Is Our Practice Information Correct in AI Answers? A Checklist for Office Managers
Quick answer: Compare the practice details stated in a few AI answers with your current records. Mark each fact Correct, Incorrect, Not stated or Unable to verify. Open the sources, save the evidence, and assign material errors for correction.
A patient may call because an app said you were open, or ask for a dentist who has left. The first job is to check what the answer actually said and whether its source is wrong.
This checklist turns that into a short, repeatable routine. Print it, work through it, and keep the record for next time.
Before you start
Write down your practice's correct details first, so you have something to compare against:
- Practice name, exactly as it appears on your sign and website.
- Full address, including suite number, and main phone number.
- Regular hours, and hours for upcoming holidays.
- Current dentists and their roles.
- Services you currently offer, and any you have stopped offering.
- How your website currently describes new-patient availability.
- Your website address.
Start with a fact-check question. A discovery question is optional and serves a different purpose:
- Fact check (names your practice): "What are the hours and phone number for [practice name] in [town, state]?"
- Discovery check (leaves your name out): "Which dentists in [town, state] offer [a service you provide]?"
The first tests whether facts about you are right. The second tests whether you appear at all, which is a different question covered in our guide to why ChatGPT may not recommend a local business. Use a new conversation for each check, and turn on web search where the tool offers it. A new conversation can still use memory or personalization. Record those settings and any evidence that web search ran; leave execution unknown when you cannot confirm it.
Check the facts the answer actually states
For each fact the answer states, mark Correct, Incorrect, Not stated or Unable to verify. An omitted service or dentist is different from a false claim that you do not offer the service or employ that person.
- Item
- Practice name
- What to compare
- Spelling and full name
- What to investigate
- A former name, or a neighboring practice's name
- Item
- Address
- What to compare
- Street, suite number, town
- What to investigate
- An old location, or a missing suite number
- Item
- Phone
- What to compare
- A number that reaches the practice
- What to investigate
- An obsolete number, wrong office or line the practice does not control
- Item
- Hours
- What to compare
- Regular weekly hours
- What to investigate
- Out-of-date hours copied from a directory
- Item
- Holiday hours
- What to compare
- Upcoming closures
- What to investigate
- Open when you are closed, or the reverse
- Item
- Dentists
- What to compare
- Names and roles actually stated
- What to investigate
- A departed dentist described as current
- Item
- Services
- What to compare
- Services actually named
- What to investigate
- A service you do not offer
- Item
- New-patient wording
- What to compare
- What the answer says about accepting new patients
- What to investigate
- Wording that does not match what you say publicly
- Item
- Website link
- What to compare
- The domain and page
- What to investigate
- A dead link, an old domain, or another practice's site
- Item
- Sources cited
- What to compare
- Each linked page
- What to investigate
- A directory or profile carrying the wrong detail
| Item | What to compare | What to investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Practice name | Spelling and full name | A former name, or a neighboring practice's name |
| Address | Street, suite number, town | An old location, or a missing suite number |
| Phone | A number that reaches the practice | An obsolete number, wrong office or line the practice does not control |
| Hours | Regular weekly hours | Out-of-date hours copied from a directory |
| Holiday hours | Upcoming closures | Open when you are closed, or the reverse |
| Dentists | Names and roles actually stated | A departed dentist described as current |
| Services | Services actually named | A service you do not offer |
| New-patient wording | What the answer says about accepting new patients | Wording that does not match what you say publicly |
| Website link | The domain and page | A dead link, an old domain, or another practice's site |
| Sources cited | Each linked page | A directory or profile carrying the wrong detail |
Treat "accepting new patients" only as something to check. The goal is that any answer matches what your practice actually says, not to add new claims.
Open each source the answer cites. OpenAI notes that ChatGPT search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect, so a citation is a place to investigate, not proof. OpenAI: ChatGPT search.
A compact record to copy or print
Use one record per issue. Copy the labels below into your notes, then save the answer and source evidence with it. Leave unfinished checks for follow-up.
- Check: Date, product, account/settings and exact question with location.
- Search evidence: Observed activity or Unknown; whether the answer completed.
- Answer: Exact excerpt and saved screenshot or transcript.
- Source: URL, supporting passage and date opened; note if it is inaccessible.
- Finding: Correct / Incorrect / Not stated / Unable to verify, compared with current practice facts.
- Action: Verified correction, responsible person and recheck date.
Fictional example. Not a customer result.
An answer says Bayside Dental Demo is open the day after Thanksgiving. The office record says closed. The manager opens the cited directory, confirms that it also says open, and requests a correction there. The website and Google profile already say closed, so they are left alone. Search execution was not saved and is recorded as Unknown.
That record establishes an answer error and a matching source error. It does not prove the directory caused the answer or that its correction will change the next response.
What should we fix first?
Fix material errors before cosmetic ones:
- Wrong place or number. Old address, closed location, wrong phone, or wrong website link.
- Wrong time. Incorrect regular hours or holiday hours.
- Wrong people. A dentist who has left, or the wrong dentist for a service.
- Wrong services. A service you do not offer, or your main service described incorrectly.
- Everything else. Description, tone and minor formatting differences.
Open the cited page before changing it. Correct details on your website or profiles only where they are wrong; request a correction if you do not control the page. Google supports special hours for holidays and recommends current information for its own local results. Business Profile guidelines; Google local ranking guidance.
If the source is accurate, or the answer shows no supporting source, save the error and use the assistant’s feedback option. Do not change correct practice information to match a generated mistake. For broader practice-page work, see the dental visibility guide.
When should we run it again?
- After a correction is live, using the same question.
- When something changes: a new dentist, a departure, new hours, or a move.
- A few weeks before major holidays.
AI answers vary by platform, wording, location and date, so a corrected source may not show up in every answer right away. Record what you see without assuming a single cause. For a fuller method, see how to check whether AI recommends your business.
Sources
Common questions
Common questions
Which AI assistants should we check?
Start with a tool you use or a patient has mentioned. Record the product, settings and observed search evidence or Unknown. Add other products as time allows; this is not a measure of what all patients see.
Should we use a personal account?
Use a new conversation and note any settings you know about. Saved memory or personalization can shape answers, so a personal account is not a perfect stand-in for a new patient.
The answer was wrong but cited no source. What now?
Record that no source was shown. Verify your public facts, correcting only genuine errors. Save the answer, submit feedback through the product if available, and recheck later without assuming a particular cause.
Does this require patient information?
No. The checklist uses only public practice details. Never enter patient names or records into an AI tool for this check.
Get a dated record to start from
Get a free ChatGPT answer with web search, with no email needed.
Then request an optional free full report across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
The scan checks discovery, not every practice fact.
No recommendation, ranking, lead, or sale is guaranteed.