Zocdoc Brings Seamless, Real-Time Appointment Booking to Instinct

Through a first-of-its-kind agent partnership, Instinct will use Zocdoc's healthcare access infrastructure to find vetted providers, verify insurance, and book appointments on behalf of patients

NEW YORK, October 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Zocdoc, the healthcare access infrastructure that connects patients to great care, announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Instinct to power reliable healthcare booking for its users, rolling out in the coming weeks. By connecting directly to Zocdoc's MCP server, Instinct will soon offer its users a faster, easier, and more reliable way to connect to care, without navigating directories, searching multiple sites, or waiting on hold.

The partnership comes as Zocdoc opens its healthcare access infrastructure to AI agents, inviting them to connect patients to trusted, reliable care wherever their search begins.

"AI agents have the potential to make getting care dramatically easier, but only if they can reliably connect patients to real appointments with the right providers," said Oliver Kharraz, MD, founder and CEO of Zocdoc. "Instinct is making it easier for people to get things done, and Zocdoc has spent nearly 20 years building the infrastructure to make healthcare booking work. By bringing these capabilities together, we can improve access to care for patients."

"Instinct is built to genuinely improve your life and handle important everyday tasks," said Ben Schwerin, Chief Business Officer of Instinct. "Since healthcare is more complicated than ordering groceries or booking travel, the stakes are higher. By partnering with Zocdoc, Instinct can navigate that complexity – so getting an appointment can be as simple as sending a text."

AI agents are a new front door to care

AI agents are rapidly becoming a new starting point for patients' healthcare journeys. On average, traffic on Zocdoc from AI agents has doubled roughly every 10 days since early September, underscoring the growing role agents are playing in helping patients find and access care. But healthcare presents a particularly difficult challenge for AI agents. Provider information is fragmented across disconnected systems, and the open web is full of outdated directories, inaccurate insurance information, unverified reviews, and even fraudulent websites.

Zocdoc and Instinct bring complementary strengths to healthcare access. Instinct can help retrieve options for patients and act on their behalf, while Zocdoc provides the trusted healthcare access infrastructure to verify that the providers are real, they accept patients' insurance, the appointments are actually available, and confirms the bookings directly in providers' calendars.

Powering access to care everywhere patients search

For nearly two decades, Zocdoc has unified healthcare's fragmentation across insurance plans, EHRs and practice management systems, specialties, visit types, and provider organizations to power seamless access to care. Today, its network includes more than 200,000 verified providers, 10,000+ insurance plans, and 175+ scheduling integrations. While the national average wait time to see a doctor exceeds 31 days, with Zocdoc, the typical appointment occurs within 24-72 hours.

This partnership marks another step in Zocdoc's evolution from a marketplace to healthcare access infrastructure, powering access to care wherever patients search. Instinct joins Zocdoc's growing Care Access Network, which includes AI platforms like Google Gemini and Amazon Health AI, alongside Yelp, Healthgrades, Blue Shield of California, leading search engines, and more.

About Zocdoc

Zocdoc is the healthcare access infrastructure that connects patients to great care. By powering access to care everywhere patients search, Zocdoc helps them move from being stuck to being seen. Each month, millions of patients find and book appointments with providers, powered by Zocdoc—on the company's website and app, and across AI platforms, online search, insurance directories, providers' websites, practice phone lines, and more—with the typical appointment happening within 24 to 72 hours from booking.

With nearly two decades of experience unifying healthcare's fragmentation, Zocdoc is uniquely positioned to power access across insurance plans, PMS and EHR systems, specialties, visit types, and provider organizations of every size. By fixing healthcare at the start, Zocdoc empowers patients to get the care they need, when they need it, while helping providers be bookable everywhere patients search.

SOURCE Zocdoc