counseling centers, not solo practitioners. The solo therapists who did appear (like Julie Hsu in Austin or Sara Morgan in Austin) all had something the groups had: a well-structured website with dedicated specialty content.

Group practices have a natural advantage. They have more content, more reviews, and more directory listings simply because they have more clinicians. But solo practitioners can level the field by building a site with the same depth of content on their specialties.

Boise (population ~230,000) got 16 recommendations. Atlanta (population ~500,000) got 4. This was counterintuitive. The explanation: in smaller markets with fewer therapists, ChatGPT had to search harder and ended up listing more options. In larger markets with more competition, it was more selective.

If you practice in a smaller city, you have a genuine advantage. There is less competition for AI visibility, and ChatGPT is more likely to find and recommend you even with a modest web presence.

Open ChatGPT and ask: "Recommend a therapist for [your main specialty] in [your city]." See if you appear. Then ask about your specific niche. Then search for a competitor's specialty. Take notes on who gets recommended and what they have that you do not.

This alone will tell you exactly where you stand. Most therapists have never done this.

For each condition you treat, create a dedicated page. Not a bullet point. A full page with a clear heading ("Anxiety Therapy in [Your City]"), 300 to 500 words about your approach, who you typically help, what the first session looks like, and a clear way to contact you.

Write it in your voice. Describe what you actually do with anxious clients. The specificity is what makes AI (and humans) trust the content.

Keep the page current enough that it still reflects your actual work. Even small updates such as availability changes, new FAQs, or cleaner specialty language can help the page stay useful to both people and crawlers.

FAQ sections are the easiest content for AI to parse. Write 5 to 8 questions your clients actually ask, and answer them in 2 to 3 sentences each. "How long does therapy take?" "Do you accept insurance?" "What is your approach to anxiety?" "How do I know if therapy is right for me?"

Put FAQ sections on your homepage, your specialty pages, and your about page. This structured Q&A format is easier for both people and AI systems to parse than generic marketing copy. Clear headings, direct answers, and consistent specialty language do more work than clever phrasing.

Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete, your directory listings match your website, and your specialty language is consistent across every place a client might check. Most therapists have more to gain from cleaning this up than from chasing one more public signal.

If there are already public reviews out there, audit them for accuracy and note whether there is anything that should be reported through the platform rather than answered impulsively.

Google your practice name and check every listing that appears. Is the phone number correct? The address? Your specialties? Make sure your name, address, and phone number are identical everywhere. Update any outdated listings.

If you want to take this further, we have a more detailed guide on how clients are finding therapists in 2026 that covers the full 5-step Practice Visibility Assessment.