rater8 Study Shows Major Shift in Patient Behaviors When Choosing a Doctor

AI, Online Reviews, and Social Media Become More Important in Provider Research and Selection

MONTVALE, N.J., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- rater8, a leader in healthcare reputation management, today released its latest report, The Next Evolution of Patient Choice: The Rise of AI in Healthcare Search, which includes new findings from a survey of more than 1,000 patients across the United States. The study explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and social media are reshaping the patient journey.

According to the report, AI tools are rapidly gaining traction in the provider selection process. The majority of patients (70%) are open to—or already using—AI tools to research and compare providers, signaling a significant shift in patient behaviors. AI recommendations are now on par with traditional sources of information: 29% of patients listed review sites as one of their top sources when selecting a provider, followed closely by provider referrals (28%) and AI recommendations (26%). That influence is expected to grow, as 73% of patients reported adopting new tools in the past year, including AI chatbots like ChatGPT, voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, and social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

At the same time, AI-generated search results are becoming a more reliable and trustworthy source of information. More than half of respondents (52%) said they trust AI results as much as—or more than—standard search, while only 11% said they do not trust them at all. Search engines and reviews remain highly influential (50%), followed by insurance websites (35%) and friends/family (32%).

Additional highlights include:

• Patients are increasingly open to AI, but authentic reviews remain essential. While 57% of respondents said they are somewhat or very willing to rely on AI to rank or summarize doctors, the feature they value most in AI overviews is verified patient reviews (40%).
  
  
• Social media is playing an increasingly important role in doctor selection. More than a third (35%) of patients have chosen a doctor based on their social media presence, and nearly a quarter (24%) listed social media as a top influence in choosing a provider. Eighteen percent said they began using social media for provider research within the past year.
  
  
• Voice search is growing. One in four respondents started using Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant this year to find doctors. However, patients primarily rely on voice search for practical details such as contact information and directions rather than reviews or quality-of-care research.

"This report reveals a fundamental shift in how patients find and choose a doctor—and it is all driven by technology and AI," said Evan Steele, Founder and CEO of rater8. "There is a major opportunity for healthcare organizations to grow if they embrace these new tools. This is one of many reasons that we are committed to arming healthcare practices with the tools and information they need to improve online visibility and engage with patients consistently, no matter how the landscape evolves."

The report maps how the patient journey is changing based on evolving search behaviors. It includes a breakdown of the most-used AI tools and a ranking of the most helpful and accurate options for provider research, with ChatGPT taking the top spot. For healthcare organizations, the report also offers ways to keep pace with new tools and patient behaviors, as well as key takeaways to improve online visibility in 2025 and beyond.

To dive deeper into the findings, request the full report, or review the methodology, visit: https://rater8.com/the-next-evolution-of-patient-choice-2025-report/.

About rater8
rater8, the healthcare industry's leader in reputation management, helps medical practices establish pervasive online visibility. The rater8 Visibility Engine (raVE) effortlessly gathers authentic reviews and real-time feedback from verified patients, backed by award-winning customer service. Based in the United States, rater8 is a rapidly growing healthtech innovator serving 25,000 providers at practices and hospitals of all sizes and specialties. Learn more at https://rater8.com/.

Contact:
Erica Camilo
Connexa Communications for rater8
(610) 639-5644
[email protected]

SOURCE rater8