More people shopping for health insurance are now using AI for guidance. Many ask generative tools questions such as, “How do I enroll in an ACA plan?” or “What’s the best Medicare plan in my area?” The answers they get, whether right or wrong, depend on the information used to train these AI models.
If AI uses your brand’s content, you have more influence on what buyers do next. If it doesn’t, consumers may rely on competitors or old information. This matters most when people are researching and deciding which options they prefer.
Recent research found that even older adults are using AI. In a study across several countries, people aged 55 and older were most likely to use AI tools when learning about health insurance (Cognizant). This challenges old assumptions about digital habits and shows why healthcare payers need to make their content easy for AI to find.
Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, helps your content appear and be trusted in AI-powered searches. For health insurance marketers, GEO is more than a technical detail. It’s a strategic imperative.
This blog explores how generative AI is changing the way people shop for health insurance, from ACA marketplace enrollees to Medicare Advantage members. You’ll also learn how marketers can use GEO to help their content get noticed and trusted in AI-driven conversations.
Inside the New AI-Driven Shopping Journey
People of all ages are now using generative AI tools to research and choose health insurance. This change is especially noticeable in two groups:
ACA Shoppers
First-time ACA shoppers often feel overwhelmed by the complexity of choosing and enrolling in a plan. Many begin with digital research, searching Google, browsing Reddit, and scanning social media for basic information on subsidies and how the ACA works. With new federal changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and anticipated rate increases, more consumers will seek reliable ACA information wherever they can find it. As of the writing of this piece, Google AI (Gemini), Meta AI, and Claude are identified as the most frequently used platforms for ACA-related searches. Among the top ten most-mentioned web pages for ACA-related AI inquiries, only three are from payer websites.
After learning the basics, consumers start comparing specific plans. This step can be challenging. Most marketplace or payer websites require a zip code before showing local plan options. As a result, most generative AI platforms cannot access live health insurance plan databases or search by zip code unless connected to a backend system. This makes it harder for consumers to use AI tools to compare plans and can cause payers to lose visibility when shoppers look elsewhere for plan comparison.*
Medicare Shoppers
As mentioned earlier, research shows that consumers aged 55 and older—including those eligible for Medicare—are increasingly turning to AI tools when researching health insurance. Why? Because they understand how complex plan choices can be, and they value AI’s ability to simplify and personalize the experience.
In our recent CX study (conducted before the rise of GEO), the top reason Medicare Advantage enrollees sought help during enrollment was to ensure they were selecting the right plan for their needs.
Conversational AI can provide users with a personalized Q&A experience, but only if it uses reliable and well-organized information. As with ACA plans, it is challenging to utilize AI models like ChatGPT or Gemini to compare options because plan-level data typically requires a specific zip code. However, some lead aggregators have found a way around this by creating standalone landing pages filled with local plan information that frequently appear in Gen AI recommendations. This is not surprising, since our cursory audit found these pages are easy to read, display STAR ratings, and allow AI tools to access plan information quickly.
What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
GEO is about making your content easy for AI models like Meta AI, Gemini, or Claude to find, trust, and use in their answers. While SEO is about ranking high in search results, GEO focuses on being included in AI-generated responses that are contextually relevant.
SEO vs. GEO: A Quick Comparison
| SEO | GEO |
|---|---|
| Ranks on search results | Appears in AI answers |
| Optimized for clicks | Optimized for citations |
| Keywords, backlinks | Accuracy, structure, credibility |
In health insurance, GEO means making content that clearly and confidently answers real consumer questions. For example, rather than just using the keyword “ACA subsidy qualifications,” your content should explain the rules, mention trusted sources like Healthcare.gov, and be organized so AI can easily use it.
GEO Best Practices for Payer Marketing Teams
Here’s how to make your content AI-ready:
- Publish Authoritative, Well-Cited Content
- Cite reputable websites and studies from reputable sources such as CMS and Healthcare.gov.
- Identify topics with few authoritative sources and create well-structured content to fill those gaps.
- Attribute published content to a named author and link to an author bio page (Google Search Central).
- Include statistics and expert quotes.
- Distribute press releases through wire services since they are ingested into LLM training and retrieval pipelines (Mynewsdesk).
- Blogs are still important for GEO. Even if organic traffic drops, blogs can help demonstrate your expertise, especially when they are part of a broader strategy that includes media coverage, guest posts, and mentions on other sites.
“GEO isn’t just about search. It’s a window into the effectiveness of your entire marketing ecosystem,” Niall Moran, Director of Technology PR, said during the Marketbridge GEO webinar.
- Use Q&A and Conversational Formats
- Structure content around real questions.
- Example: “What does Medicare Part C cover?” followed by a clear answer.
- AI works best with FAQ-style formats because question-answer pairs are the exact format AI systems are designed to retrieve (Lisa Lee, Salesforce).
- Optimize for Snippets and Quick Answers
- Use bullet points, tables, and summaries.
- Example: A 5-step ACA enrollment guide or a Medicare comparison table.
- Keep Information Up-to-Date and Monitor AI for Accuracy
- Update content as needed with each policy change and enrollment season.
- Monitor AI outputs for accuracy about your brand.
- AI can sometimes generate inaccurate or misleading information, which can hurt your reputation. Being aware of this is the first step to managing the risk.
- Expand Your Digital Footprint
- Build “citation loops”—ensure your content is referenced across multiple high-authority platforms.
- Publish thought leadership on your site.
- Contribute to Reddit or Quora threads.
- Appear in podcasts and share video content.
- Make Your Website AI-Crawlable
- Use schema markup and clean HTML.
- Provide context on each page (e.g., “This guide is provided by a licensed expert…”).
- Leverage AI Tools Internally
- Use AI for keyword research, content drafting, measuring visibility, and testing how AI presents your info.
- Deploy AI chatbots on your site for personalized guidance.
Embracing GEO in the Consumer Shopping Journey
Generative AI is reshaping the way people shop for health insurance. Whether it’s a 28-year-old exploring ACA options or a 68-year-old comparing Medicare plans, Gen AI is often the first stop. GEO ensures your brand is part of that conversation.
Publishing clear, reliable content and structuring it so AI can easily understand and cite it helps position your brand as a go-to source. Payers that do this well will stand out by offering accurate information and guiding consumers toward informed decisions.
By delivering helpful content at key moments of the buyer journey, you ensure consumers receive the guidance they need when selecting a health plan.
Remember, generative AI is changing fast. Like SEO, GEO best practices will keep evolving. Still, consumers always look for reliable, high-quality information when choosing health insurance. GEO can help you deliver on that. Because AI reflects the values of its creators, your commitment to clarity, accuracy, and consumer empowerment can extend your brand’s reach and impact.
Need help to get started? Reach out.
* 9/10/25 data from LLM Refs, ACA searches conducted YTD 2025
