Zocdoc adds real-time appointment booking to Google's Gemini chatbot

August 29, 2026 · Adweek

Users who type or say "Zocdoc" in a Gemini prompt can turn on access to real-time appointment availability across Zocdoc's network of more than 200,000 providers, Zocdoc founder and CEO Oliver Kharraz, MD, told Adweek. Google and Zocdoc unveiled the collaboration last week, Zocdoc's first integration of its kind, letting a patient describe a specialty or symptom and click to book an appointment without dialing an office or searching separate sites. "Our ambition is that every front door to care in America will be powered by Zocdoc, and every provider will be connected to our network," Kharraz said. Zocdoc said appointment rankings inside Gemini are relevancy based, weighing a user's location, specialty preference, availability and insurance status.

Provider marketing teams gain a visibility channel that works without a media buy, since Gemini surfaces providers by matching a patient's location, specialty and insurance status. Zocdoc's own research found that 85% of healthcare providers already see patients who consulted AI before booking, and 23% of patients want to use both AI and a clinician in their care. Brands that turn an AI-generated answer into a completed booking capture demand that would otherwise slip away between a symptom search and a scheduled appointment.