How AI assistants choose who to recommend for duct sealing
We asked ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode for duct sealing recommendations 159 times. Here is what they needed to see on an HVAC company’s page before naming it to seal leaky ducts.
The short answer
Before naming a company for duct sealing, assistants needed to see that it actually seals ducts, not just cleans them. Then they looked for a leakage test first, the sealing method, such as mastic or Aeroseal, and a second test afterward with written results.
- What people actually asked
- What your duct sealing page has to explain
- What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
- Your duct sealing page checklist
- Questions owners ask
- How we got these numbers
- See it on your own website
What people actually asked
We asked for duct sealing in two different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 159 answers it produced between September 9 and October 14, 2026:
- “Who should I call for duct sealing in 33781?”87 answers
- “Duct sealing near me — I'm in 33755. Who do you recommend?”72 answers
Together, the 159 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 19 to 20 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 72, Claude 55 and Google AI Mode 32.
Customers also call it “air duct sealing”, “ductwork sealing” or “aeroseal duct sealing”, so use those words on the page as well.
The question underneath all of them
“How will you establish which duct sections need sealing?” The page should distinguish identifying leakage, performing sealing and checking the completed work.
What your duct sealing page has to explain
Duct sealing is often listed beside duct cleaning, and many pages never say whether the company does both. Assistants often could not confirm that any company near the customer sealed ducts. Most answers told customers to ask about it on the phone. A page that names duct sealing as its own service, and explains how it is done, answers that question first.
The answers split the job into three parts: finding the leaks, sealing them and proving the work. Assistants told customers to ask for a leakage test before sealing and again afterward, with the results in writing. That before-and-after record is how a customer knows the job made a difference. The page should describe each step, including what the customer receives at the end.
Method mattered too. Answers compared mastic or approved foil tape applied by hand with Aeroseal, which seals leaks from inside the ducts. They said hand sealing suits ducts a crew can reach, while an inside method suits ducts in walls or tight attics. Several warned against ordinary duct tape. The page should say which methods the company uses and which areas it can reach.
What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
We read all 159 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for duct sealing, 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:
What does the company seal ducts with?
Most answers told customers to ask whether a company seals joints with mastic or approved foil tape. Several warned that ordinary cloth duct tape does not last. The material told customers whether the seal would hold up.
70% of the answers (111 of 159) brought this up.
Ask whether they’ll perform a duct-leakage test and seal with mastic or approved foil tape—not ordinary “duct tape”—before quoting the work.
How are hard-to-reach ducts sealed?
Many answers described Aeroseal, which seals leaks from inside the ducts, as an option for ducts in walls, ceilings or tight attics. Assistants told customers to ask which method a company plans to use, since prices can differ a lot. Some could not find any local company offering it.
59% of the answers (94 of 159) brought this up.
It's worth asking if your ducts are hard to reach.
How does the company find which ducts are leaking?
Many answers told customers to ask for a duct leakage or pressure test before any sealing. The test shows where the leaks are and how bad they are. Customers wanted sealing based on a measurement, not a guess.
57% of the answers (90 of 159) brought this up.
Ask whether they perform a leakage test first and whether the quote includes sealing, insulation repair, and post-work verification.
Will the customer see before-and-after results?
Assistants told customers to ask for a second leakage test after sealing, with the results in writing. They said this is how a customer can see the work made a difference. A company that shares its results looked more accountable.
49% of the answers (78 of 159) brought this up.
Ask for a duct leakage test before and after the work, so you can see the measured improvement.
Does the company seal ducts or only clean them?
Many listings named duct cleaning, duct replacement or AC repair but not sealing. Assistants told customers to ask whether a company seals ducts and how much of that work it does. Without that, they could not name a company with confidence.
25% of the answers (40 of 159) brought this up.
Ask whether they handle duct sealing or can refer you.
What happens to ducts that are too damaged to seal?
Some answers told customers to ask whether the price covers sealing only or also replacing damaged sections. Others said to ask whether the crew checks for crushed or disconnected ducts rather than coating over them. Customers wanted to know what the quote did not cover.
19% of the answers (30 of 159) brought this up.
Ask whether the price covers sealing only or also replacing damaged duct sections.
What the assistants couldn’t find
In 27 of the 159 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 27 of its 55, ChatGPT in 0 of its 72 and Google AI Mode in 0 of its 32. 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: 18 answers
- Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 9 answers
- Reviews it could check: 7 answers
- A price or how the job is priced: 3 answers
Assistants most often could not find a phone number, and many could not confirm that any nearby company seals ducts at all. A page that names duct sealing, the towns served and a working number answers what they kept sending customers to ask.
Most listings didn't confirm sealing as a service, so ask about it when you call.
Where the assistants sent people
Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 127 ChatGPT and Claude answers about duct sealing, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:
- A contractor’s own website: 100% (127 answers)
- A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 24% (30 answers)
- A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 5% (6 answers)
- An official license lookup: 5% (6 answers)
- A Google search or Maps page: under 1% (1 answer)
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 50% of its 32 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 duct sealing
Can the customer reach a person?
Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find for this job. Some warned about templated sites that look like lead pages rather than a local company.
18 of the 159 answers about duct sealing, 18 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.
Do you serve the customer’s town or ZIP code?
For duct sealing, coverage means a crew will come to the home for testing and sealing, sometimes on separate visits. Answers often could not confirm a company served the customer's town.
9 of the 159 answers about duct sealing, 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 350 of the 554 conversations where it came up.
What do recent customers say?
Assistants often could not find independent reviews and told customers to check Google or the BBB themselves. Reviews that mention sealing speak to this job better than cleaning reviews.
7 of the 159 answers about duct sealing, 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 duct sealing page checklist
Work through this list on your duct sealing page. Each item answers something the assistants looked for above.
- Use “duct sealing”, “air duct sealing” or “ductwork sealing” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
- Name the sealing materials you use and say that you do not rely on ordinary duct tape.
- Say whether you offer an inside sealing method, when you recommend it over hand sealing, and how the prices compare.
- Explain how you test for duct leaks before sealing, and whether the test is part of the quote.
- Say that you test again after sealing and give the customer both results in writing, and show a sample report.
- Give duct sealing its own page, separate from cleaning, and describe a recent sealing job from test to result.
- Say what you do when a section is too damaged to seal, and how repair or replacement is quoted.
- Put your own working phone number, company name and address on the duct sealing page.
- List the towns and ZIP codes where you test and seal ducts.
- Link to your recent reviews and point to ones from duct sealing customers.
Going further: let assistants see real openings
For planned work like duct sealing, 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
How do I know which ducts need sealing?
Answers about this job told customers to ask for a duct leakage or pressure test before any work. The test shows where air escapes. A company's page should explain how it tests and what the customer sees from it.
What is the difference between mastic sealing and Aeroseal?
Answers described mastic or approved foil tape as applied by hand to ducts a crew can reach, and Aeroseal as sealing leaks from inside the ducts. Assistants told customers to ask which method a company would use and why.
How can I tell if duct sealing worked?
Assistants told customers to ask for a leakage test before and after the work, with both results in writing. A company's page should say that it tests again afterward and what the customer receives.
Which AI assistants did you test?
ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 9 and October 14, 2026, they answered 159 questions about duct sealing: ChatGPT 72, Claude 55, Google AI Mode 32.
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 159 answers ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode gave between September 9 and October 14, 2026. We asked for duct sealing 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.
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Source: Merchant Context: the current website offer · checked 2026-10-14.
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