Who AI assistants recommend for geothermal heating and cooling

1. What people actually asked
2. What your geothermal heating and cooling page has to explain
3. What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
4. Your geothermal heating and cooling page checklist
5. Questions owners ask
6. How we got these numbers
7. See it on your own website

What people actually asked

We asked for geothermal heating and cooling in three different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 261 answers it produced between September 6 and October 14, 2026:

• “Geothermal heating and cooling near me — I'm in St. Petersburg, FL. Who do you recommend?”94 answers
• “Who should I call for geothermal heating and cooling in 33755?”87 answers
• “I'm looking to get geothermal heating and cooling done in 33772 before the end of the month. Who should I get quotes from?”80 answers, asked with five different timings: next month, before the end of the month, sometime this month, in the next few weeks and in two weeks

Together, the 261 answers covered eight towns in Pinellas County: Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Seminole, St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Park and Tarpon Springs. Each town came up in 32 to 33 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 104, Claude 86 and Google AI Mode 71.

Customers also call it “geothermal heat pump installation”, “geothermal system repair” or “geothermal HVAC”, so use those words on the page as well.

The question underneath all of them

“Do you handle the whole geothermal project or only part of it?” Equipment service, system design and ground-loop work are distinct capabilities; name the actual responsibility.

What your geothermal heating and cooling page has to explain

Geothermal is a small specialty in this area, and the answers kept saying so. Many companies sell heat pumps, and some list geothermal among their services. Assistants could rarely tell whether that meant full ground-loop installs, service on existing units, or a word in a list. A page that says plainly which geothermal work the company does gives an assistant something it can repeat.

A geothermal project has distinct parts: the load calculation and system design, the ground loop, and the indoor equipment. Answers told customers to ask who handles each one, and whether the drilling or trenching is done in-house or by another company. A page that names the company's role at each stage, with a real project as an example, answers the question customers were told to call about.

The lot itself shapes the job. Answers mentioned Florida's high water table and sandy soil, and asked whether a vertical bore, a horizontal trench or a pond loop would fit. Customers also asked about tax credits and utility rebates. The page should explain how the company chooses a loop for a lot and what help it gives with incentive paperwork, without promising what the customer will qualify for.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 261 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for geothermal heating and cooling, 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 loop fits the lot?

Answers raised the high water table and asked whether a vertical, horizontal, open or pond loop would suit the customer's lot. Customers were told to ask how the installer would handle their soil and space. The answer changes the cost and the permits.

65% of the answers (170 of 261) brought this up.

Check whether your lot has room for a loop field, or whether a vertical bore or a pond or canal loop would be needed.

Is it true ground-source geothermal, or an ordinary heat pump?

Assistants often found companies that sell heat pumps and could not tell whether any of them install ground-source systems. They warned that air-source units get lumped in under heat pump marketing. Customers were told to confirm true geothermal work before booking a visit.

32% of the answers (83 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether they install or partner on geothermal/ground-source systems, not just air-source heat pumps.

Who designs and drills the ground loop?

Many answers told customers to ask who designs and installs the loop, and whether drilling is done by the company or a partner. The loop is the specialized part, and a company that only sets the indoor unit is a different choice.

28% of the answers (74 of 261) brought this up.

Ask who does the drilling or trenching, and whether that's in-house or subcontracted.

Can the company show real geothermal jobs?

Assistants regularly told customers to ask how many ground-loop systems a company has installed locally and to call past geothermal customers. Few listings showed any. Several companies had few reviews or none, so references carried the weight.

22% of the answers (58 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether they have installed closed-loop ground-source systems, and ask for references.

Is the installer trained for geothermal?

Many answers told customers to ask whether the installer holds IGSHPA accreditation or a manufacturer's geothermal dealer status. Most could not confirm that any local firm held it, and sent customers to the IGSHPA directory instead.

20% of the answers (53 of 261) brought this up.

Will the company help with tax credits and rebates?

Answers often mentioned the federal tax credit for geothermal heat pumps and asked about utility rebates. They told customers to confirm what applies with a tax preparer and to ask whether the installer helps with the paperwork.

20% of the answers (53 of 261) brought this up.

Confirm with a tax professional and ask each contractor about any current utility or local incentives.

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 63 of the 261 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 53 of its 86, ChatGPT in 10 of its 104 and Google AI Mode in 0 of its 71. 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: 22 answers
• Reviews it could check: 11 answers
• Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 9 answers
• A license or insurance it could check: 5 answers

Assistants most often could not confirm that any local company installs ground loops, and many could not find a phone number. A page that names the geothermal work, the company's role and a working number answers what they kept telling customers to ask.

I couldn't confirm that any of these have installed ground loops, so ask each one directly.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 190 ChatGPT and Claude answers about geothermal heating and cooling, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

• A contractor’s own website: 96% (183 answers)
• A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 53% (101 answers)
• A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 8% (16 answers)
• An official license lookup: 4% (7 answers)
• A Google search or Maps page: 3% (5 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 75% of its 71 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 geothermal heating and cooling

Can the customer reach a person?

Phone numbers were among the things assistants most often could not find for this job. Some sent customers to a manufacturer's dealer locator instead of a local company.

22 of the 261 answers about geothermal heating and cooling, 20 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 several listings had few or none. Where reviews did appear, some mentioned permit or installation problems, so customers were told to ask for references.

11 of the 261 answers about geothermal heating and cooling, 11 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.

Do you serve the customer’s town or ZIP code?

Some of the few geothermal specialists found were based in other parts of Florida. Answers told customers to ask whether those companies have a crew and past installs in their county.

9 of the 261 answers about geothermal heating and cooling, 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.

Source: How we research what AI assistants recommend.

Your geothermal heating and cooling page checklist

Work through this list on your geothermal heating and cooling page. Each item answers something the assistants looked for above.

1. Use “geothermal heating and cooling”, “geothermal heat pump installation” or “geothermal system repair” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
2. Explain the loop types the company installs and what it looks at on a lot before recommending one.
3. Say plainly that the company installs ground-source geothermal systems, and how that differs from the air-source heat pumps it also sells.
4. Name each stage of a geothermal project and say which ones the company does itself and which a partner does.
5. Show a real local geothermal project, the company's role in it, and how a customer can ask for references.
6. List any geothermal training or accreditation the installers hold, with a certificate number or a link to check it.
7. Say what paperwork the company provides for tax credits or rebates, and send customers to the official source for eligibility.
8. Put a working phone number and a way to request a geothermal site visit on the geothermal page itself.
9. Link to recent reviews and point to ones from customers who had a geothermal system installed.
10. List the towns and ZIP codes where the company takes on geothermal projects, and where its loop partner works.

Going further: let assistants see real openings

For planned work like geothermal heating and cooling, 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

What is the difference between geothermal and a regular heat pump?

A geothermal system moves heat through a loop buried in the ground or set in water, while a regular heat pump uses outdoor air. Assistants often warned that companies selling heat pumps may not install ground loops, so a page should say which the company does.

Who drills the ground loop for a geothermal system?

It depends on the company. Some do the drilling or trenching themselves, and others hire a partner. Assistants told customers to ask about this directly, so the page should name who does the loop work and who answers for it after the install.

Does a geothermal system qualify for a tax credit?

Answers often mentioned a federal tax credit for geothermal heat pumps and sometimes utility rebates. They told customers to confirm with a tax preparer. A page can say what paperwork the company provides, without promising what a customer will receive.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 6 and October 14, 2026, they answered 261 questions about geothermal heating and cooling: ChatGPT 104, Claude 86, Google AI Mode 71.

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.

See it on your own website

Send us your website address and we’ll make a free preview of your homepage, rewritten so customers and assistants can find your geothermal heating and cooling answers. You pay only if you accept it: $2,000 a month, month to month, with no build fee.

Get your free homepage preview

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

Keep reading

• AI search optimization and websites for HVAC companies.
• Which services need their own page on a contractor website?