How AI assistants choose who to recommend for boiler repair
We asked ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode for boiler repair recommendations 316 times. Here is what they needed to see on a heating company’s page before naming it to fix a boiler.
The short answer
Before naming a company for boiler repair, assistants needed proof that it works on boilers at all, not only water heaters or AC. Then they looked for the boiler types and fuels it services, whether a technician with boiler experience would come, the brands it repairs and the diagnostic fee.
- What people actually asked
- What your boiler repair page has to explain
- What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
- Your boiler repair page checklist
- Questions owners ask
- How we got these numbers
- See it on your own website
What people actually asked
We asked for boiler repair in three different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 316 answers it produced between September 3 and October 14, 2026:
- “Boiler repair near me — I'm in Seminole, FL. Who do you recommend?”111 answers
- “Who should I call for boiler repair in 34689?”111 answers
- “I need boiler repair tomorrow morning — I'm in 33770. Who can actually come out?”94 answers, asked with five different timings: tonight, tomorrow morning, today, within the next few hours and first thing tomorrow
Together, the 316 answers covered eight towns in Pinellas County: Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Park, Seminole, Tarpon Springs and St. Petersburg. Each town came up in 38 to 40 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 136, Claude 108 and Google AI Mode 72.
Customers also call it “boiler service”, “boiler troubleshooting” or “boiler not heating”, so use those words on the page as well.
The question underneath all of them
“Do you repair the boiler system installed in my property?” Boiler type and the customer's reported issue should guide the service-fit conversation.
What your boiler repair page has to explain
Boilers are uncommon in Florida homes, and many answers said so. Assistants often found plumbers, water heater companies and AC firms, and could not tell whether any of them repaired boilers. Many answers ended by telling customers to call each one and ask. A page that says plainly the company repairs residential boilers stands out because so few pages do.
The boiler itself shapes who can fix it. Answers asked customers whether their boiler was gas, electric or oil, and whether it heated with hot water or steam. Assistants told customers to confirm a company handles that exact type and brand. The page should list the boiler types, fuels and brands the company services, and say whether it works on commercial units.
Customers also wanted to know what the first visit includes. Answers told them to ask for the diagnostic or trip fee, any after-hours charge and a written estimate before work starts. Some asked whether the technician carries common boiler parts so the fix does not need a second visit. A completed boiler repair example on the page shows the work is real.
What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
We read all 316 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for boiler repair, what they told the customer to ask, and what they said they couldn’t find.
What the assistants told customers to ask
Most common first:
Which boiler types and fuels does the company service?
Most answers told customers to confirm that a company services their boiler type, such as gas, electric or oil, and hot water or steam. Many asked the customer which kind they had before suggesting anyone. The type decided which companies were a real fit.
64% of the answers (203 of 316) brought this up.
Ask whether they service your specific boiler type: gas, electric, hydronic/radiator, or tankless/hot-water system.
Does the company repair boilers at all?
Assistants often found listings that named water heaters, plumbing or AC but never boilers. Many answers told customers to ask each company whether it services boilers before booking. A company whose page names boiler repair was much easier to recommend.
28% of the answers (88 of 316) brought this up.
These are the best leads, and you should ask each one whether they service boilers before booking.
What does the diagnostic visit cost and cover?
Answers told customers to ask for the diagnostic or trip fee up front, along with any after-hours charge. Several said to get a written estimate before work begins. Customers wanted the cost of finding the problem settled before anyone came.
19% of the answers (59 of 316) brought this up.
Ask about the diagnostic fee and get an estimate before work starts.
Will the technician who comes have boiler experience?
Because boilers are uncommon locally, answers told customers to ask whether the technician sent out actually works on boilers. Some could not find any boiler specialist nearby. Customers wanted to know the person at the door had done this before.
11% of the answers (36 of 316) brought this up.
Ask whether they have a technician who works on boilers.
Does the company work on the customer's boiler brand?
Some answers told customers to ask whether a company has worked on their boiler's brand and model. A few said to ask whether the technician carries parts for it. Customers wanted the repair done in one visit.
11% of the answers (36 of 316) brought this up.
Ask if they've worked on your brand, and whether the diagnostic fee is applied to the repair.
What the assistants couldn’t find
In 52 of the 316 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 48 of its 108, ChatGPT in 3 of its 136 and Google AI Mode in 1 of its 72. As we asked it, Claude usually says what it couldn’t confirm; ChatGPT and Google AI Mode seldom do, so these counts mostly show what Claude couldn’t find. Most often:
- A phone number or other way to reach the company: 25 answers
- When the company could do the work: 12 answers
- Reviews it could check: 7 answers
Assistants most often could not find a phone number, and many could not confirm that any nearby company repaired boilers. A page that names boiler repair, the boiler types served and a working number answers what they kept telling customers to call about.
None of the leads below say they service boilers, so call first and ask.
Where the assistants sent people
Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 244 ChatGPT and Claude answers about boiler repair, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:
- A contractor’s own website: 99% (242 answers)
- A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 47% (115 answers)
- A Google search or Maps page: 3% (8 answers)
- An official license lookup: 2% (4 answers)
- A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: under 1% (2 answers)
A contractor’s own website was the page linked most often, so your site is usually what the customer is sent to read.
Google AI Mode works differently. In 78% of its 72 answers, the links opened Google’s own listing for a business rather than a website. There, your Google Business Profile is the page the customer sees, so it needs the same facts as your site.
The checks behind every recommendation, applied to boiler repair
Can the customer reach a person?
Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find for this job. Some warned about lead pages and told customers to check who actually answers.
25 of the 316 answers about boiler repair, 25 of them from Claude, said the assistant couldn’t confirm this. In our July–August study across eight trades, it cost a business its place in 147 of the 290 conversations where it came up.
Can you schedule the job when the customer needs it?
Many customers wanted someone tonight or first thing tomorrow, often with no heat or hot water. Answers could not see any schedule and told customers to ask for a confirmed arrival window.
12 of the 316 answers about boiler repair, 9 of them from Claude, said the assistant couldn’t confirm this. In our July–August study across eight trades, it cost a business its place in 185 of the 657 conversations where it came up.
What do recent customers say?
Assistants often found reviews that were thin, old or about AC work. Reviews that mention a boiler repair speak to this job better.
7 of the 316 answers about boiler repair, 7 of them from Claude, said the assistant couldn’t confirm this. In our July–August study across eight trades, it cost a business its place in 139 of the 569 conversations where it came up.
Source: How we research what AI assistants recommend.
Your boiler repair page checklist
Work through this list on your boiler repair page. Each item answers something the assistants looked for above.
- Use “boiler repair”, “boiler service” or “boiler troubleshooting” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
- List the boiler types and fuels you repair, and say whether you work on residential, commercial or hydronic heating systems.
- Give boiler repair its own page and describe a real boiler repair you completed.
- State your diagnostic fee, what the visit checks, any after-hours charge and how you quote the repair.
- Say which of your technicians repair boilers and what training or experience they have.
- List the boiler brands you repair and say whether you carry common parts for them.
- Put your own working phone number on the boiler repair page, with the hours someone answers it.
- Say whether you take emergency boiler calls, your hours and how a customer gets the first open slot.
- Link to your recent reviews and point to ones from boiler customers.
Going further: let assistants see real openings
For planned work like boiler repair, a useful opening says whether it is for an assessment or the job itself, and whether the customer’s address is covered.
Merchant Context builds custom integrations with scheduling software so customers and AI assistants can read your current availability. Where your system records the job type, service area, duration and crew capacity, the integration can show those details with each opening, so an assistant can match it to the request instead of guessing.
We scope each connection to the software and data you actually have. A displayed opening is not a confirmed booking: the customer still confirms through your normal booking process, and the information is only useful while it is fresh.
Source: Merchant Context: custom integrations in the AEO service · checked 2026-10-14.
Questions owners ask
Do HVAC companies in Florida repair boilers?
Some do, but answers about this job said boilers are uncommon in Florida homes, and many listings never mention them. Assistants told customers to ask each company whether it services boilers. A company that repairs them should say so on its own page.
What should I tell a company before a boiler repair visit?
Answers asked for the boiler's fuel, such as gas, electric or oil, whether it uses hot water or steam, its brand and model, and what it is doing. These details help a company say whether it can fix that boiler.
What does a boiler diagnostic visit cost?
Assistants rarely found prices and told customers to ask for the diagnostic or trip fee, any after-hours charge and an estimate before work begins. A company's page should state its fee and what the visit covers.
Which AI assistants did you test?
ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 3 and October 14, 2026, they answered 316 questions about boiler repair: ChatGPT 136, Claude 108, Google AI Mode 72.
Will these changes guarantee a recommendation?
No. Nobody can promise that. These changes supply what the assistants were looking for in our research. Whether they move recommendations for your business is something to measure after they go live.
How we got these numbers
The questions, counts and quotes on this page come from the 316 answers ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode gave between September 3 and October 14, 2026. We asked for boiler repair in eight towns in Pinellas County, Florida. We collected them with software rather than the consumer apps, which can answer differently. We counted what each answer mentioned, what it said it couldn’t find and where it linked. Quotes never name a business.
The study figures come from an earlier set of assistant conversations in July and August 2026 across eight trades, coded for the reason each business was included or left out. Counts overlap and are never added together.
See it on your own website
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Source: Merchant Context: the current website offer · checked 2026-10-14.
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