How AI assistants choose who to recommend for electrical work

We asked ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode for electrical work recommendations 12,464 times. Here is what they looked for on an electrician’s page, from a light switch to a whole-house rewire.

October 15, 2026Research data through October 14, 2026

By Patrick

The short answer

Across electrical jobs, assistants told customers to check the state license and insurance before anything else, then ask who pulls the permit. Beyond that, the questions followed the job: a minimum fee for small repairs, panel capacity for new circuits, and insurance paperwork for older wiring and panels.

What people actually asked
What your electrical page has to explain
What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
Your electrical page checklist
Questions owners ask
How we got these numbers
See it on your own website

What people actually asked

We asked 146 different questions about electrical work between September 2 and October 14, 2026. These are the six asked most, word for word, with how many of the 12,464 answers each produced:

“How do I check that an electrician in Tarpon Springs, FL actually holds a valid electrical contractor license and is insured? And which ones near me genuinely check out?”128 answers
“Electrician near me — I'm in Largo, FL 33770. Who do you recommend?”127 answers
“Circuit breaker replacement near me — I'm in Seminole, FL. Who do you recommend?”120 answers
“I need circuit breaker replacement first thing tomorrow — I'm in Pinellas Park, FL. Who can actually come out?”120 answers, asked with five different timings: today, within the next few hours, first thing tomorrow, tomorrow morning and tonight
“Looking for someone to do circuit breaker replacement in Palm Harbor, FL 34683 next month. Any recommendations?”120 answers, asked with five different timings: in two weeks, before the end of the month, in the next few weeks, next month and sometime this month
“Looking for someone to do pendant lighting installation in 34698 in the next few weeks. Any recommendations?”120 answers, asked with five different timings: next month, in the next few weeks, sometime this month, before the end of the month and in two weeks

The other 140 questions asked for other jobs or worded the request differently. Together, the 12,464 answers covered 16 towns in Pinellas County, including Seminole, Largo, Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Clearwater. Each town came up in 30 to 1,534 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 5,164, Claude 4,298 and Google AI Mode 3,002.

The questions covered 41 specific jobs. Each has its own post:

The question underneath all of them

“Which electrician near me is licensed, insured and will actually take my job?” Across every electrical job, answers checked the license first, then asked questions that changed with the size of the job, from a minimum fee for a switch to a load calculation for a charger.

What your electrical page has to explain

The license came up again and again in electrical answers. One of the most common questions asked outright how to check that an electrician is licensed and insured. Answers sent customers to the state DBPR lookup and told them the number should start with EC or ER and match the company name. Some said that a registered ER license covers a narrower local area, so customers should ask where the electrician may work.

Small jobs read differently from big ones. For a switch, dimmer, outlet or light fixture, answers warned about minimum service-call fees and suggested bundling several small tasks into one visit. Some said a handyman could swap a fixture into an existing box. Anything needing new wiring, they said, needs a licensed electrician. An electrician’s page can say which small jobs it takes and how it prices them.

Bigger jobs brought in other people and papers. For panels, subpanels, EV chargers and generators, answers asked whether the panel had room and who handled the permit, inspection and utility shutoff. For aluminum wiring, knob-and-tube wiring and older panel brands, they asked whether the electrician gives papers an insurer will accept. Urgent repairs were different again: many listings claimed round-the-clock service, but assistants could not tell who would actually come tonight.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 12,464 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for electrical work, 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:

Can the customer look up the license and insurance?

Answers for every kind of electrical job told customers to get the license number, look it up on the state site and ask for proof of insurance. Several pointed out that the state lookup confirms the license but not current insurance, so customers should ask for a certificate.

27% of the answers (3,380 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask for the exact license number, legal business name, and proof of insurance.
— ChatGPT, asked “How do I check that an electrician in 33781 actually holds a valid electrical contractor license and is insured? And which ones near me genuinely check out?”, September 3, 2026

Does the electrician pull the permit and book the inspection?

Answers about panels, rewiring, new circuits and additions often told customers to ask who pulls the permit and whether the inspection is in the price. Some described handling both as the mark of a legitimate electrician. For small swaps, they told customers to ask whether a permit is needed at all.

14% of the answers (1,751 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask if they'll handle the permit and inspection as part of the job — reputable local electricians do this routinely.
— Claude, asked “Electrical panel upgrades near me — I'm in Clearwater, FL. Who do you recommend?”, September 7, 2026

Is this a job for a licensed electrician or a handyman?

For fans, light fixtures, doorbells and plug-in lighting, answers often weighed a handyman against a licensed electrician. Many said a handyman may be fine for a swap into an existing box but not for new wiring, a new box or a tripping breaker.

11% of the answers (1,331 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask whether your job is a simple fixture swap or requires a new ceiling box/circuit, and confirm license/insurance before booking.
— ChatGPT, asked “Looking for someone to do track lighting installation in 33772 in the next few weeks. Any recommendations?”, September 10, 2026

What does a small job cost to start?

For switches, dimmers, outlets and troubleshooting, answers often warned that a small job may carry a minimum service-call fee. They told customers to ask for the fee before booking and whether several small tasks could be done in one visit.

8% of the answers (985 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask whether they have a minimum service call fee, whether they can bundle multiple switches/outlets in one visit, and whether the person coming is licensed/insured.
— ChatGPT, asked “Looking for someone to do light switch installation and repair in 33772 in the next few weeks. Any recommendations?”, September 4, 2026

Will the customer get papers their insurer accepts?

Answers about aluminum wiring, knob-and-tube wiring, older panel brands and inspections for home buyers often raised insurance. They told customers to ask whether the electrician provides documentation an insurer or insurance inspector will accept once the work is done.

7% of the answers (908 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask if they can provide documentation of the completed rewire — many homeowner's insurance companies require proof of knob-and-tube removal to keep or lower premiums, so this is worth flagging when you call.
— Claude, asked “Who should I call for knob-and-tube wiring replacement in Largo, FL 33770?”, September 7, 2026

Can the panel take the new load?

For EV chargers, subpanels, additions, generators and new appliance circuits, answers told customers to ask for a load calculation first. They said the result decides whether the job stays simple or grows into panel or service work.

6% of the answers (716 of 12,464) brought this up.

Ask each company whether they pull the permit, do a load calculation, and whether your panel can support the charger without an upgrade.
— ChatGPT, asked “Who should I call for EV charger installation in Palm Harbor, FL?”, September 7, 2026

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 1,862 of the 12,464 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 1,787 of its 4,298, ChatGPT in 62 of its 5,164 and Google AI Mode in 13 of its 3,002. 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: 1,075 answers
Reviews it could check: 482 answers
A license or insurance it could check: 331 answers
Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 234 answers
When the company could do the work: 227 answers
A price or how the job is priced: 171 answers
A warranty: 7 answers

Claude gave almost every answer that said something could not be found, and it most often could not find a phone number, then reviews and a current license. An electrician’s page with one working number, links to recent reviews and a license lookup answers the three things it kept sending customers to check.

I can’t honestly say a contractor “genuinely checks out” on insurance unless the current certificate or workers’ comp record is verified at the time you hire them.
— ChatGPT, asked “How do I check that an electrician in 33755 actually holds a valid electrical contractor license and is insured? And which ones near me genuinely check out?”, September 3, 2026

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 9,462 ChatGPT and Claude answers about electrical work, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

A contractor’s own website: 96% (9,123 answers)
A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 57% (5,380 answers)
An official license lookup: 11% (1,055 answers)
A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 10% (911 answers)
A Google search or Maps page: 2% (225 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 73% of its 3,002 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 electrical work

Can you come out when the customer needs you?

Urgent questions asked for help tonight or first thing tomorrow, while planned jobs asked for a few weeks out. Assistants could not see live schedules and told customers to call and ask for the earliest slot.

227 of the 12,464 answers about electrical work, 210 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.

Can the customer reach a person?

A phone number was what assistants most often could not find for electricians. Several left numbers out rather than guess and pointed customers to a website or directory listing instead.

1,075 of the 12,464 answers about electrical work, 1,064 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.

What do recent customers say?

Assistants often could not verify reviews and told customers to read recent Google and BBB reviews themselves. Some asked for references from the same kind of job, such as a rewire or panel replacement.

482 of the 12,464 answers about electrical work, 478 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 electrical page checklist

Work through this list on your electrical page. Each item answers something the assistants looked for above.

Use “electrical” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
Show your electrical contractor license number with a link to the state lookup, and say what liability and workers’ comp insurance you carry.
Say which of your jobs need a permit, that you pull it and book the inspection, and whether the fee is in the quote.
Say which small jobs you take on, and explain when a job needs new wiring or a new box and why a licensed electrician should do it.
State your service-call or diagnostic fee, what it covers, and whether customers can bundle several small jobs into one visit.
Describe the records you hand over after wiring or panel work, such as the permit, final inspection and photos, and say they are meant for the insurer.
Explain how you check panel capacity before quoting a new circuit, charger or subpanel, and what happens when the panel is full.
Say how soon you can usually come for an urgent repair and how far out you book planned jobs, and whether you answer after hours.
Put one working phone number on every electrical page, matching your Google listing.
Link to your recent reviews, and point to ones that mention the job each page is about.

Going further: let assistants see real openings

For an urgent job, “open now” doesn’t answer the customer’s real question: can the right technician get to this address within the next few hours?

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

What should an electrician’s page say about the license?

Answers told customers to look up the license on the state DBPR site and check that it matches the company name. A page should show the license number and type, link to the lookup, name the insurance you carry and say a current certificate is available on request.

Should an electrician list small jobs like switches and outlets?

For small jobs, answers often compared electricians with handymen and warned about minimum service-call fees. Saying which small jobs you take, how you price them and whether several can be done in one visit answers what customers were told to ask.

What should an electrician say about older wiring and panels?

Answers about aluminum wiring, knob-and-tube wiring and older panel brands often raised the customer’s insurance. They told customers to ask for a permit, a final inspection and documentation an insurer will accept. A page should say which of these you provide when the work is done.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 2 and October 14, 2026, they answered 12,464 questions about electrical work: ChatGPT 5,164, Claude 4,298, Google AI Mode 3,002.

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 12,464 answers ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode gave between September 2 and October 14, 2026. We asked for electrical work in 16 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.

Read the full research method

See it on your own website

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Source: Merchant Context: the current website offer · checked 2026-10-14.