PART TWO: THE FUTURE OF THE BRAND.COM IN AN AI-FIRST WORLD
By Publicis Health
Patients are increasingly turning to AI before they turn to a healthcare brand website. As AI becomes a more common starting point for health questions, an important question emerges: What role does brand.com play when the patient journey begins somewhere else?
That question was at the center of The Future of Brand.com, a recent roundtable hosted by The DHC Group. Among the participants were Stephanie Schulman, Chief Content Enablement Officer at Publicis Health, and Dan Haller, EVP of Engagement Strategy at Heartbeat, who shared perspectives on how healthcare brands must evolve in an AI-first landscape.
Brand.com Is Becoming a Source of Truth
For years, brand websites were designed as destinations for patients seeking information. Today, they are increasingly serving as sources of truth that help inform the answers AI platforms deliver.
During the discussion, Stephanie Schulman highlighted a fundamental shift: brand.com now serves both human visitors and AI systems. As more patients discover information through AI, ensuring websites contain accurate, trusted content becomes more important than ever.
Success is no longer measured solely by website traffic. Healthcare organizations must ensure that their information is discoverable, credible, and useful wherever patients begin their search for answers.
The Visitor Has Changed
As AI handles more of the initial information gathering, patients who arrive at brand.com are often further along in their decision-making journey.
Schulman noted that these visitors may be looking for what AI cannot provide: validation, financial assistance, enrollment resources, and ongoing support.
That perspective was reinforced by Dan Haller, who emphasized that websites must deliver value beyond information alone. Whether through patient support services, educational resources, or access to care teams, the most effective brand experiences help people take meaningful next steps
Trust Is the New Competitive Advantage
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was trust.
While AI can quickly synthesize information, patients still want confidence that the information they receive is accurate, balanced, and credible. The panel emphasized that visibility alone is not enough. Organizations must ensure AI systems surface information that is trustworthy, contextualized, and actionable.
As Schulman noted, the more meaningful measure is not share of voice, but a greater share of accurate, balanced, and useful answers.
Looking Ahead
The future of brand.com is not about competing with AI. It is about ensuring trusted information is available wherever health decisions begin.
The perspectives shared by Stephanie Schulman and Dan Haller reinforce a new opportunity for healthcare brands: build experiences that serve both human and machine audiences, deliver value beyond information, and focus on trust, support, and action.
As AI continues to reshape how patients seek and evaluate healthcare information, the brands that succeed will be those that treat their digital presence not simply as a destination, but as a critical part of a connected ecosystem designed to help patients make informed decisions and take meaningful next steps. This aligns with Publicis Health's broader view that AI is becoming an influential stakeholder in the healthcare journey and must be considered alongside traditional audiences