16/09/2026
For years, one of the soundest pieces of marketing advice we’ve given therapists has been:
Write for your ideal client, in their language.
That advice is still right.
As therapists, we have a habit of believing that “professional” means writing like a CV that has swallowed a counselling textbook.
We list our qualifications, explain our modality in painstaking detail and promise a safe, non-judgemental space.
Meanwhile, the potential client is still wondering, “But can you actually help me?”
There is now another reader to consider.
Unfortunately, it is literally a robot.
Before someone reaches your website, the systems behind Google, ChatGPT and AI-powered search may already have looked at the public information about your practice and decided whether it is relevant enough to show them.
Someone might tell ChatGPT what they’re struggling with and ask it to help them find a therapist. If it searches the web, it needs clear information to work from.
If your website vaguely says you “help people navigate life’s challenges”, the poor bot has very little to go on.
Frankly, neither does your client.
Does this mean you need one website for humans and another for machines?
Thankfully, no. Nobody needs that sort of admin.
The same clarity helps both:
• say clearly who you help and what you help with
• use the words your clients actually use
• create focused pages for your specialist areas
• answer the questions people ask
• make your experience and credibility clear
• keep your website and directory profiles consistent
• make sure your pages can be found and indexed
• give people a clear next step
You are still writing for the human being who may eventually sit opposite you.
You’re simply making sure the technology standing between you and them can understand enough to introduce you.
If you’d like to know how visible your practice is to Google and AI search, comment VISIBILITY and I’ll send you details of my AI Visibility Assessment.