
The Swipe Era Is Ending. What Comes Next for Chiropractic Marketing?
Did you hear Tinder and Bumble are killing the Swipe?
The "death of the swipe" marks a major turning point in online dating, as apps like Bumble phase out traditional swiping in favor of AI-driven matchmaking and real-life (IRL) events.
I think this is a much bigger cultural signal than dating apps — and it maps almost perfectly to where chiropractic marketing is headed.
One important nuance first: Bumble is explicitly talking about a “swipe-free” future, with CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd describing a move from swipe speed/volume toward “fewer, better, more considered” signals. Tinder hasn’t announced that swiping is disappearing altogether; instead, it is aggressively adding Events and other features designed to get people from the app into real life.
So the trend isn't really:
Online is dying.
It's:
People want technology to help them get to something real faster.
And THAT is the chiropractic marketing opportunity.
I think we're entering the “Get Me Out of the Feed” era.
For the last 15 years, tech companies optimized for:
More choices. More scrolling. More swiping. More content. More engagement.
And we assumed more = better.
Dating apps are discovering the downside.
Eventually the consumer goes:
“I don't want 4,000 options. I want you to help me find the right one.”
Bumble's language is especially interesting: they're moving away from velocity toward more intentional signals. Tinder's Events product similarly tries to make the app a bridge to actual encounters rather than the destination itself.
And outside dating, there's evidence of the same cultural pull. Eventbrite's 2026 Social Study says 74% of Gen Z believes in-person experiences are more important than digital ones, while 46% say they're limiting screen time.
That's not anti-technology.
It's anti-endlessness.
And this is EXACTLY where chiropractic discovery is going.
Imagine the old patient journey:
Google → 19 chiropractor websites → read 73 reviews → compare prices → Facebook stalk the doctors → maybe book.
Then came social:
Instagram → ad → landing page → lead form → 14 texts → maybe book.
Now we're entering:
“Hey ChatGPT, who is the best chiropractor near me for migraines?”
And the consumer expects:
“Here are three I would consider. This one has particularly strong evidence for migraine patients. Here is why.”
That's why I think AI discovery and the IRL movement are actually the same trend.
They both eliminate bullshit in the middle.
AI shrinks the search.
Real life finishes the trust.
The winners won't necessarily be the businesses producing the most content.
They'll be the ones producing the strongest signals.
Results.
Authority.
Recommendations.
Community presence.
Patient stories.
Third-party mentions.
Human experiences.
Chiropractic marketing needs to move from LEAD GENERATION → CONNECTION GENERATION.
This might be the part I care about most.
A chiropractic office shouldn't just ask:
“How do we get 100 more leads?”
I'd increasingly ask:
“How do we create 100 more meaningful encounters with our community?”
Completely different question.
Because look at what Bumble is experimenting with: people can actually RSVP to small in-person gatherings and bring a friend. Tinder is expanding activity-based Events; recent examples include ceramics, hikes, runs, game nights and other shared experiences.
Sound familiar?
That's basically a playbook for a local chiropractor.
Think:
RUN CLUB x CHIROPRACTOR
Saturday morning mobility session.
PREGNANT MOMS x CHIROPRACTOR
“Pregnancy Without the Back Pain” small-group night.
GOLFERS x CHIROPRACTOR
Mobility + swing performance clinic.
PARENTS x CHIROPRACTOR
Kids posture / backpacks / screens event.
FIRST RESPONDERS x CHIROPRACTOR
Community Care Day.
LOCAL BUSINESSES x CHIROPRACTOR
Lunch-and-learn / nervous-system reset.
And notice something important:
Don't make every event a goddamn spinal screening.
That's the old paradigm.
Create an experience people actually want to attend.
Chiropractic gets embedded naturally into it.
The office itself can become media.
This is where it gets really interesting.
For years I've said the office needs to create content.
I think the next evolution is:
Create experiences that CREATE content.
Twenty people attend a local runners' mobility night.
That produces:
photos videos patient conversations local tags business collaborations testimonials Google reviews social posts third-party mentions referrals email content community recognition
And all of that gets crawled and understood by AI.
So you create this flywheel:
IRL EXPERIENCE ↓ DIGITAL PROOF ↓ AI / SEARCH DISCOVERY ↓ RECOMMENDATION ↓ NEW HUMAN EXPERIENCE ↓ MORE PROOF
That's a monster.
And frankly, that's where I think the deeper ChiropracticResults thesis is heading.
It's not merely:
“Rank chiropractors in ChatGPT.”
It's:
Make the real-world reputation of a great chiropractor legible to machines.
Then let the machine bring people into the real world.
There is also a HUGE “Human Premium” coming.
AI is going to make content essentially infinite.
Infinite blog posts.
Infinite ads.
Infinite videos.
Infinite emails.
Infinite landing pages.
Infinite “personalized” outreach.
That means content itself becomes less scarce.
You know what becomes scarce?
A doctor remembering your kid's name.
A room full of local runners.
A patient telling another patient:
“Dude. You need to see my chiropractor.”
A community event.
A handwritten card.
Someone listening.
A great adjustment.
A remarkable patient experience.
Human shit.
As AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, we're already seeing marketers emphasize authentic, human creators and real community rather than simply maximizing views.
So ironically:
The more AI we get…
the more valuable being unmistakably human becomes.
Which changes the chiropractic funnel.
I'd almost redraw it.
2015
ATTENTION → LEAD → APPOINTMENT
2022
CONTENT → ATTENTION → LEAD → NURTURE → APPOINTMENT
2027
REPUTATION → AI RECOMMENDATION → PROOF → HUMAN EXPERIENCE → RELATIONSHIP
And there's one metric in there chiropractors are going to have to relearn:
Attendance > leads.
I would rather have:
25 perfect local people physically attend something at your clinic
than
250 Meta leads who don't remember filling out your form.
That's the dating-app realization too.
A match isn't the outcome.
The date is.
For chiropractors:
A lead isn't the outcome.
The human showing up is.
So I think the macro trend is this:
LESS SEARCHING. AI curates.
LESS SWIPING. Platforms narrow the choices.
LESS POLISHED BRAND BULLSHIT. Proof and authenticity matter more.
MORE EXPERIENCES. People want reasons to leave the house.
MORE COMMUNITY. Local belonging becomes valuable again.
MORE HUMANITY. Human interaction becomes premium.
And that gives chiropractors a ridiculous advantage.
Because chiropractic is already:
local + physical + personal + recurring + community-driven + human.
They've just spent the last decade trying to market themselves like shitty e-commerce companies.
😂
The opportunity now is to stop doing that.
Use AI to be discovered.
Use proof to be chosen.
Use the internet to get people off the internet.
Use the office to create belonging.
Then turn those real-world experiences back into digital proof.
That, to me, is where the puck is going.
And there's a line buried in all of this that I think could become a major ChiropracticResults philosophy:
The internet shouldn't replace the relationship. Its job is to get you to the right relationship faster.
Or even sharper:
AI will decide who makes the shortlist. Humans will decide who they trust.
That second one has legs.


