You may have heard during a seminar or podcast about getting more patients from AI that building a backlog of “citations” is vital for building visibility.

This is true – in general, the more places AI can find you, the more likely AI is to see you as an authority and cite your practice. But AI agents don’t have time to search the entire internet every time someone asks a question.

Usually it will look at websites that are most relevant to your niche to start with and then go out from there if need be. 

In this blog we’ll cover the business listings AI looks at first to learn more about cosmetic practices like yours and explain best practices for getting setup on them so you can start building more visibility in AI.

 

#1 Realself – The Internets “Fairy Hotmother”

Realself has been one of the leading websites for finding real patient reviews on local cosmetic practices for 20 years. Claiming your listing is free and if you don’t have a profile on this platform make one as soon as possible. Once it’s live, ask some of your best previous patients to leave you a review.

How to claim your free profile on Realself

The link to claim your profile is all the way down in the footer of the website.

The process should take you about five minutes. Further along in this blog we’ll have some tips for setting up accounts on pages like this.

 

#2: American Board of Cosmetic Surgery Directory – The Ultimate Industry Listing

Depending on how long you have been practicing, you’re likely to already be a part of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, but if you haven’t checked your listing in a long time you may want to make sure it’s still accurate. 

AI agents will be reviewing it particularly for consistency with your other business listings and your website so if you haven’t updated it in a while you can reach out to the website administrators here with any changes you need to make to your listing.

If you’re not a part of the board, you may want to consider getting certified for the extremely topically relevant backlink to your practice. Here’s the application if you want to learn more. 

Be aware though – getting into this directory isn’t free. In 2026 the application fee is around $500 and then the certification itself is $450. It could be well worth it though for you especially if you have a newer practice that is still working on building up its reputation both online and in your community.

 

#3: Your Local Business Directories – Build Yourself into Your Communities Leading Expert

This one is a bit harder to nail down because the answer may change depending on where you live but the idea here is to join business directories that are not topically relevant (about cosmetic care) but instead geographically relevant (unique to the area you live).

Some examples of this might be your local chamber of commerce or even your local Better Business Bureau. 

This is important because people often ask AI location specific questions like “What are the best places to go for tummy tuck in Tacoma?” or “Who are the leading experts at rhinoplasty in New York?”

For area specific queries like these, AI will look closer at business listings that are highly geographically relevant so if you’re involved in your local chamber of commerce you will certainly have a leg up on competitors who are not. 

There may be free local directories in your area which you can search for using a prompt like “What are the free local business listings for *your area*” with the help of your AI tool of choice, but the BBB and your local chamber of commerce will likely not be.

Chamber of commerce dues are usually around $200-$600 a year depending on your area and the BBB can be $500-$1000 as well. Depending on your budget, you may decide to just pick one. I recommend your local chamber of commerce as the in-person connections you make with other business owners in your community could be more valuable.

 

#4: Healthgrades – Helping Patients Find the Perfect Medical Expert

Healthgrades is a bit more of a general healthcare listing which is why it’s lower on the list. You can create a profile here for free though.

Once your profile has been claimed it will look something like this.

Just like a normal business listing you can ask for reviews and leave some details about your practice. In the next section we’ll share some best practices for keeping your messaging consistent and easy to understand for AI.

 

Best Practices for Setting Up Business Listings

Use the Same Address Even if you Have Multiple Locations

Instead of making five different profiles it’s more efficient to just make one for your headquarters and list the areas you serve under it. 

Some business listings will allow you to make multiple profiles for your different locations so you can if you really want to but it will be a lot more work to maintain for not much benefit. 

The exception to this rule is business listings with maps attachments like Google Business Profile or Bing business. Those profiles are attached to GPS navigation apps so having multiple profiles can help people find your different locations.

Use the Same Description of Services

Come up with one description of your business and copy it to all of your business profiles. AI is looking for messaging consistency when it scans the internet for information about you so keeping the same language is very important.

In your introductory paragraph make sure to include:

  • Your location
  • Services (just the top five you want to promote if character space is limited)
  • Experience (years in operation, certifications)
  • A call to action (invite people to book an appointment. Be welcoming)

Try to Get at Least 10 Reviews on Each Platform of your Choice

If you have a business listing that allows user reviews, it’s important to try and get as many as you can. This is a rule that applies for really any business listing website but there is one exception to this rule you should know. 

Google and Bing rank more on frequency of reviews than total amount. This is so businesses just getting started can have an even playing field with those that have been in operation for years and years.

Regardless, if you create a profile on a website like Realself, ask your repeat clients to spend a few minutes leaving a positive review. Smaller business listing websites usually don’t have as strict rules around rewarding clients for posting reviews so you may be able to offer clients a ticket in a raffle or something for posting a review.