Google Employee Discusses AI Reshaping How Patients Search for Skincare Information

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing not only where patients seek information about skin health and aesthetics but also how they formulate their questions and move from initial research to clinical decisions.

During a fireside chat at the Science of Skin Summit, Vivian Sullivan, Senior Partner Lead at Google, joined Leslie Ann Hall, Founder and CEO of Iced Media, to discuss AI discoverability, changing search behavior, and opportunities for medical professionals to ensure credible information surfaces when consumers ask questions about skin care, beauty, and aesthetics. 

Sullivan, who works with healthcare advertisers at Google, described AI as one of the largest technological shifts of her career. She said its integration into Google Search has already changed how consumers seek information, including a shift from short keyword searches toward longer, conversational questions.

In the skincare category specifically, Sullivan reported a 150% increase in Google searches, referring to AI-driven searches, and said queries that once consisted of 2 or 3 words are increasingly stretching to 8, 10, or 15 words. Follow-up questions have also become a more typical part of the search experience. 

The result, she suggested, is a substantially compressed consumer journey.

“What used to take 20 steps, now 2 or 3,” Sullivan said. 

What AI Search Means for Dermatologists

For dermatologists and other medical professionals, that behavioral shift creates a new imperative: ensuring that authoritative medical content can be found and understood by AI-powered search tools.

Although the marketing industry has increasingly adopted terms such as generative engine optimization (GEO), Sullivan emphasized that the fundamentals remain similar to traditional search engine optimization. She recommended creating well-organized, useful, specific content that authentically reflects an individual clinician or practice.

She also cautioned against creating material primarily for algorithms.

“It does not mean that you should start writing your content for bots,” Sullivan said. “We want stuff to sound like it comes from a human.”

Websites should nevertheless be structured so that their information is accessible, organized, and easy to navigate, she added. 

Video Becomes Increasingly Important

A major theme of the conversation was the growing role of video, particularly YouTube, in AI-era discoverability.

Sullivan said YouTube is the most-cited video channel in AI search results and reported that the platform reaches 90% of the US population. Beauty-related content alone generated 110 billion US views during the first half of the year, she said. 

For physicians deciding what to create, Sullivan recommended paying attention to formats already being tested at high volume by successful creators. Product reviews, demonstrations, list-based content, unboxings, and “day in the life” videos are among the formats that have resonated with audiences and can potentially be adapted for professional content. 

The speakers also emphasized the value of establishing a defined area of authority rather than attempting to cover every possible topic. For medical professionals hoping to surface in AI-generated answers, content should reinforce the subjects on which they possess genuine expertise. 

Long- and Short-Form Content Can Serve Different Roles

Asked whether dermatologists should prioritize traditional YouTube videos or YouTube Shorts, Sullivan recommended using both.

Long-form videos can function as an educational resource for existing and prospective patients, particularly by answering frequently asked questions. Short-form content, meanwhile, can draw from creator-driven formats and may offer opportunities for collaborations with established creators. 

The same diversified approach may apply to choosing collaborators. Rather than focusing exclusively on creators with millions of followers, Sullivan said micro-influencers can offer advantages because of their close understanding of niche audiences and potentially lower partnership costs. 

Sullivan drew a sharper distinction when discussing AI-generated human creators. She rejected the use of AI-generated human likenesses while distinguishing them from less controversial applications such as using AI to generate variations of backgrounds for product imagery. 

Ultimately, the discussion positioned AI search as both a challenge and an opportunity for dermatology. As patients increasingly ask detailed, conversational questions and receive increasingly synthesized answers, physicians have an opportunity to supply the credible, expert-generated material those systems—and their patients—need.