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Part 1 – From Google to ChatGPT: How AI Is Changing the Way Parents Search for Private Schools
For years, when parents began the journey of looking for a private school, their first stop was almost always Google. They’d type in phrases like:
- “Private schools near me”
- “Christian schools in [City]”
- “Top private schools in [City and State]”
The results would lead them to a list of schools, Google Maps listings, review sites, and perhaps a few ads. Your goal as a school marketer was clear: rank high in search results, optimize your Google Business Profile, and encourage parent reviews.
But now, a major shift is underway, and it’s driven by artificial intelligence.
From Browsing Links to Asking Questions
More and more parents, especially millennials and younger Gen Xers, are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google Gemini to get instant answers instead of browsing through pages of links.
They might ask:
- “What are the best private schools in (City, State) for Kindergarten?”
- “Compare these two schools (list two schools of interest)”
- “Which private schools in my area have small class sizes and strong academic support?”
- “Which private schools near me offer both strong arts and faith formation?”
These tools don’t return a list of clickable links. Instead, they summarize what they find online by pulling from your website, online reviews, articles, school directories, and blog posts.
Why This Changes the Game for Enrollment Marketing Leaders
When a parent searches on Google, they see multiple results and choose where to click. But in an AI search, they’re given one narrative answer, and that narrative is built from whatever information the AI can find about your school.
If your content is thin, outdated, inconsistent, or buried on the web, you might be left out of the answer entirely. Even worse, you might be included but described in a way that’s incomplete or inaccurate.
I have seen ChatGPT try to pull answers from websites with insufficient content and outdated Wikipedia listings. AI will rely upon the online content about your school to provide an answer.
This is no longer about simply showing up in search results. It’s about controlling the story that AI tells about your school.
The shift from search to answer engine is here.
The Risk of Being Invisible
If you don’t adapt to this change, here’s what’s at stake:
- Lost visibility: Your school may not appear when a parent asks an AI tool about the “best schools” in your area.
- Lost control of your message: Inaccurate or outdated information may be used to describe your school.
- Lost competitive advantage: A competing school with better online content could become the go-to recommendation.
Preparing for AI Search
The good news? You can take steps to improve your visibility in AI search. It starts with knowing what AI already says about you. Search for your school in ChatGPT or Perplexity and read the results. Then ask yourself: “Is this the story we want told?”
In Part 2 of this series, I’ll walk you through five practical strategies to help your school show up and shine when parents turn to AI for answers, including a powerful resource I recommend to schools that want expert help.
If you’re ready to make sure AI tells the right story about your school, you won’t want to miss the next post.