"Doctor, ChatGPT sent me"
Originally written in Chinese. Translated with AI, reviewed by Gary. Read the Chinese original →
A friend who got married not long ago recently found out she's pregnant. As a first-time mother there was a lot she didn't know, so instead of asking friends first, she opened ChatGPT.
She told ChatGPT about her situation and what she needed, and asked it to recommend a suitable obstetrician in the Klang Valley.
Then she actually went to see the doctor it recommended.
When she met the doctor, she said with a laugh: "Doctor, ChatGPT sent me."
She expected the doctor to find it funny and novel. Instead the doctor smiled and replied: "You're not the first."
The doctor said that this year several pregnant women had found her through ChatGPT or other AI tools.
Hearing that, I was a little stunned.
So we really have arrived at this stage.
We used to Google first when we had a question. Later we'd read Facebook comments, look for experiences on Xiaohongshu, watch videos on TikTok. But now, more and more people's first move is simply to ask ChatGPT.
Why did AI recommend her?
But that's not what I was most curious about.
What I most wanted to know was why ChatGPT recommended this doctor and not another.
When I asked my friend more, the answer turned out to be less complicated than I imagined.
This doctor has been running her own blog all along.
She writes seriously, sharing pregnancy knowledge, medical information and ideas about prenatal check-ups, and turns a lot of professional content into something ordinary people can understand.
She isn't trying to become an influencer.
She isn't chasing traffic either.
She has simply kept sharing what she knows.
Looking back, these articles were written for patients. Today, they've also started becoming material that AI learns from.
It struck me that this may be the biggest change ahead.
Everyone used to study SEO, hoping Google would put them on the first page.
In future, we may need to think about something else.
Why would AI be willing to recommend you?
Lots of people have been talking about GEO and AEO lately.
But I think the same logic sits behind them.
It's not about how to fool AI. It's about giving AI enough credible material to trust you, understand you, and think of you when someone asks.
For people, and for AI
Every professional in future, whether you're a doctor, lawyer, accountant, founder, or in any other field, should really start building your own content.
Not to shoot one viral video.
Not to get a few more likes or followers today.
But to keep leaving your knowledge, experience and views behind.
Because in future, as more and more people ask AI, the person it recommends may not be the one who spends the most on ads.
It may be the one who, over the past few years, kept sharing seriously, building up seriously and earning trust seriously.
That, to me, is the personal brand truly worth building.
In future, your content isn't only for people to read.
It's for AI too.
And whether AI recommends you may depend on how much content you've left behind that's worth learning from and worth trusting.