As consumers increasingly turn to AI-powered search tools to discover and book wellness experiences, specialist wellness agency The Spa PR Company has launched a new AI Visibility & Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) service to help spa and wellness brands stay ahead of changing customer behaviour.
The launch comes as new data from global beauty and wellness booking platform Fresha reveals that one in four online beauty and wellness booking referrals now come directly from AI tools such as Google Gemini and other large language models, highlighting the growing role AI is playing in influencing booking decisions. Fresha also reports that referrals from AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude, are growing by 50% month-on-month across its marketplace.
Where consumers once relied on Google searches and recommendations from friends, many are now asking AI questions such as:
• "What's the best spa near me?"
• "Which wellness retreat offers the best value?"
• "Where should I book a luxury spa break?"
• "What are the best spa treatments for stress?"
For spa operators and wellness brands, the implications are significant. As AI becomes a trusted source of recommendations, brands that demonstrate authority, credibility and expertise are increasingly more likely to be surfaced in AI-generated answers. Furthermore, visitors arriving via AI-powered search are often further along in the decision-making process, having already used AI to research, compare and shortlist their options. This means they are more informed and can be more likely to convert into customers.
Recognising this shift, Spa PR has developed a specialist service that combines strategic public relations with Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) to help wellness businesses improve their visibility across AI-powered search platforms.
The service includes:
• AI Visibility Audits
• AI-friendly content creation
• AI-optimised press releases
• Expert commentary and thought leadership
• Digital PR campaigns using key words and Ai friendly structure
• Brand authority and messaging development
• AI visibility monitoring
Tracey Stapleton, Founder of Spa PR, said: "For more than 20 years, we've helped spa and wellness brands build trust through strategic PR, expert storytelling and meaningful media coverage. What's changing today isn't the importance of trust, it's how consumers find it. Increasingly, people are asking AI-powered search tools to recommend the best spa, wellness retreat or beauty brand. Those recommendations are shaped by the quality of information available online, from trusted media coverage and expert commentary to consistent brand messaging and authoritative content.
Our new AI Visibility & Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) service helps wellness and spa businesses adapt to this new way of searching. We're not trying to outsmart AI; we're helping our clients become the trusted brands that AI, and ultimately consumers, want to recommend."
Specialising exclusively in the wellness, spa and lifestyle sectors, Spa PR believes businesses that invest now in building their online authority will be best placed to benefit as AI search continues to reshape how consumers discover brands.
For more information about Spa PR's AI Visibility & Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) service, visit https://thespaprcompany.com/
