FrogFish builds the pages, structured data and trusted third-party sources those engines cite. Then we track each AI-referred patient through screening and enrollment on a HIPAA-compliant stack.
Why AI search matters for enrollment now
Patients research a diagnosis before they ever fill out a screener. More and more of that research happens inside AI answers: "Are there clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression near me?", "What does a Phase 3 Alzheimer's trial involve?", "Is it safe to join a clinical trial?" Those answers name a few sources, often ClinicalTrials.gov, a handful of research sites and whichever sponsor pages explain the study clearly. If your study isn't one of them, the patient goes to a competitor's site, or nowhere.
Very few recruitment agencies work on AEO today. That means early movers can own the answers in their indication.
What we do
- AI visibility audit by indication. We test the questions patients, caregivers and physicians actually ask across the major AI engines, and score how often your study, sites or brand show up against competing trials.
- Answer-first study and condition pages. We build plain-language pages around those questions: eligibility basics, what participation involves, visit schedules, compensation and travel, and safety. All of it is IRB-friendly and written so models can quote it accurately.
- Technical AEO. MedicalStudy and FAQ structured data, consistent entity data that matches your ClinicalTrials.gov record, AI-crawler access and llms.txt.
- Off-site sources. Presence on the patient-advocacy sites, condition communities, site directories and health publications AI models draw from.
- HIPAA-compliant attribution. AI-referred visitors are tagged at the screener and followed to eligibility, randomization and enrollment. No PHI ever leaves the secure boundary. Our Lure analytics layer feeds that signal back to your paid media too.
How AEO works with paid recruitment
AEO isn't a replacement for Meta and Google recruitment campaigns. It's the layer that makes them cheaper. A patient who sees your study named in an AI answer is more likely to search for it by name, click your ad and finish the screener. We run both on one measurement system, so you can see cost per enrolled patient across AI, paid and organic in one view.
Who it's for
- Sponsors who want a durable, compliant patient channel that keeps working between paid flights.
- CROs bundling media, screening and analytics under one accountable partner.
- Site networks that want to be the site AI recommends in their metros and indications.
Why FrogFish
FrogFish founder Alex Fleshner was Head of Media Strategy at Verily, Alphabet's life sciences company, where he ran media for its B2B and B2C healthcare businesses. Before that he spent 13 years at Google across Ads and AI. Our recruitment system has been pressure-tested in oncology, neurology, rare disease and broader therapeutic areas, and our instant-qualification flow lifts contact rates 50–70% over traditional form-fill funnels.
Frequently asked questions
What is AEO for clinical trials?
It's the practice of making your study, sites or sponsor brand the source AI assistants cite when people ask about trials for a condition. It combines answer-first content, structured data and trusted third-party mentions, with tracking from AI referral to enrollment.
Is AEO content compliant with IRB and FDA expectations?
Yes, when it's done right. We write factual, non-promotional, plain-language content, route it through your regulatory and IRB review, and keep it consistent with your ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Can you track AI-referred patients without exposing PHI?
Yes. AI referrals are tagged at the session and screener level, and enrollment outcomes are passed back as anonymized, aggregated signal. No PHI leaves the HIPAA-compliant boundary.
How long until a study shows up in AI answers?
For specific indication and location questions, usually within 30–90 days of the pages and sources going live. Broad questions like "clinical trials near me" take longer and depend more on off-site authority.
Does AEO replace paid recruitment?
No. It lowers paid recruitment costs by building recognition and branded search, and it keeps sending patients when paid campaigns pause.
Book a 30-minute recruitment review → We'll run a quick AI-visibility check on your indication before the call.
Alex Fleshner is the founder of FrogFish Consulting. He spent 13 years at Google across Ads and AI, including AI Transformation Lead at Google Cloud AI, Head of Media Strategy at Verily, and lead of the Google Ads lead-gen vertical. More about Alex · LinkedIn
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