Original research · 2026-07 edition

AI SEO Statistics: Veterinarian (2026-07 edition)

15 questions · 45 AI responses · 3 models · measured 2026-07-04

The question bank

The questions we tested — sampled from real buyer journeys in veterinarian.

Each model answered every question once, same wording, same day. These are the prompts behind every percentage on this page.

My cat has been sneezing and has watery eyes, is this something that will pass or do I need to book an appointment?
What are the average costs for a dog's ACL surgery including the follow-up physical therapy?
How do I find a vet that specializes in fear-free handling for a very anxious rescue dog?
Is it cheaper to go to a low-cost spay and neuter clinic or my regular family veterinarian?
What questions should I ask a new vet to see if they are experienced with senior cat kidney disease?
My dog's breath smells really bad lately, is that a sign of a serious medical issue or just a hygiene thing?
Are there specific red flags in online reviews for animal hospitals that I should actually take seriously?
I'm moving to a new city, how do I transfer my pet's medical records to a new clinic without any gaps in care?
Show all 15 questions
What is the typical wait time for a non-emergency vet appointment right now?
Can a mobile vet perform blood work and diagnostic tests at my house or are they just for basic checkups?
Is it a bad sign if a vet clinic won't give me a price estimate over the phone for a simple ear infection?
Do I really need to get my indoor cat vaccinated every year or is that just an extra expense?
My puppy just swallowed a small plastic toy, how do I know if this is a wait and see situation or an emergency ER trip?
What's the difference in care quality between a corporate-owned animal hospital and a private local practice?
How do I compare different pet insurance plans to see which one actually covers the most at my specific vet?

Model by model

23-point average divergence: which AI you ask changes the answer.

The divergence index is the average gap between the most and least likely model per behavior. Higher = the models disagree more about veterinarian buyers.

Behavior rates across 15 veterinarian buyer questions, 2026-07 edition. Last column: average across models.
ChatGPTClaudeGeminiConsensus
Recommends hiring a professional67%60%47%53%
Suggests DIY first33%13%13%73%
Names specific providers0%7%20%80%
Gives price or cost info7%7%40%60%
Tells to check reviews7%20%7%80%
Tells to verify credentials0%0%7%93%
Mentions case studies / portfolio7%0%0%93%
Mentions local proximity27%27%33%47%
Gives selection criteria27%53%33%33%
Warns about red flags20%27%13%73%
Asks a clarifying question53%47%0%33%
Recommends multiple quotes20%33%0%60%

By model

How each assistant handled Veterinarian questions.

Reading the 45 answers model by model shows how differently the three assistants treat the same veterinarian questions. On the most consequential behavior — whether to send the buyer to a professional at all — the rate ranged from 66.7% (ChatGPT) down to 46.7% (Gemini), a 20-point gap on an identical question set.

Across the 15 veterinarian answers it produced, ChatGPT recommended hiring a professional in 66.7% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 33.3% of the time. It named a specific provider in 0% of answers (about 0 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 6.7% of the time. ChatGPT asked a clarifying question before answering in 53.3% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 20%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 0%, averaging 550 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 6.7%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 6.7%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 26.7%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 26.7% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 20%.

Across the 15 veterinarian answers it produced, Claude recommended hiring a professional in 60% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 13.3% of the time. It named a specific provider in 6.7% of answers (about 0.2 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 6.7% of the time. Claude asked a clarifying question before answering in 46.7% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 26.7%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 0%, averaging 300 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 20%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 0%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 26.7%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 53.3% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 33.3%.

Across the 15 veterinarian answers it produced, Gemini recommended hiring a professional in 46.7% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 13.3% of the time. It named a specific provider in 20% of answers (about 0.6 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 40% of the time. Gemini asked a clarifying question before answering in 0% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 13.3%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 6.7%, averaging 267 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 6.7%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 0%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 33.3%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 33.3% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 0%.

Taken together, ChatGPT is the assistant most likely to route a veterinarian buyer to a professional (66.7%) and Gemini the least (46.7%). ChatGPT produced the longest answers, at 550 words on average. Specific providers were named most often by Gemini (20%) — even there, roughly one answer in 5 carried a name.

Where they disagree

The behaviors where the choice of model changes the answer.

The divergence index for this study is 23.3 points — the average distance between the most and least likely model across the coded behaviors. The gaps below are where which assistant a veterinarian buyer happens to ask matters most:

  • Asks a clarifying question: from 0% (Gemini) to 53.3% (ChatGPT) — a 53-point spread.
  • Gives price or cost information: from 6.7% (ChatGPT) to 40% (Gemini) — a 33-point spread.
  • Recommends multiple quotes: from 0% (Gemini) to 33.3% (Claude) — a 33-point spread.
  • Gives selection criteria: from 26.7% (ChatGPT) to 53.3% (Claude) — a 27-point spread.
  • Recommends hiring a professional: from 46.7% (Gemini) to 66.7% (ChatGPT) — a 20-point spread.

The widest single gap — asks a clarifying question, 53 points — means a veterinarian buyer can receive materially different guidance on the same question depending only on which assistant they happen to open, so any visibility strategy built on a single model's behavior describes only part of the veterinarian market.

Where they agree

The points of near-consensus in Veterinarian.

On other behaviors the three models move almost in lockstep — the points of near-consensus for veterinarian, where all three landed within a few points of each other:

  • Mentions local proximity: 26.7%–33.3% across all three (a 7-point spread).
  • Tells the buyer to verify credentials: 0%–6.7% across all three (a 7-point spread).
  • Mentions case studies or portfolio: 0%–6.7% across all three (a 7-point spread).
  • Tells the buyer to check reviews: 6.7%–20% across all three (a 13-point spread).

Measured question by question, the three assistants coded a response the same way most consistently on "tells the buyer to verify credentials" (identical coding in 93.3% of questions) and least consistently on "asks a clarifying question" (33.3%).

Every behavior, measured

All twelve coded behaviors for Veterinarian, averaged across the three models.

The behaviors AI models reproduce most often for veterinarian are recommends hiring a professional (57.8% on average), gives selection criteria (37.8%) and asks a clarifying question (33.3%); the rarest are mentions case studies or portfolio (2.2%), tells the buyer to verify credentials (2.2%) and names a specific provider (8.9%). Each figure below is the share of a model's 15 answers in which the behavior appeared at least once, averaged across the 3 models with the full per-model range in parentheses:

  • Recommends hiring a professional: 57.8% on average (ChatGPT 66.7%, Claude 60%, Gemini 46.7%) — a 20-point spread.
  • Gives selection criteria: 37.8% on average (ChatGPT 26.7%, Claude 53.3%, Gemini 33.3%) — a 27-point spread.
  • Asks a clarifying question: 33.3% on average (ChatGPT 53.3%, Claude 46.7%, Gemini 0%) — a 53-point spread.
  • Mentions local proximity: 28.9% on average (ChatGPT 26.7%, Claude 26.7%, Gemini 33.3%) — a 7-point spread.
  • Suggests a DIY approach first: 20% on average (ChatGPT 33.3%, Claude 13.3%, Gemini 13.3%) — a 20-point spread.
  • Warns about red flags or scams: 20% on average (ChatGPT 20%, Claude 26.7%, Gemini 13.3%) — a 13-point spread.
  • Gives price or cost information: 17.8% on average (ChatGPT 6.7%, Claude 6.7%, Gemini 40%) — a 33-point spread.
  • Recommends multiple quotes: 17.8% on average (ChatGPT 20%, Claude 33.3%, Gemini 0%) — a 33-point spread.
  • Tells the buyer to check reviews: 11.1% on average (ChatGPT 6.7%, Claude 20%, Gemini 6.7%) — a 13-point spread.
  • Names a specific provider: 8.9% on average (ChatGPT 0%, Claude 6.7%, Gemini 20%) — a 20-point spread.
  • Tells the buyer to verify credentials: 2.2% on average (ChatGPT 0%, Claude 0%, Gemini 6.7%) — a 7-point spread.
  • Mentions case studies or portfolio: 2.2% on average (ChatGPT 6.7%, Claude 0%, Gemini 0%) — a 7-point spread.

Trust signals

How well the models protect the veterinarian buyer.

Beyond whether to hire, the rubric codes how carefully each assistant protects the veterinarian buyer once a decision is made. Telling the buyer to check reviews or ratings appeared in 11.1% of answers on average. Verifying credentials or certifications appeared in 2.2%. Warning about red flags or scams appeared in 20%.

On structuring the decision, a selection-criteria checklist showed up in 37.8% of answers on average and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 17.8%. The single least-reproduced protective signal for veterinarian is "tells the buyer to verify credentials" at 2.2% on average — the clearest opening for content that supplies it, since the models are not yet reliably surfacing that guidance on their own.

Referral behavior

Do AI models name Veterinarian providers?

For service providers the decisive question is whether these systems name anyone at all. Across 45 veterinarian answers, a specific provider was named in 8.9% of responses on average — roughly 0.3 distinct providers per answer. In practice the assistants behave far more as an explanatory layer than as a referral engine for veterinarian: visibility comes from being the reasoning a model reproduces, not from being the named recommendation.

The question set

What these 15 Veterinarian questions cover.

The 15 questions behind every percentage on this page were drawn from real veterinarian (healthcare services; buyer hiring decisions for this specific service) buyer journeys. Each was put to all 3 models once, with identical wording, so the rates above describe how the assistants handled this exact veterinarian question set — not a general prior or a hand-picked subset. The full list is shown earlier on this page; the coded percentages are what those specific questions produced.

How to read this

A note on the numbers.

A percentage here is the share of a model's 15 answers in which the behavior appeared at least once — not a confidence score. Because each model answered every question exactly once on 2026-07-04, the figures describe this specific veterinarian question set and snapshot rather than a general prior. The full protocol and coding rubric are documented in the study methodology.

Methodology

A controlled snapshot, documented end to end.

15 standardized buyer questions per industry, one response per model per question (ChatGPT (gpt-5-mini), Claude (claude-sonnet-5), Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)), collected 2026-07-04, coded against a fixed 12-behavior rubric with human QA. AI outputs vary with model version, location and time — figures describe this sample and window, and are refreshed each edition. Read the full methodology →