# Florida Eye Doctor AI Visibility Study

> What happens when patients ask AI to find an eye doctor in Florida? We ran 627 queries to find out.

*April 2026* · *Florida* · *Eye Care*

## Study scope

- **627 AI queries tested** — Across 5 eye care specialties: ophthalmologist, optometrist, eye doctor, LASIK surgeon, pediatric eye doctor
- **10 Florida metro areas** — Miami, Orlando, Naples, Tampa, Jacksonville, St. Pete, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota
- **5 AI platforms tested** — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude
- **5 Specialties tested** — Ophthalmologist, optometrist, eye doctor, LASIK surgeon, pediatric eye doctor

## Headline numbers

- **627** AI Queries Tested
- **10** Florida Metro Areas
- **5** AI Platforms Analyzed
- **0** Practices on All 5

## Key findings

- **69.7% — AI Response Rate.** AI platforms named specific local eye care practices only 70% of the time, the lowest of any vertical we have studied.
- **97.8% — Single Platform Only.** Nearly every practice appeared on just one AI platform. The highest fragmentation of any vertical studied.
- **0 — On All 5 Platforms.** Not a single eye care practice appeared on all five AI platforms. Dental had 1. Home services had 23. Eye care has none.
- **4% — Google AIO Trigger.** Google AI Overviews barely function for eye care. 4% trigger rate vs. 45% for dental and 59% for home services.
- **1.3% — Franchise Share.** LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, VisionWorks, and My EyeLab are virtually invisible in AI. Independent practices own 98.7%.
- **0% — Platform Agreement.** ChatGPT and Gemini agreed on zero recommendations for eye care. Each sees entirely different practices.
- **82.7% — Miami Leads.** Miami significantly outperforms at 82.7% vs Sarasota at 61.7%. Larger metros with more digital presence generate higher AI visibility.
- **74.6% — Ophthalmologists Lead.** Ophthalmologists are most AI-visible at 74.6% vs 66.7% for LASIK surgeons. Stronger Healthgrades and Zocdoc presence drives this.

## What the data shows

- **AI barely answers eye care questions.** Only 69.7% of queries returned specific local eye care practice names. That is the lowest response rate of any vertical we have studied, well below dental (86%) and home services.
- **97.8% of practices appeared on just one platform.** Of the 1,587 practices recommended, nearly all showed up on a single AI tool. This is the worst fragmentation of any industry we have studied.
- **Zero eye care practices made all five platforms.** Not one. Dental had 1. Home services had 23. Eye care has none. Each AI platform sees entirely different practices.
- **Google AI is essentially blind to eye care.** Google AI Overviews triggered on only 4% of eye care queries vs. 45% for dental and 59% for home services. Google is nearly invisible for this vertical.
- **ChatGPT and Gemini agree on nothing.** The two largest AI platforms had 0% agreement on eye care recommendations. They recommend completely different practices for the same queries.
- **Franchises are invisible in AI results.** LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, VisionWorks, and My EyeLab hold just 1.3% of AI recommendations. Independent practices own 98.7%.
- **Miami leads. Sarasota trails.** AI response rates range from 82.7% in Miami to 61.7% in Sarasota, a 21-point gap. Larger metros with more digital presence generate higher AI visibility.
- **Healthgrades and Zocdoc dominate citations.** These two platforms account for 59% of all source citations when AI recommends eye care practices. Your profile on these directories matters more than your website.

## Platform comparison

| Platform | A-Response Rate | Queries |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Claude | 100% | 150/150 |
| Gemini | 100% | 150/150 |
| ChatGPT | 98% | 147/150 |
| Perplexity | 71% | 107/150 |
| Google AI Overview | 4% | 6/150 |

## Results by city

| City | A-Response Rate |
| --- | --- |
| Miami | 82.7% |
| Orlando | 74% |
| Naples | 72.9% |
| Tampa | 70% |
| Jacksonville | 70% |
| St. Pete | 66.7% |
| Tallahassee | 66.7% |
| West Palm Beach | 65% |
| Ft. Lauderdale | 63.3% |
| Sarasota | 61.7% |

## The bottom line

> If your eye care practice only shows up on one AI platform, you are invisible on the other four where patients are already searching. And with 0% agreement between the two largest platforms, optimizing for just ChatGPT or Gemini means the other one will never find you.

AI is the most fragmented for eye care of any industry we have studied. Zero practices appear on all five platforms, platforms agree on almost nothing, and Google AI barely functions for this vertical. The practices that figure out multi-platform AI visibility first will have a massive head start.

## Methodology

627 queries were run across ChatGPT (GPT-4o with search), Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Claude during March-April 2026. Queries covered 10 Florida metro areas and 5 eye care specialties. Every response was coded by type (local practice named, general advice, franchise only, platform referral, or not triggered). No sponsored placements or paid tools were used. Full methodology is included in the report.

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Source: https://getlocalvitals.com/research/florida-eye-doctor-ai-visibility
Published by Local Vitals · https://getlocalvitals.com