How AI Search Is Recommending Home Health Care: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

Visiting Angels remains the coverage leader in home health care, and its position strengthened in October 2026. The benchmark shows Visiting Angels recommended in 67.0% of qualified observations in October 2026, up from 59.4% in July 2026 and 47.3% in September 2026. Home Instead follows at 56.7% in October, so the leader gap stands at 10.3 points, wider than the 5.5-point gap recorded in September 2026.

Comfort Keepers is the category's significant riser. Its valid recommendation coverage climbed to 54.5% in October 2026 from 40.6% in July 2026, a gain of 13.9 points that clears the series threshold. The brand's top-three rate rose 15.9 points to 43.0%, and its rank-one rate rose 7.2 points to 11.2%. The prior-to-current step, from 38.1% in September 2026 to 54.5% in October, was 16.4 points and is itself significant.

Three brands are the category's significant decliners against the July baseline: BrightStar Care fell 10.7 points to 19.6%, BAYADA Home Health Care fell 6.3 points to 5.3%, and Amedisys fell 4.8 points to 4.0%. Each of those three posted a modest bounce without recovering its July position.

Against the prior month, October 2026 was an expansive month: Visiting Angels rose 19.7 points from September, Home Instead rose 14.9 points, Comfort Keepers rose 16.4 points, and Right at Home rose 9.2 points, all significant prior-to-current movements. The qualified observation pool was 321 in October 2026, against 251 in July 2026, 310 in August 2026, and 328 in September 2026.

Each monthly run begins with 800 prompt-surface observations (630 unique questions in October 2026, against 610 in July 2026) across the benchmark's defined AI/search surface universe. Of those, 798 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor in October 2026; 418 were relevant and 380 were irrelevant, against 323 relevant and 477 irrelevant in July 2026. The public metrics use the 321 qualified observations in October 2026 that survive both qualification stages, against 251 in July 2026.

Key Findings

AI Response Inconsistency Alerts

Questions This Section Answers

• What factual contradictions did AI platforms surface about Amedisys and Home Instead?
• Which ownership and franchise-investment claims conflicted across ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and AI Mode?

Seven critical or high-severity factual inconsistencies were detected across four AI platforms: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and AI Mode (Google).

Amedisys

AI platforms provided conflicting information about Amedisys' ownership status at critical severity. When asked "Who is the largest home health company?", AI Mode stated that Amedisys was acquired by UnitedHealth Group's Optum, with the merger finalized in August 2025, citing Payer News coverage of the completed merger and LinkedIn posts on the transaction. Copilot, answering the same question, stated that Amedisys Inc. is an independent leader in home health and hospice care, citing a patient-volume ranking page. The flagged sources included a LinkedIn post reading "UnitedHealth now owns two of America's biggest home health companies: LHC Group and Amedisys."

Responses differed again at high severity on ownership. When asked "What are the biggest home health companies?", Gemini described Amedisys as a leading national provider without stating any acquisition, citing a market-leaders list and a caregiver-services location report. ChatGPT, answering the same question, stated that Amedisys is now owned by UnitedHealth Group, citing Healthcare DealHub and a Definitive Healthcare revenue analysis. One flagged source referenced "Optum labels: 182 · Amedisys, LHC, and UnitedHealth Group combined."

A third conflict at high severity concerned which company is largest by patient volume. When asked "What is the largest home health care company?", Copilot stated that Amedisys is the largest home health care company by patient volume, serving over 2.5 million patients annually, citing a patient-volume ranking and a ZoomInfo list. AI Mode stated that Matrix Medical Network serves the largest total number of individual patients in the U.S. clinical and home-assessment space, citing Statista and Definitive Healthcare. Flagged sources put Amedisys at 2,500,000+ patients on one side and Matrix Medical Network at 371,679 patients on the other.

A fourth conflict at high severity concerned the largest home health company ranking. When asked "Who is the largest home health company?", AI Mode stated that UnitedHealth Group's Optum operates the largest combined home health platform, not Amedisys individually, citing Payer News and LinkedIn posts on the merger. Copilot stated that Amedisys Inc. is the largest home health company in the U.S. in 2026, citing the same patient-volume ranking page. Flagged sources on the AI Mode side noted that UnitedHealth Group's Optum acquired LHC Group for $5.4 billion in 2023 and Amedisys for $3.3 billion in 2025.

BrightStar Care

AI platforms provided conflicting information about BrightStar Care's initial franchise investment at high severity. When asked "Which is the best home care franchise?", AI Mode stated a minimum investment of $250,000+, citing a competitor franchise site, a YouTube ranking video, and a franchise-selection guide. Copilot stated a range of $132.5K–$235K, citing a ranked senior-care franchise list. Flagged sources included a franchise directory listing "BrightStar Care $132,499 – $235,038" and a franchise review citing "BrightStar Care (avg AUV $2.41M, $132.5K–$235K investment, 5.25% royalty)."

A second conflict at high severity concerned the same investment figure against a different comparison. When asked "Which is the best home care franchise?", AI Mode again stated $250,000+, while Gemini stated "$109,000 to $185,000+", citing a franchise-brands cost guide, a Comfort Keepers franchise ranking, and BrightStar Care's own franchising site.

Home Instead

AI platforms provided conflicting information about Home Instead's average unit volume at high severity. When asked "Is a home care franchise profitable?", ChatGPT stated that 2026 FDD data reports average gross sales of about $2.75 million and median sales of about $2.35 million, citing a franchise unit-economics analysis, a competitor FDD page, and a franchise review. Copilot stated an average unit volume of approximately $1.6M, citing a franchise-profitability guide, a senior-care profitability article, and an owner-income analysis. A flagged source on the ChatGPT side quoted "the average was $2,750,876 of gross sales on 79,658 client hours served, with a median of $2,352,451."

Benchmark Context

Questions This Section Answers

• How does the qualified benchmark set differ from the raw collection universe?
• How did the qualified observation pool change between July and October 2026?

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

August 2026 and September 2026 sit between these two columns, with 310 and 328 qualified observations respectively.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The intermediate months contextualize the shape of the change. Recommendation-shaped answer share was 51.6% in August 2026 and 42.1% in September 2026 before reaching 59.8% in October 2026. Valid recommendation shortlist share moved from 62.9% in August 2026 to 55.8% in September 2026 and then to 76.9% in October 2026.

AI Recommendation Trend

Questions This Section Answers

• Which home health care brands gained or lost recommendation coverage between July and October 2026?
• Which brands cleared the significant-movement threshold, and which only posted prior-to-current gains?

The home health care category expanded at the top in October 2026, with the leader extending its coverage and one brand breaking upward while three others remain below their July positions.

The category-level change came from a combination of movements rather than a single brand's result. Only Comfort Keepers cleared the significant-movement threshold against the July baseline, while Amedisys, BAYADA Home Health Care, and BrightStar Care were classified as significant decliners. Visiting Angels, Home Instead, and Right at Home each posted prior-to-current gains that exceeded the prior-to-current threshold without clearing the baseline threshold.

What Changed This Month

Questions This Section Answers

• Why did Visiting Angels' rank-one rate fall even as its overall coverage rose?
• How did Comfort Keepers convert a modest presence gain into a significant recommendation gain?
• Which brands were the largest baseline decliners, and where did their losses concentrate?

Visiting Angels: Leader Extends Coverage

Visiting Angels saw its valid recommendation coverage rise from 59.4% in July 2026 to 67.0% in October 2026, a gain of 7.6 points that sits just below the series threshold for significance against the baseline. The sharper movement is prior-to-current: coverage climbed 19.7 points from 47.3% in September 2026 to 67.0% in October 2026, which is significant.

Placement improved as well. The brand's top-three rate rose from 49.4% in July 2026 to 57.0% in October 2026, a gain of 7.6 points. Its absolute valid recommendation count rose from 149 in July 2026 to 215 in October 2026, and raw presence remained the highest in the category at 82.5% in October 2026.

The distinction to notice is between volume of coverage and first-choice placement. Visiting Angels' rank-one rate fell from 24.3% in July 2026 to 15.3% in October 2026, a decline of 9.0 points, even as its overall coverage and top-three rate rose. The brand is being recommended in more answers without being named first as often.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt types drove the rank-one decline while overall coverage rose, and which brand takes the first-choice position in those answers?

Comfort Keepers: Significant Riser

Comfort Keepers posted the category's only significant baseline-to-current gain, rising from 40.6% coverage in July 2026 to 54.5% in October 2026, a gain of 13.9 points. The prior-to-current step from 38.1% in September 2026 to 54.5% in October 2026 was 16.4 points and is also significant, following a decline into September.

The gain shows in placement, not only presence. The brand's top-three rate rose from 27.1% in July 2026 to 43.0% in October 2026, a gain of 15.9 points, and its rank-one rate rose from 4.0% to 11.2%, a gain of 7.2 points. Raw presence moved only 3.8 points over the same period, from 61.0% to 64.8%.

The distinction to notice is that Comfort Keepers converted a modest presence gain into a large recommendation gain. The brand was mentioned only slightly more often but was recommended substantially more often within those mentions, moving to 175 valid recommendations in October 2026 against 102 in July 2026.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt types and surfaces drove the conversion from mention to top-three placement, and did those prompts previously resolve to a different brand or to a non-recommendation answer format?

BrightStar Care: Largest Baseline Decliner

BrightStar Care posted the largest coverage decline against the baseline, falling from 30.3% in July 2026 to 19.6% in October 2026, a drop of 10.7 points that is significant. The prior-to-current movement was upward, from 16.8% in September 2026 to 19.6% in October 2026, a gain of 2.8 points that is not significant.

The decline is concentrated in presence. Raw presence fell from 42.6% in July 2026 to 25.6% in October 2026, a decline of 17.0 points, while the top-three rate fell 2.9 points to 12.2% and the rank-one rate rose 0.6 points to 3.4%. The brand's valid recommendation count fell from 76 in July 2026 to 63 in October 2026.

The distinction to notice is that BrightStar Care is losing the mention stage faster than the ranking stage. The October rebound in coverage did not restore presence, which remains 17.0 points below the July level.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which surfaces or prompt categories account for the 17.0-point presence decline, and which brands appear in those answers instead?

Amedisys and BAYADA Home Health Care: Mid-Tier Declines With Partial Recovery

Amedisys and BAYADA Home Health Care are the category's other significant baseline decliners, both showing a partial October recovery. Amedisys fell from 8.8% coverage in July 2026 to 4.0% in October 2026, a drop of 4.8 points, with a prior-to-current gain of 1.3 points from 2.7% in September 2026. BAYADA fell from 11.6% to 5.3%, a drop of 6.3 points, with a prior-to-current gain of 1.6 points from 3.7% in September 2026. Neither prior-to-current movement is significant.

Presence tells the sharper story for both. Amedisys raw presence fell from 20.7% in July 2026 to 11.2% in October 2026, a decline of 9.5 points. BAYADA presence fell from 20.3% to 8.7%, a decline of 11.6 points. Their valid recommendation counts are small in absolute terms: 13 for Amedisys and 17 for BAYADA in October 2026, against 22 and 29 in July 2026.

The distinction to notice is that both brands are losing presence faster than recommendation rate, and both counts are small enough that a handful of observations moves the percentage by several points.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which competitor picks up the presence these two brands lost, and is the decline concentrated in particular service-type or geography prompts?

Notable Divergence: BrightStar Care and Comfort Keepers

The gap between BrightStar Care and Comfort Keepers widened every month of the series, from 10.3 points in July 2026 to 34.9 points in October 2026, a widening of 24.6 points. The same pattern appears in the gaps between Comfort Keepers and BAYADA Home Health Care, which widened 20.2 points over the series to 49.2 points, and between Comfort Keepers and Amedisys, which widened 18.7 points to 50.5 points.

This is a category observation about competitive repositioning rather than a statement about any one brand's performance. The upper tier of the category is separating from the lower tier across the measured period, and the separation is visible in recommendation coverage rather than in presence alone.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt types and surfaces carry the expanding separation, and is the separation concentrated where mid-tier brands previously appeared?

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

Questions This Section Answers

• Which buyer-intent clusters did the October 2026 qualified observations fall into?
• Why can't the benchmark answer pricing, value, or head-to-head comparison questions yet?

In October 2026, all 321 qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation cluster. None of the qualified observations fell into Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison. The public benchmark measures which providers AI systems recommend for home health care, but it cannot yet answer commercial questions about price perception, value positioning, or head-to-head comparison outcomes. Those questions require company-level analysis with different prompt designs.

Brand Opportunity Summary

Questions This Section Answers

• Which diagnostic question should each home health care brand investigate next based on its October 2026 signal?

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 capturing the query, the AI surface, the recommendation outcome, the 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 Visibility Market Discovery research program.

• AI Visibility Industry Market
• AI Visibility Industry Market Methodology
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Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• Small-count movement: Brands with few qualified observations, such as Addus HomeCare, Honor, Amedisys, and BAYADA Home Health Care, can shift by several points with a handful of recommendation changes. Movement for these brands indicates attention is warranted, not that a trend is established.
• Qualified denominator: All percentages are calculated against the qualified benchmark set (321 observations in October 2026), not the raw collection universe. A brand can lose coverage while its absolute recommendation count holds or rises.
• Directional analysis: Month-over-month movement identifies changes worth investigating. It does not by itself establish the cause of those changes.

Next Step

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

Beneath the aggregate percentage sit the questions that matter: which high-intent prompts are won, which competitor takes the recommendation when a brand loses, what attributes AI systems associate with each option, and which external sources shape those answers. For a brand like Visiting Angels, the audit would identify which prompts and surfaces drove the rank-one decline even as overall coverage rose. For BrightStar Care, it would trace which competitors absorbed the mentions lost across the series.

The public percentage cannot identify the prompts, competitors, or sources causing the result.

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps those prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy. It turns the benchmark's signal into a diagnostic path.

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