The Case for Coupling Awareness and Demand

Zareen Fidlon

For years, marketers have drawn a line between brand awareness and demand generation: one is about visibility, the other about conversion.

But in healthcare, where every message must land through the filter of credibility, those categories are collapsing. The rise of generative AI search is accelerating the convergence, and it’s reframing how we think about earned media, content and, above all, trust.

Generative search raises the stakes

Generative AI is redefining what “search” means. Instead of delivering lists of links a la the traditional SERP, generative search surfaces synthesized insights, often quoting or integrating content directly into responses. This shift amplifies the value of authoritative voices because the quality and credibility of source content determine whether your brand becomes part of the answer.

Here’s what the data shows:

• Google’s rollout of AI Overviews is pushing more answer-style results to the top of SERPs, reducing click-through rates to original sites.
• AI Overviews now appear in over 75 percent of top-of-funnel searches for B2B queries, crowding out traditional editorial listings.
• Early research on generative search engines reveals only about 52 percent of generated sentences are fully supported by citations, and the precision of citations clocks in at ~75 percent.
• SEO practitioners confirm the shift: surveys show content optimization and authority-building (vs. pure keyword tactics) are top adaptation strategies in 2025.

The bottom line: If your content doesn’t carry trust and authority, it may never surface. And even if it does, there’s no guarantee it will turn the dial for your audience.

Signals vs. substance

In healthcare, awareness alone is insufficient. A byline, a quote or a media mention may once have served as a “trust signal,” basically a shorthand that said, “we exist, and we’re legit.” But under generative search, those signals only matter if they articulate insight, evidence and credibility.

Trust is the transformation engine. It turns an earned mention from a passive badge into an active reason to investigate your brand. It turns content from self-promotion into a diagnostic lens. And that shift is especially vital in healthcare, where decisions are high-stakes and skepticism runs deep.

A recent McKinsey survey reinforces this: 64 percent of respondents said they trust health and wellness content from systems or doctors, whereas only five percent trusted social media or blogs. What’s more: 42 percent of respondents were more likely to schedule an appointment with a health system that publishes relevant content.

The takeaway here is that when your content is trustworthy, it becomes a vector for demand, not just recognition.

Trust and awareness are critical

Healthcare buyers (clinicians, payers or patients) operate differently than your standard buyer. They need proof, not promises. They need data, not fluff. They scrutinize claims and expect transparency. That makes trust non-negotiable. Here are three things we know that reinforce this:

1. Healthcare is one of the most regulated and scrutinized verticals; mistakes or exaggerations can quickly undermine credibility.
2. There’s already a trust deficit: younger consumers are more likely to disregard medical advice in favor of social media recommendations.
3. Real patient stories, when handled ethically, will always resonate more than abstract claims.

Earning trust isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a need for your brand, and it’s the basis upon which your demand is built.

What healthcare leaders are doing now

Many healthcare organizations are already experimenting with earned and content strategies that lean on trust:

• Health systems are publishing data-backed outcomes reports, which generative systems surface in response to patient queries about “best hospitals for [procedure].”
• Digital health platforms are investing in bylined content that explains how their models protect sensitive patient data. This addresses a top concern among both clinicians and consumers.
• Medtech companies are working with medical journals to seed research-backed narratives that are then picked up in industry media, fueling credibility loops across search and generative platforms.

Each of these examples illustrates the same principle: Earned and owned channels are strongest when they communicate not just existence, but also evidence.

Putting trust at the center of your strategy

So how should healthcare marketers pivot from signal-chasing to trust-building? Several strategies stand out.

Anchor content in evidence, not branding. Earned media, research reports and whitepapers should be grounded in data, peer-reviewed literature and real-world outcomes. Generative systems favor factual, attributable sources.

Optimize for “answer engines,” not just search engines. SEO will still matter. But artificial intelligence optimization and other umbrella terms that fall under it, like answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization, is emerging as a critical discipline.

Diversify your earned footprint. Generative systems pull broadly. Mentions across respected journals, trade publications, niche healthcare media and clinical outlets all build authority. Diversification is important, but you want to work smarter, not just harder. Make sure you’re landing in the places where your audience looks.

Build earned-content feedback loops. Use media pickup and commentary to inform your content roadmap. If an op-ed leads to citations, expand it into formats like video explainers or even physician Q&As.

Be transparent about data and limitations. In fields like biotech or digital health, every assumption matters. Be upfront about methodology, funding and patient populations. Trust grows through disclosure.

Track AI visibility, not just clicks. Measure whether your content shows up in AI-generated answers or citations. This will become the new share-of-voice metric. And, if you’re not sure where to start, we crafted some helpful pointers.

Trust is the product of coupling your brand and demand efforts

The next chapter for healthcare marketers will be defined not by how loudly they can promote, but by how credibly they can communicate. Gen AI has accelerated the collapse of the old awareness-demand divide. In doing so, it has opened new possibilities for those who prioritize trust.

Brand and demand shouldn’t live in separate silos. The mandate is clear: Elevate your earned media, ground your content in evidence, embed transparency and let trust be the lens through which every message is delivered. Because in an AI-shaped information environment, the organizations that are surfaced, cited and chosen will not be the loudest. They’ll be the most trusted.

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Zareen Fidlon is Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing at PAN.