# Who Google's AI Recommends for Physiotherapy in Ottawa

Source: https://enginely.ai/reports/ottawa/physiotherapy-ai-visibility/

> A citation study of Google AI Overviews across 7 Ottawa sub-markets, measuring which clinics AI-generated answers name and cite. 39 clinics, 311 citations, 21 queries, captured August 2, 2026.

A citation study of Google AI Overviews across seven Ottawa sub-markets and three patient questions — session cost, OHIP coverage and treatment after a car accident — measuring which clinics AI-generated answers name and cite.

21 patient-intent queries. 311 citations captured. 39 Ottawa clinics named, and 17 Toronto-area clinics taking 67 citations between them. This is the weakest local position of any market in the series.

## Headline finding

**On the question of whether OHIP covers physiotherapy, Toronto-area clinics take 38% of Ottawa's citations and Ottawa clinics take just 15%.** OHIP is provincial, so there is no local barrier to entry — and Ottawa clinics are being out-published on their own province's public insurance question.

| Figure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Ottawa clinics cited | 39 |
| Citations to Ottawa clinics | 31% |
| Citations to Toronto-area clinics | 22% |
| Citations to Google listings | 37% |

## What did this study measure?

We ran 21 patient-intent queries through Google across seven Ottawa sub-markets — session cost, OHIP coverage, and what treatment costs after a car accident — and recorded every source cited by the AI Overview each one returned.

- **20 of 21 queries** returned an AI Overview; the miss was the OHIP question in Kanata
- **311 citations captured**, de-duplicated so a clinic cited twice in one answer counts once
- **31% pointed at Ottawa clinic websites**, 37% at Google listings, 22% at Toronto-area clinics and 11% at third parties
- **39 distinct Ottawa clinics** were named across the seven sub-markets
- **17 Toronto-area clinics identified** by exact domain match against our July 2026 GTA physiotherapy study
- **Single point in time** — captured August 2, 2026, and generated answers vary between runs

_This measures Google AI Overviews only. It does not measure ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Copilot, which use different retrieval systems and require separate tracking._

## Findings

### Ottawa clinics hold a minority of their own market's answers

Just 31% of citations go to an Ottawa clinic's website, against 22% to Toronto-area clinics and 37% to Google Business Profile listings. This is the weakest local position of any market we have measured across four metros.

### The OHIP question is being answered by Toronto

On coverage queries, Toronto clinics take 38% of citations and Ottawa clinics 15% — more than two to one. OHIP is province-wide, so a Toronto clinic's coverage page answers an Ottawa patient exactly as well as a local one, and Google cites it. The remainder goes to Champlain Health Line, ontario.ca and Canada Life.

### Car-accident rehab is nearly a dead heat

Ottawa clinics take 52% and Toronto clinics 40%. Two Toronto clinics — Gemini Health Group and Whitewater Physiotherapy — were cited in all seven Ottawa sub-markets on this question alone.

### Not one clinic covers all three questions

Of the 39 Ottawa clinics cited, only optsc.com appears across session cost, OHIP coverage and car-accident rehab. Every other clinic in the city wins at most two.

## Where Ottawa Clinics Hold, and Where They Lose

The gap is not uniform. It is concentrated almost entirely in one question — and that question is the one patients ask before deciding whether they can afford treatment at all.

_Share of AI Overview citations going to an Ottawa clinic's own website_

| Topic | Citations | Local share | Most cited | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Car-accident rehab | 99 | 52% | optsc.com (7), care2curephysiotherapy.com (5), interlinkphysiotherapy.ca (4) | Nearly a dead heat: Toronto clinics take 40% of this question. It is the highest-value referral stream in the field, because treatment is insurer-funded. |
| Session cost | 173 | 23% | optsc.com (7), ottawahealthgroup.com (5), athletescareottawa.ca (5) | Toronto clinics take only 7% here — but Google Business Profile listings take most of the rest. This is the question where the listing does the work, not the website. |
| OHIP coverage | 39 | 15% | ottawaphysiotherapy.net (3), maplecarephysiotherapy.com (2), optsc.com (1) | The gap. Toronto clinics take 38% — more than twice the local share — because OHIP rules are provincial and a Toronto clinic's coverage page answers an Ottawa patient just as well. The rest goes to Champlain Health Line, ontario.ca and an insurer. |

_Based on 311 citations across 20 AI Overviews, captured August 2, 2026._

## Toronto Clinics in Ottawa's Answers

Each clinic below was independently identified in our Greater Toronto Area physiotherapy study, then found again in Ottawa AI Overviews. These are the same domains, not similarly-named businesses. 17 clinics, 67 citations — and two of them, Gemini Health Group and Whitewater Physiotherapy, appear in all seven Ottawa sub-markets.

| Toronto-area clinic | Ottawa citations | Ottawa sub-markets | Cited for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| hhphysiotherapy.ca | 8 | 6 | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| whitewaterphysiotherapy.com | 7 | 7 | Car-accident rehab |
| geminihealthgroup.ca | 7 | 7 | Car-accident rehab |
| progressiverehab.ca | 7 | 6 | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| lifemark.ca | 6 | 6 | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| healthmaxphysio.com | 5 | 5 | OHIP coverage |
| physiowell.ca | 5 | 5 | Car-accident rehab |
| torontowellnessphysiocenter.ca | 4 | 3 | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| simplyalignrehab.com | 4 | 3 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost |
| rcphealth.ca | 3 | 3 | Car-accident rehab |
| torontophysiotherapy.ca | 3 | 3 | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| physiocottage.ca | 2 | 2 | Session cost |
| wellmaxphysiotherapy.ca | 2 | 2 | Car-accident rehab |
| curocanada.com | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab |
| stillwatershealing.ca | 1 | 1 | Session cost |
| physionow.ca | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab |
| globalhealthphysiotherapy.ca | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab |

_OHIP coverage rules are provincial, not municipal. A Toronto clinic that publishes a clear page on what OHIP does and does not cover answers an Ottawa patient's question exactly as well as a local one. There is no local barrier here to defend._

## Every Ottawa Clinic Cited, Ranked

All 39 Ottawa physiotherapy clinics cited across the 21 queries analysed, ranked by how many generated answers cited the clinic's own website. The missing-questions column is the more useful half: exactly one clinic in the city — optsc.com — is missing none.

| # | Clinic | Location | Citations | Sub-markets | Questions won | Missing questions |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | optsc.com | Hunt Club | 15 | 7 | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage, Session cost | — |
| 2 | care2curephysiotherapy.com | Vanier | 7 | 6 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 3 | ottawahealthgroup.com | Kanata | 7 | 5 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 4 | athletescareottawa.ca | Ottawa (Central) | 6 | 5 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 5 | glebephysio.com | Nepean | 5 | 4 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 6 | interlinkphysiotherapy.ca | Ottawa (Central) | 4 | 4 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 7 | chartierphysio.ca | Vanier | 4 | 3 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 8 | newlifept.ca | Ottawa (Central) | 3 | 3 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 9 | ottawaphysiotherapy.net | Barrhaven | 3 | 3 | OHIP coverage | Car-accident rehab, Session cost |
| 10 | physiocarephysiotherapy.com | Ottawa (Central) | 3 | 3 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 11 | maplecarephysiotherapy.com | Ottawa (Central) | 3 | 2 | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage | Session cost |
| 12 | careinstitute.ca | Orléans | 2 | 2 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 13 | fxnphysio.com | Kanata | 2 | 2 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 14 | tonicphysio.com | Ottawa (Central) | 2 | 2 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 15 | vitalitypt.ca | Orléans | 2 | 2 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 16 | activehealthinstitute.com | Barrhaven | 2 | 1 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 17 | myrevivephysio.ca | Orléans | 2 | 1 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 18 | optimizeottawa.com | Barrhaven | 2 | 1 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 19 | proactionsportsclinic.com | Kanata | 2 | 1 | Car-accident rehab, Session cost | OHIP coverage |
| 20 | acpottawa.ca | Barrhaven | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 21 | anatomyphysioclinic.com | Orléans | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 22 | arrowellness.ca | Ottawa (Central) | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 23 | aspirehealthottawa.ca | Hunt Club | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 24 | backontrackphysio.com | Hunt Club | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 25 | elitephysioottawa.com | Kanata | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 26 | elysianwellnesscentre.com | Orléans | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 27 | expertphysioplus.com | Orléans | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 28 | greenboroclinic.ca | Nepean | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 29 | hwphysiotherapy (janeapp) | Barrhaven | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 30 | ibalancewell.com | Barrhaven | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 31 | lifecarephysio.com | Ottawa (Central) | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 32 | orleansphysio.com | Orléans | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 33 | ottawahealth.ca | Vanier | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 34 | ottawaphysio.clinic | Nepean | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 35 | physiovive.com | Barrhaven | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 36 | procarephysiotherapy.com | Hunt Club | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |
| 37 | prophysiotherapy.com | Vanier | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 38 | stittsvillecarproadphysio.com | Nepean | 1 | 1 | Session cost | Car-accident rehab, OHIP coverage |
| 39 | xpertphysiotherapy.com | Barrhaven | 1 | 1 | Car-accident rehab | OHIP coverage, Session cost |

_Bar length is scaled to the highest citation count in the study. Repeat citations of the same domain within a single answer are counted once. Where a clinic's booking page on a third-party scheduler was cited, it was attributed to that clinic. Captured August 2, 2026._

## Toronto Clinics Are Present in Every Sub-Market

In Nepean, Orléans, Barrhaven and Vanier, Toronto clinics are cited almost as often as local ones. Hunt Club is the only sub-market where local clinics hold a clear lead.

| Sub-market | Ottawa citations | Toronto citations | Distinct Ottawa clinics |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ottawa (Central) | 16 | 10 | 13 |
| Kanata | 12 | 8 | 9 |
| Nepean | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| Orléans | 13 | 11 | 11 |
| Barrhaven | 15 | 11 | 12 |
| Vanier | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| Hunt Club | 12 | 5 | 10 |

## Government, Insurers and a Law Firm

33 citations (11%) went to something that is not a physiotherapy clinic. The pattern is concentrated on the coverage question, where a government health directory and the province itself answer what clinics have not.

| Source | What it is | Citations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| champlainhealthline.ca | Government health directory | 8 |
| ontario.ca | Government | 5 |
| canadalife.com | Insurer | 4 |
| healthhives.com | Booking directory | 3 |
| swordhealth.com | Digital MSK platform (US) | 3 |
| settlement.org | Government newcomer information | 2 |
| easyalliedhealth.ca | Mobile-care aggregator | 1 |
| superprof.ca | Tutoring marketplace | 1 |
| reddit.com | Community forum | 1 |
| painhero.ca | Booking directory | 1 |
| law123.ca | Law firm | 1 |
| facebook.com | Social platform | 1 |

## Method

1. Ran 21 patient-intent queries through Google with city-level location targeting across seven Ottawa sub-markets: Ottawa Central, Kanata, Nepean, Orléans, Barrhaven, Vanier and Hunt Club.
2. Tested each sub-market with the same three questions — session cost, OHIP coverage and treatment after a car accident, so every area was asked identical questions.
3. Captured the complete search result page for each query, including the AI Overview block, its generated text, and every source it cited.
4. De-duplicated citations per answer, so a clinic cited twice within a single AI Overview counts once.
5. Identified the Toronto-area clinics by exact domain match against our own July 2026 Greater Toronto Area physiotherapy study, rather than inferring from business names.
6. Classified each cited source by hand as a clinic's own website, a Google Business Profile listing, or a third party — government, regulator, insurer, directory or aggregator. Where a clinic's booking page on a third-party scheduler was cited, it was attributed to that clinic.
7. Crawled on August 2, 2026 without personalisation, and recorded the crawl window so any figure can be re-checked against the day it was captured.

## Limitations

This is a single-point-in-time snapshot. AI Overviews are generated fresh per query and vary between runs, so exact citation lists will differ if re-run; trends require repeated sampling. Clinic identification is by website domain, and where a group operates several sites each is counted separately unless the study states a merge.

One of the 21 queries — OHIP coverage in Kanata — returned no AI Overview and contributes no citations. Only three patient questions were tested; pelvic health, vestibular, concussion and post-surgical rehabilitation may behave differently.

AI Overviews reach the largest audience of any AI answer surface — no login, no app, shown to anyone searching Google — so this is the widest-reach measurement available. It is not the whole picture, and a business performing well here may perform differently elsewhere. Every figure comes from search results captured on the date stated and can be independently checked by running the same queries yourself.

## Where your clinic sits

This report shows the market. It does not show your position in it — whether you are cited at all, on which of the three questions, and which clinics are being named in the answers your patients see instead. That analysis is specific to your domain, and we produce it individually.

The most useful thing in this data is how specific the gap is. Ottawa clinics hold their own on car-accident rehab, are thin on session cost, and are almost absent on OHIP coverage — a question with no local barrier at all, currently answered by Toronto clinics, the province and an insurer. Only one of the 39 clinics cited covers all three. For most practices the fastest gain is not general visibility. It is one page.

The work that follows from this report is a fixed-price engagement: [the AI Visibility Accelerator](https://enginely.ai/services/ai-visibility-accelerator/index.html.md). Thirteen weeks, a published price, and three separate measurements against these same queries after publication.

## Questions about this report

### Why does this report only cover Google AI Overviews?

Because an AI Overview is rendered inside a public search results page, it can be retrieved directly, for a specific city, at a specific moment — which is how every figure here was captured. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot do not publish their answers anywhere; those answers exist only when a user prompts the model, so measuring them requires running a fixed prompt set against each model repeatedly over time. That is a different instrument, and we report it separately rather than blending two methods into one number.

### Would you get the same numbers if you ran it again?

Not exactly. AI Overviews are generated fresh per query and vary between runs, so the exact citation list would differ. The structural findings — how concentrated the market is, which source types dominate, which questions are being lost — are stable enough to act on. Any specific clinic's citation count is a snapshot, not a ranking position.

### Our clinic is not in the table. What does that mean?

It means the clinic was not cited in any of the 20 answers Google generated, in any of the seven sub-markets. It does not mean the clinic is invisible in Google generally, or that it performs badly in the map pack — those are different surfaces measured differently. It does mean that for these three questions, the answer a patient received named someone else.

### Why is the listing share so high here?

We do not know why Google weights Business Profile panels more heavily in some verticals than others, and we will not speculate. What we can report is the measurement: 37% of Ottawa physiotherapy citations were listing panels, against 6% in Ottawa accounting and 2% in Calgary physiotherapy. Practically it means the listing and the website are doing separate jobs here, and in most clinics they are maintained by different people.

### How were clinics identified?

By website domain, exactly as it appeared in the AI Overview source list. Where a group operates several sites, each is counted separately unless this study states otherwise, because the citation was earned by a specific page on a specific domain.

### Can we be removed from the report?

Write to us and we will discuss it. The domains here appear because they were cited in publicly generated search results on the date stated, and the study would be less useful and less checkable without them — but we would rather have the conversation than not.

### Does being cited more often mean more customers?

We did not measure that, and we will not claim it. This study measures citations in generated answers, not clicks, calls or bookings. What it establishes is which clinics are present in the answer someone reads before choosing — presence is a precondition for being chosen, not a substitute for it.

## Full report as PDF

The same study, packaged: [download the PDF](https://enginely.ai/reports/enginely-ottawa-physiotherapy-ai-visibility-august-2026.pdf). Everything in it is on this page already.

## Legal note

This report is provided for information. Clinic names and domains appear because they were cited in publicly generated search results on the date stated; inclusion or absence is not an assessment of clinical quality or of any clinic’s standing. Nothing here is medical advice, and nothing here describes what OHIP does or does not cover — check that with the Province of Ontario. Figures describe what Google's systems returned on August 2, 2026 and may change.