Plastic surgeons in Chicago: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank plastic surgeons in chicago by visibility and citations. 13 providers measured monthly across Google AI Mode: which providers the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Plastic surgeons serving Chicago patients with facial procedures, breast surgery, body contouring, reconstructive work, and cosmetic surgery expertise. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity answer questions about plastic surgeons in Chicago, Marco Ellis, MD comes up most often, cited in 37.5% of AI-generated responses across the engines tracked. Northwestern Memorial Wellness and Few Institute For Aesthetic also appear consistently in the top results, making these three names the starting point for most AI-informed searches in this category.
The rankings reflect which sources AI engines trust most. Google.com dominates as a citation source, followed by individual practice websites like chicagobreastandbody.com, drkimsurgery.com, drbuccalfat.com, and bloomplasticsurgery.com. The heavy reliance on practice-owned domains means AI engines are pulling directly from surgeons who have invested in detailed, procedure-specific content on their own sites, rather than from third-party review aggregators.
For buyers, this signals something practical: practices with strong topical content on specific procedures (rhinoplasty, body contouring, breast augmentation) tend to earn more AI visibility than those relying on general reputation alone. When comparing surgeons on this list, look for providers with recent third-party validation, detailed before-and-after documentation, and procedure-specific pages, since those are exactly the signals that drive AI recommendations in this category.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Marco Ellis MD holds the clear lead in this category with a composite score of 11.2 and a citation rate of 37.5%, against a category average citation rate of 4.8%. The next closest brands, Northwestern Memorial Wellness and Few Institute For Aesthetic, each score 3.8 composite and 12.5% citation. That gap between rank 1 and rank 2 is substantial, meaning Marco Ellis MD is pulled into AI responses roughly three times as often as either of its nearest peers in citation terms.
Every brand in the audit records 0.0% visibility, yet citation rates diverge sharply. Marco Ellis MD is cited in 37.5% of queries despite zero measured visibility, while 7 of the 13 tracked brands show both zero visibility and zero citation. This pattern indicates that AI Mode is referencing some brands as sources or named recommendations without those brands appearing as direct surface-level results, separating named presence from ranked visibility entirely.
Google AI Mode is the sole engine recorded across all 13 brands, so cross-engine comparison is not possible from this data. The top cited sources list includes domains not in the ranked brand set, such as chicagobreastandbody.com, drkimsurgery.com, bloomplasticsurgery.com, and lakeshoreplasticsurgery.com, alongside google.com itself. This suggests AI Mode is drawing on a broader pool of practitioner and clinic sites beyond the audited brand list when constructing its responses.
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
marcoellismd.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Marco Ellis MD dominates with a 37.5% citation rate and composite score of 11.2, roughly three times the citation rate of the two brands ranked directly below it. |
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| 2 |
northwesternplastics.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Northwestern Memorial Wellness ties rank 3 with a 12.5% citation rate and composite score of 3.8, both figures far below rank 1 but above the 4.8% category average. |
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| 3 |
fewinstitute.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Few Institute For Aesthetic matches Northwestern at 12.5% citation and 3.8 composite, sharing second-tier status with zero visibility and no differentiation from rank 2 on any measured metric. |
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| 4 |
theartofrhinoplasty.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Wiesman Nasal and Sinus records a 0.0% citation rate and 0.0 composite score, placing it among seven brands with no measurable AI presence in this category. |
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| 5 |
pscofchicago.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Plastic Surgery Clinic Of Chicago also scores 0.0 across all metrics, indistinguishable from ranks 6 through 10 and well below the 4.8% category average citation rate. |
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| 6 |
chicagodermatology.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
driteld.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
drgikas.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
lakeviewplasticsurgery.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
enhance-face.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
doctorwalton.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
goldcoastmedspa.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
maleplasticsurgery.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on plastic surgeons in chicago, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
Rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 30 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Get your own plastic surgeons in chicago brand audited
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about plastic surgeons in chicago AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility among plastic surgeons in Chicago?
Marco Ellis MD leads with a composite score of 11.2 and a 37.5% citation rate. The next closest brands, Northwestern Memorial Wellness and Few Institute For Aesthetic, each sit at 3.8 composite and 12.5% citation.
What is the average citation rate for plastic surgeons in Chicago in AI Mode?
The category average citation rate is 4.8%. Only three of the 13 audited brands exceed that figure: Marco Ellis MD at 37.5%, and Northwestern Memorial Wellness and Few Institute For Aesthetic each at 12.5%.
Why do brands show zero visibility but still appear in citations?
All 13 brands record 0.0% visibility, yet Marco Ellis MD achieves a 37.5% citation rate, indicating Google AI Mode is naming or referencing brands in responses without those brands registering as ranked surface results.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for plastic surgery research in Chicago?
The top cited sources include google.com, chicagobreastandbody.com, drkimsurgery.com, bloomplasticsurgery.com, and lakeshoreplasticsurgery.com, several of which are not in the audited brand set at all.
How many brands in this category have zero AI presence across all metrics?
Seven of the 13 audited brands record 0.0% on both visibility and citation, meaning they have no measurable presence in Google AI Mode responses for this category.
Is Google AI Mode the only engine driving AI visibility in this category?
Based on the audit data, Google AI Mode is the only engine recorded for all 13 brands, making cross-engine comparison impossible from this dataset.