How AI Search Is Recommending Fertility Clinics: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

The fertility clinic benchmark for August 2026 was quiet: no tracked brand exceeded the range of normal month-to-month variation, and CCRM Fertility retained the category lead in valid recommendation coverage. CCRM Fertility's coverage moved from 33.9% in July 2026 to 31.5% in August 2026, a 2.4-point change that the benchmark's series check classifies as ordinary variation. Shady Grove Fertility (21.3%), RMA Network (14.8%), and Kindbody (10.2%) held the next three positions, unchanged in rank order from July.

Within this stable month, two gap changes stand out in the underlying data. The gap between RMA Network and Shady Grove Fertility narrowed from 11.9 points in July to 6.5 points in August, a 5.4-point change — the largest gap change recorded between the two months tracked so far. Kindbody's position relative to RMA Network shifted from a 0.4-point lead in July to a 4.6-point deficit in August, a 5.0-point change. Both reflect differences in the measured output distribution across several brands during the period rather than a single significant event, and the category overall is classified as quiet, with no significant risers or decliners.

CCRM Fertility's lead over Shady Grove Fertility remains wide, at 10.2 points, even as the leader's own coverage moved down slightly, while the gap between RMA Network and Shady Grove Fertility closed and Kindbody's position relative to RMA Network reversed. This report currently tracks two months of data (July 2026 and August 2026); as the series lengthens, additional months of history will help distinguish ordinary variation from any consistent multi-month pattern.

This monthly benchmark begins with 480 prompt-surface observations (391 unique questions) in August 2026, up from 367 prompt-surface observations (302 unique questions) in July 2026. Of those, 480 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor in August (367 in July); 424 were relevant and 56 were irrelevant (318 relevant and 49 irrelevant in July). The public benchmark metrics use the 305 qualified observations in August and 242 in July that survive both qualification stages.

Key Findings

These figures sit within a data set that grew in size between July and August 2026; the qualification funnel below shows how the raw collection narrows to the public benchmark denominator.

Benchmark Context

The report separates the raw collection universe from the qualified analysis set. Brand-level recommendation percentages are calculated within the qualified benchmark set.

The qualified benchmark observations are the denominator used for every brand-level coverage percentage that follows.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The recommendation-shaped answer share for July 2026 was 77 of 242 qualified observations, with 99 valid recommendation shortlists identified. In August 2026, 80 of 305 qualified observations were recommendation-shaped, with 121 valid recommendation shortlists identified. The category is classified as stable across both months.

AI Recommendation Trend

The Category Holds a Stable, Leader-Led Structure in August 2026

CCRM Fertility retained the top position in valid recommendation coverage at 31.5% in August 2026, down 2.4 points from July's 33.9%, a change within normal month-to-month variation. The month's overall picture came from a combination of modest movements across most tracked brands rather than any single brand exceeding normal variation: modest declines for several brands were offset by small gains for RMA Network, Pacific Fertility Center, and Illume Fertility, producing a stable category structure overall.

What Changed This Month

CCRM Fertility

CCRM Fertility's valid recommendation coverage moved from 33.9% in July 2026 to 31.5% in August 2026, a 2.4-point change that falls within the range of normal month-to-month variation for the brand. This is the first month of a downward move following July's level, and CCRM Fertility remains the clear category leader, holding a 10.2-point margin over the second-place brand, Shady Grove Fertility (21.3%).

The brand's raw mention presence moved from 67.4% in July to 56.4% in August, an 11.0-point change. The brand still appeared in 172 of 305 qualified observations in August, generating 96 valid recommendations. Its top-three rate moved from 24.8% to 22.9%, and its rank-one rate from 19.0% to 16.1%.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt types are associated with the change in raw mention presence, and how that compares with the smaller change in valid recommendation coverage.

Shady Grove Fertility

Shady Grove Fertility recorded the largest coverage change in August 2026, moving from 26.0% in July to 21.3%, a 4.7-point decline. This change falls within the range of normal month-to-month variation, but it coincided with the gap to RMA Network narrowing from 11.9 points to 6.5 points.

The brand's raw mention presence moved from 50.8% to 46.9%, and its top-three rate from 19.0% to 16.4%. Its rank-one rate held steady at 3.3%. The brand generated 65 valid recommendations from 143 present observations in August.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which surfaces or prompt types are associated with the coverage change, and whether the narrowing gap to RMA Network reflects a change for Shady Grove Fertility, for RMA Network, or both.

RMA Network

RMA Network recorded the largest coverage increase in August 2026, with valid recommendation coverage moving from 14.1% in July to 14.8%, a 0.7-point change. Raw mention presence moved from 24.8% to 27.5%, giving the brand 84 present observations in August.

The brand generated 45 valid recommendations in August, up from 34 in July. Its top-three rate moved from 5.4% to 5.6%, and its rank-one rate from 0.4% to 0.7%, with two rank-one placements in August. RMA Network's gap to Shady Grove Fertility narrowed by 5.4 points, the largest gap change recorded between the two months in this series.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts or surfaces are associated with the presence change, and whether that pattern holds in future months relative to Shady Grove Fertility.

Kindbody

Kindbody's valid recommendation coverage moved from 14.5% in July 2026 to 10.2% in August 2026, a 4.3-point decline. This shift moved the brand from a 0.4-point lead over RMA Network in July to a 4.6-point deficit in August — a 5.0-point change in relative position, one of several notable gap changes recorded this period.

The brand's raw mention presence moved from 22.7% to 19.7%, and its rank-one rate moved from 0.4% to 0.0%, with no rank-one placements in August. Kindbody generated 31 valid recommendations from 60 present observations in August.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt categories are associated with the loss of rank-one placements and the presence change for Kindbody.

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

All 305 qualified observations in August 2026 fell into the Brand Recommendation class. The public benchmark cannot yet answer pricing, value, or head-to-head comparison questions for fertility clinics, as no qualified observations were captured in those clusters this period. Commercial questions about cost positioning and direct comparison remain beyond what this public data supports.

Brand Opportunity Summary

The benchmark identifies where attention is warranted; a company-level analysis is needed to explain why.

Evidence Behind the Benchmark

The aggregate metrics are built from prompt-level observations (query, surface, recommendation outcome, rank, sentiment, and citations where exposed). Company-level analysis can go deeper into prompt, competitor, surface, and evidence patterns. Source presence is not automatically treated as proof of causation.

About This Benchmark

This report is part of the LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery research program.

• AI Industry Market Discovery
• AI Industry Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Industry Market Discovery Metrics
• AI Industry Market Discovery Standards

Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• Qualified denominators (242 in July 2026, 305 in August 2026) differ from raw collection counts (367 and 480); all coverage percentages use the qualified set.
• Small-count movements, such as US Fertility's loss of its only valid recommendation and Illume Fertility's first valid recommendation, reflect individual observations and may not indicate a durable pattern.
• The benchmark's series check classifies this month as quiet, with no brand exceeding normal month-to-month variation. This report does not establish cause for any change it describes.

Next Step

The Public Benchmark Shows Where a Brand Is Winning or Losing. A Company-Level Audit Shows Why.

Beneath the aggregate coverage percentages lie specific questions: which high-intent prompts does a brand win, which competitor takes the recommendation when a brand loses, what attributes do AI systems associate with each clinic, and which external sources shape those answers. The public benchmark shows the scoreboard; it does not reveal the plays that produced it.

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps those prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy. Request an AI visibility audit