For a dentist in Britain, ChatGPT talks insurance plans. Gemini, the NHS

Short answer: Gemini usually says it in the country's own terms; ChatGPT rarely does. Asked for the best dentists in 13 British cities, ChatGPT mentions the NHS in 4 of 26 answers and tells patients in 10 to check that the dentist "accepts your insurance plan" or is "in-network"; Gemini mentions the NHS in 21 and private plans such as Denplan in 20. In France, Gemini explains sector 1 and 2, Social Security reimbursement or the mutuelle in 18 of 26 dentist answers; ChatGPT in 3. Lawyers split the same way. Gemini mentions the written fee agreement French law requires in 25 of 26 answers, ChatGPT in none; in Britain, Gemini explains fixed fees and hourly rates in 19 answers, ChatGPT in 1, while writing in 8 answers that "many solicitors offer a free initial consultation". In Brazil neither engine says much: a dental plan in 4 ChatGPT answers and 2 Gemini answers, the public health system never.

The patient asks who is good. The first thing they need to know is how they will pay.

What was measured

Our four studies, re-read on October 16, 2026: the same buyer questions ("the best dentists in Leeds", "the most recommended lawyers in Lyon"), asked in each country's language and put to ChatGPT (gpt-4o-mini) and Gemini through their APIs, without web search and without any location, in the United Kingdom (collected July 31, 2026), France (July 30), Brazil (August 6) and, as a reference, the United States (September 13). For dentists and for lawyers, that is 26 answers per engine in each country, 13 cities and two questions: 416 answers in all. In each we looked for the country's own terms. For dentists: in Britain, the NHS, private care, Denplan and membership plans, and American insurance wording ("insurance plan", "accepts your insurance", "in-network"); in France, sector 1 or 2, "conventionné", Social Security, reimbursement, out-of-pocket costs, third-party payment, fee overruns, the mutuelle; in Brazil, the "convênio", dental or health plans, the SUS. For lawyers: fixed fees, hourly rates, legal aid and "no win, no fee" in Britain; the "convention d'honoraires" and legal aid ("aide juridictionnelle") in France; the OAB fee table and the public defender's office ("Defensoria Pública") in Brazil; and, everywhere, the "free consultation". The detectors were first tested on phrasings they must catch and phrasings they must not: "Centre Dentaire Mutualiste" is not the mutuelle, a "plano de tratamento" is a treatment plan, not a dental plan, and "if you have Bupa insurance" is not the American template. Then we read all 225 answers that carried a term. Two corrections: "especialistas credenciados" in one Brazilian answer means accredited specialists, not a plan; and Gemini's two British "in-network" answers are those it set in Birmingham, Alabama.

Britain gets the American template, France gets nothing

ChatGPT's advice on paying for a dentist is the American one, carried abroad. In Bristol it writes "check your provider's website for a list of in-network dentists"; in Edinburgh, "confirm that the dentist accepts your insurance plan". British dental care runs on the NHS and on private fees and plans, and Gemini says so: "Finding an NHS dentist in Bristol is currently extremely challenging", "most of the top-rated clinics above are private-only or offer a Denplan membership". In France ChatGPT does not transplant anything; it mostly says nothing, and three times advises checking whether the dentist accepts the mutuelle. Gemini advises checking whether the practitioner is "conventionné (secteur 1 ou 2)" and explains what the mutuelle leaves you to pay. The lawyer answers follow: Gemini tells French readers to demand a written fee agreement and to check whether the lawyer takes legal aid if their income is modest; ChatGPT writes that "many lawyers offer a free first consultation", in 7 French answers and 29 across the four countries. Gemini does not repeat the line: when it mentions a first meeting, it says it may be free or charged at a fixed fee. We looked at that promise last week: AI says lawyers offer free consultations. It never says which. Gemini's British picture is not checked here: when it says NHS places are scarce and most of its picks are private, it is describing a market, not the practices it names.

What French law requires

The French government's practical guide, "Comment un avocat est-il rémunéré ?" on service-public.gouv.fr (read on October 16, 2026), says that except in an emergency or force majeure, "une convention d'honoraires doit être conclue": a written fee agreement must be signed, stating the amount or how the fees are calculated. The obligation dates from the law of August 6, 2015, as both the national bar council and a ministerial answer to the Senate recall. Gemini mentions it in 25 of its 26 answers about French lawyers, and once even cites the law that created it. ChatGPT never does.

What it means if you are the business

Say on your own pages how a client will pay, in your country's terms, because an assistant that does not know them fills the gap with a template. A British dentist: NHS, private or both, which plans (Denplan or your own), and whether you are taking new NHS patients. A French dentist: your sector, whether you practise third-party payment, and how a quote works with the mutuelle. A lawyer: how you bill (fixed fee or hourly), whether you take legal aid, and that you sign a fee agreement. Those facts answer the patient's first question, and they are what Gemini already repeats. Nothing here guarantees being named.

What this does not prove

• These are the models' answers through their APIs, without web search and without the user's location: the way our audit asks. The apps, with search switched on, may answer differently.
• 26 answers per engine, country and trade is a small sample: the gaps are wide, but each figure moves by one answer at a time.
• We counted which terms appear, not whether each piece of advice is right for each practice named.
• One pass per question, collected between July 30 and September 13, 2026. The models have moved since.