And the businesses that harness AI the soonest will be ahead of their competitors. Companies are going to need an expert guide to help them navigate this new landscape. There aren’t many players in this space – yet. But that’s changing.
Healthcare companies and healthcare consulting firms already have an AI ally in HealthcareAIO, founded by an industry expert and serial entrepreneur Stephen Fogg founded his latest venture in late 2024. He already knows many of the players in the field via his healthcare marketing firm, Fogg Media.
I started seeing a new wave of AI and wanted to investigate how it could help companies increase their online presence and gain market share. I saw an opportunity to develop expertise in something every company is going to need to adopt.
Think about when Netflix transitioned from physical DVDs into a streaming service. I thought that was crazy. But it was prescient. Now, think about how Blockbuster didn’t see that streaming services would impact their business model.
We’re hearing that Fortune 500 companies bought licenses for AI platforms – Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, OpenAI – and pushed them out to employees. But their employees don’t know how to use them – or use them effectively. So, now company leaders are questioning their return on investment.
It actually can stand for two things – AI optimization or AI officer. That’s when we literally serve as part of your staff – a temporary, in-house chief AI officer.
We’ve developed expertise in an area with very few experts right now, and we can provide a sense of comfort to our clients. AI is here; it’s unavoidable. Let us take the fear out of it.
Plenty of companies are throwing money at this, but they don’t have anybody in the driver’s seat. We can be. But we don’t want to be the heroes. We want your team to shine. We can help you navigate the intersection of healthcare, AI, and marketing.
Our target audience is large – as in global – consulting firms, large agencies looking for an AI expert to tack on to their existing efforts and also large hospital systems. While we may eventually be a global company, we’re starting in the Southeast.
Not too many. And when you start talking about AI, you can see people either tune out, like it doesn’t apply to them, or get a deer-in-the-headlights look. That’s where I see our value.
It’s coming so quickly that it’s scaring people. I predict AI will change how we look at websites.
Currently, websites are built to start with the biggest funnel and funnel search results down. AI shifts the entire journey because when websites are funneled through AI, it personalizes the experience. It can literally make it one-to-one.
Let’s use the auto industry as an example. Say I want to buy a Toyota 4Runner, and my wife wants to buy a Toyota RAV4. We’ll have different experiences on the website.
Based on my search habits and what the internet knows about me and my credit score, when I go to Toyota’s AI-enabled website – it will populate a Toyota 4Runner. And it’ll likely be green, since it’s my favorite color. My social media feed shows that I love hiking. So, it’s going to envision that 4Runner driving through the mountains. If it gets smart enough, it might show me in the driver’s seat. And it’ll present me with offers based on my credit score, purchasing behavior, and how long my purchasing horizon is.
But my wife will see the RAV4, in her favorite color and in a landscape that appeals to her. And her pricing will be based on her credit score.
But in the healthcare space, there’s a hiccup. If a breast cancer survivor is searching online for resources, the internet doesn’t know about her cancer. HIPAA regulations prevent that – which is a good thing.
We’re still wrapping our heads around how to make a healthcare website one-to-one.
We believe so.
At a major AI-focused marketing conference, I saw how search engine optimization – or, SEO, the way we search online – is being affected by AI. Companies will need to know how to use this new technology. And many don’t.
The old ways of doing things – where we stuffed keywords into blogs – are going by the wayside. And the search function will not necessarily point somebody to a website, which was traditionally the case. It will provide the best answer in the quickest amount of time.
Primarily, marketing directors are tasked with figuring out how to use AI. But at HealthcareAIO, we’re also seeing VPs of HR and accounting taking on the AI function – and not knowing where to begin.
And how do you help?
In addition to serving as an in-house AI officer, we’re consultants and trainers. Our training sessions are customized to each client’s needs and include anything from a four-hour session to a two-day workshop.
Navigating the healthcare industry is a beast. My first 18 months in this space were spent just learning acronyms.
Healthcare is entirely different from manufacturing, consumer packaging, and what have you. There’s so much more involved – HIPAA compliance, for instance. There are so many regulatory aspects to healthcare. And when you’re working with AI, there’s a lot of data being transferred from one party to another – and a lot of nervousness around security breaches.
I know the business of healthcare – and I’m sticking with what I know. I know payers, insurers, pharmacies, and more. I know how the ecosystem works. And I know this new tool is coming into play. I think having an expert in healthcare help navigate the space is crucial.
Let me reiterate how fast this is happening. At HealthcareAIO, we’re experts in this space today and working hard to stay on top of it. But it’s evolving all the time. We’re telling clients that what we share with them when we first start working together may become obsolete during our relationship.
