The AI Playbook You Didn’t Know Your Practice Needed

Every practice has pain points they’ve just accepted as “the way things are.” Artificial intelligence is proving those headaches don’t have to exist at all. Chris Balbi, marketing leader at Meesha Aesthetics, has been testing, tweaking, and proving how AI can solve problems most practices don’t even realize can be automated. His approach shows that you don’t need a tech department to benefit from AI. You just need curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and a clear focus on patients.

Teaching Computers to “Play Fetch”

Balbi is blunt about what AI is not: it’s not replacing providers, and it’s not about stripping away the human side of care. Instead, it’s about taking repetitive, time-consuming tasks and letting machines handle them.

“We’re basically teaching computers to play fetch,” he said. “You give it the ball, and it brings something useful back.”

For him, that means using AI to generate personalized communications, organize patient data, and even predict who might be interested in a particular service. It’s not glamorous, but the results are.

“What I care about is your email newsletter list,” Balbi explained. “The people who sign up are the ones who are going to book.”

AI helps him manage that list more effectively, from cleaning up duplicates to drafting educational emails that feel personal, not canned. For any practice, the lesson is clear: invest in a channel you control, then use AI to make it smarter.

Email Over Instagram

While many healthcare businesses chase likes on social media, Balbi focuses on email. Why? Because it works. His newsletter list has grown to more than 25,000 subscribers — people who have opted in, trust the practice, and actually spend money there.

Segmentation at Scale

One of Balbi’s most surprising wins came from segmentation. He fed anonymized patient data into ChatGPT and asked it to identify likely candidates for microneedling. The system flagged 190 patients. Balbi then crafted a targeted message for that group, positioning microneedling as a relevant, valuable next step.

The outcome: 122 booked. That’s a 64% conversion rate from a single campaign, an almost unheard-of figure in healthcare marketing.

What makes this outcome remarkable isn’t just the conversion rate. It’s the efficiency. Without AI, pulling that list would have required hours of manual work, and even then, the results would likely have been incomplete. With ChatGPT, the process took minutes. That speed allows practices to act quickly on insights and continuously refine their outreach instead of relying on broad, generic campaigns.

The same strategy could apply anywhere. A pediatric clinic might identify families overdue for wellness visits. An optometry office could target patients due for contact lens checks. Instead of blasting generic messages, AI makes it possible to deliver the right message to the right patient at the right time.

Lead Generation Without Staff

Balbi doesn’t stop at email. He also uses AI-powered quizzes on his website that invite visitors to upload a selfie and answer a few quick questions. In return, they get personalized service recommendations.

To see their results, visitors must provide contact information. Suddenly, the practice has a qualified lead, no staff time required.

This concept is infinitely adaptable. A dental office could offer a “Smile Assessment.” A med spa could run a “Skin Health Quiz.” AI creates a self-serve funnel that captures interest while building a database of future patients.

In each case, AI does the heavy lifting: guiding the patient through the experience, collecting useful information, and instantly generating personalized recommendations. For the patient, it feels like an engaging, interactive tool. For the practice, it’s a fully automated lead funnel that captures names, emails, and phone numbers, all before a staff member gets involved.

Automation With a Human Touch

Inside the clinic, care remains personal and hands-on. But once patients leave, AI takes over follow-up.

Balbi has automated workflows that send tailored check-ins based on the treatment performed. Filler patients receive a text 24 hours later with information on swelling. Botox patients get a message about a week later, when results typically appear.

These aren’t generic reminders. They are thoughtful, well-timed messages that reassure patients while reducing inbound calls to the front desk. Patients feel cared for; staff feel less burdened.

Quick Experiments, Big Payoffs

Balbi encourages practices to start small. One of his early experiments was asking ChatGPT to create a “2024 Beauty Trends Report.” He refined the draft to highlight only the services Meesha Aesthetics offered, branded it, and gated it on the website. Visitors had to provide their email to download it.

The result: a polished marketing asset and dozens of qualified leads in less than an hour of work.

The lesson is that AI doesn’t have to power huge, complex projects to create value. A small experiment can produce outsized returns when paired with a smart distribution strategy. For busy healthcare teams, this approach lowers the barrier to entry.

Why It Matters

The through-line in Balbi’s story isn’t AI hype, it’s creativity. He finds unexpected places where automation can save staff time, educate patients, and keep communication flowing. The technology doesn’t replace the human touch; it amplifies it.

Patients notice when communication feels consistent and personal, even if automation is running in the background. Healthcare teams that experiment with AI today aren’t chasing trends. They’re building systems that will define tomorrow’s patient experience. As Balbi puts it, “It will replace the ones that aren’t using it.” Innovation doesn’t come from the technology itself, but from the people willing to use it in ways that elevate care and connection.