What happens when search becomes a conversation?

AI search is changing how people find therapists, analysts, and skilled practitioners. People can describe what they need in all its complexity, and AI can make sense of those layers. 

Over the last 10 years, I’ve designed websites and worked on SEO for more than 40 somatic therapists, clinical psychologists, Jungian, Freudian, and Lacanian analysts, and Somatic Experiencing practitioners. I’ve learned a lot about how people look for help, and how difficult it can be to put something as nuanced as therapeutic work into the language of a website.

Many of my clients are now asking me to optimize their websites for AI search and chat. I knew this shift was coming a few years ago, and here we are. I wrote this article to map out what’s changing, why it matters, and how it actually works.

For years, finding a therapist, coach, analyst, or somatic practitioner online followed a fairly predictable pattern:

1. Type keywords into Google 2. Get a list of blue links 3. Scroll 4. Click websites

You might search “therapist who specializes in ADHD and C-PTSD,” open a few websites, read some bios, and try to figure out who felt right.

AI has changed that behavior. Increasingly, people aren’t thinking, “I’m doing a search.” They’re explaining what they need.

Someone looking for a therapist might tell ChatGPT or another AI system:

“I’m looking for someone who understands childhood trauma, but I don’t want traditional talk therapy. I’m curious about somatic work, but I’ve never done it before. What kind of practitioner should I look for?”

That is a very different kind of search.

Photo credit: W. Eugene Smith, The Walk to Paradise Garden, 1946. Gelatin silver print. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Search is no longer entirely two-dimensional. A conversation allows someone to add context, describe what they’re struggling with, express concerns, rule things out, and refine what they’re looking for.

For therapists, coaches, analysts, and somatic practitioners, this means we need to think differently about how your website sends signals to AI systems. That’s where Kismet comes in.

Google used to reward your business with a high page ranking if you put the right combination of keywords together or ran ads. That is no longer enough.

It’s a whole new ballgame. Reputation, credibility, experience, and the different trust signals surrounding your work matter more than ever.

So instead of only asking, “What keywords should I rank for?” we can ask better questions:

What does my ideal client actually need? What are they worried about? What questions do they ask before contacting me? How is my approach different? Who is my work particularly well suited for?

Your website needs to answer those questions clearly and naturally. Human-centered language is more valuable than marketing gibberish.

At Kismet, we map out ways to send stronger signals to large language models about who you are, what you do, how you work, and the kinds of needs your practice addresses.

The goal isn’t to stuff a website with AI-friendly language. It’s to give these systems enough accurate, meaningful information to represent your work correctly when someone asks.

The technology is new. The underlying need isn’t.

I need help finding the right person.

That’s ultimately what strong AI visibility should accomplish: helping the right client find you at the moment they’re looking for exactly what you offer.

Finding a therapist or practitioner is a very personal decision.

The old way of searching asked: What are you looking for? The new search asks: What do you need?

THAT is the conceptual shift. And for therapy, analysis, and somatic work, it’s profound because human needs are nuanced. It rarely fits neatly into three keywords.

If you are intrigued by these ideas or have any questions for me, I'd love to hear from you.

• Veronica