Our team recently attended ViVE, MASHSMD, Swaay Health Live, and HMPS. These events are vital for connecting with peers, and after months on the circuit, one thing is clear: while there’s a lot of predictions about AI killing healthcare websites, the resounding theme is that it is not. The role of the website is actually becoming far more critical, and in many ways, AI is empowering your website to perform better. We’ve moved past the initial shock and are looking at how this technology serves as a multiplier for a complex health system.
AI is more than a trend; it is a transformation of how we work, how patients find care, and how your system competes in the market. However, while it feels like AI is everywhere, we need to be careful not to drink the AI “Kool-Aid”. We are being smart and measured because while technology is a multiplier, the health and trust of your patients matter more. There is still a great deal to understand about the long-term impact of AI search and patient experience. We are committed to exploring and navigating those changes alongside healthcare organizations.
Here are the key themes we took away from the spring conferences, along with early insights from our recently completed Digital Maturity Research into how these trends are landing with your patients.
AI Isn’t Killing Web Search Either. It’s Evolving the Tools and Tactics.
For marketing and digital leaders, the most practical discussions this spring centered on how AI is not replacing the website, but acting as a new mechanism for web search. Traditional “blue link” search is being augmented by AI tools that synthesize information. This shift means healthcare websites must be more structured, governed, and authoritative than ever before. Strong digital foundations are becoming essential for remaining a trusted “source of truth” for AI models.
When users get answers directly from AI answer engines, it does not diminish the value of the website. Instead, it raises the stakes for having a strong digital foundation. Search has always mattered, and this reflects a shift in the rules of search visibility. To maintain visibility and empower these new search mechanisms, health systems need to focus on:
- Structured Data: Ensuring your site is organized so AI models can easily interpret and reference your providers and services.
- Direct Answers: Moving away from high-volume “awareness” content and toward high-authority, expert content that answers specific patient questions.
- Off-site Authority: LLMs pull from third-party reviews and aggregators. Your brand’s presence outside of your own website is now just as important as the website itself.
Moving from Theory to Real-World Workflows
Last year, most leadership teams were focused on establishing AI governance committees and ethics frameworks. This year, implementation efforts are ramping up. We are seeing a two-sided approach: teams are using AI to streamline their internal workflows while also beginning to pilot patient-facing solutions.
This shift is consistent with what we’ve seen in our recent research. While consumer trust in AI still has a long way to go, health systems are continuing to invest in the governance and workflows needed to support implementation. These foundational efforts are helping make AI adoption more viable across healthcare organizations.
Crucially, this AI transformation must happen without sacrificing the trust healthcare organizations have spent decades building. We believe in a Machine Power + Human Intelligence model. We use AI to work faster and be more thorough, but humans must remain in the loop.
Trust is Currency
Trust was perhaps the biggest theme of the season.
Despite the hype, many consumers do not trust AI to provide everything they need for their care. In fact, there is a notable “trust divide” in how different demographics perceive AI. Our AI and digital maturity research shows that Gen X (ages 45–60) is currently the “sweet spot” for AI adoption, with 55% comfort levels. In contrast, trust among Boomers drops to just 19%. There is also an economic gap: 75% of high-income consumers are ready for AI-backed healthcare (from decision-making support to smart triage), while only 26% of those earning under $75k feel the same.
This means your digital channels are more important than ever for establishing authority.
Even as patients look to AI for initial health answers, they still seek a human-led response they can trust. Whether they arrive at your site from an LLM search or a direct referral, they need to see evidence of expertise. They are looking for:
- Detailed provider profiles.
- Clinical content that feels authoritative and avoids the generic tone of “AI slop.”
- Transactional experiences, like online scheduling, that work the first time.
Trust is also built through operational competence. It is established when your digital interactions—the ones that precede and follow a clinical visit—actually work.
Building trust means meeting patients where they are with experiences that are direct and accessible. Accessibility is not a compliance checkbox; it is a baseline requirement for a health system. If your digital tools aren’t usable for all patients, you are creating barriers to care.
Patients build trust when they can find a provider, schedule an appointment, and pay a bill without friction. Our research shows that patients prioritize administrative efficiency—specifically online appointment management—above almost everything else. When these digital tools are fragmented or difficult to use, it erodes the patient’s confidence in your system’s ability to care for them.
Building a Foundation for What’s Next
Underlying data structure is the bottleneck for many of the ambitious AI applications we heard about this spring. Specifically, the implementation of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) is still in its early stages across the industry.
Our research indicates that fewer than 15% of health systems have successfully implemented a functional CDP. Without a way to unify patient and consumer data, AI tools will remain siloed in the pilot phase. This is why we see a massive “replatforming wave” occurring right now; nearly 78% of health systems have either recently updated their digital infrastructure or are actively planning to do so in the next three years to fix these foundational gaps.
A Measured Path Forward
We aren’t promising perfection, but we are committed to doing the work that creates better digital experiences. We’ve done the research to support these insights, and we have more to come. We are currently finalizing our full 2026 Digital Maturity Report, which will provide a deeper look at how your peers are investing in digital innovation.
Download our AI Whitepaper: Balancing Maturity with Consumer Trust
The spring conference circuit confirms that the digital landscape is shifting daily, but the health system and hospital websites remain indispensable knowledge hubs of the healthcare ecosystem. Far from dying, the website is becoming more critical as AI demands higher standards for structured, governed, and authoritative data. By focusing on these fundamentals, you aren’t just reacting to AI—you are empowering your website to work better and remain a trusted source of care in a generative future.