Who AI assistants recommend for heat pump maintenance

1. What people actually asked
2. What your heat pump maintenance page has to explain
3. What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
4. Your heat pump maintenance 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 heat pump maintenance in three different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 262 answers it produced between September 4 and October 11, 2026:

• “Looking for someone to do heat pump maintenance in 34683 sometime this month. Any recommendations?”88 answers, asked with five different timings: in the next few weeks, before the end of the month, sometime this month, next month and in two weeks
• “Who should I call for heat pump maintenance in 34698?”88 answers
• “Heat pump maintenance near me — I'm in 33772. Who do you recommend?”86 answers

Together, the 262 answers covered eight towns in Pinellas County: Dunedin, Largo, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater and Seminole. Each town came up in 32 to 33 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 120, Claude 94 and Google AI Mode 48.

Customers also call it “heat pump tune-up”, “heat pump service” or “heat pump seasonal check”, so use those words on the page as well.

The question underneath all of them

“Is this maintenance service intended for my heat pump?” A named heat-pump service should explain its own inspection scope instead of reusing an unexplained furnace checklist.

What your heat pump maintenance page has to explain

Many companies sell an AC tune-up and call it heat pump maintenance. Assistants told customers to ask for a heat pump tune-up by name, and to confirm the visit covers a heat pump specifically. Some found a low advertised price that was for AC only. A page with a heat pump checklist, separate from the AC and furnace lists, answers whether the service is meant for this equipment.

The part that sets a heat pump visit apart is the heating side. Answers told customers to ask whether the technician checks the reversing valve, the defrost cycle and the backup heat, and tests both heating and cooling modes. Several answers stressed this because a heat pump does both jobs. The page should say that both modes are checked and how.

Customers also wanted to know what happens after the visit. Some answers warned that a low-priced tune-up can be used to sell extra repairs, and told customers to ask for any repair recommendation in writing. Others said to ask for written records for warranty purposes. The page should explain how findings are reported, and how repairs or extra visits are quoted.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 262 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for heat pump maintenance, 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:

Are the coils and drain line cleaned?

Most answers told customers to ask whether the visit cleans the coils and clears the condensate drain, not just looks at them. Some said humid, salty coastal air is hard on outdoor coils.

51% of the answers (134 of 262) brought this up.

Ask whether the maintenance includes coil cleaning, condensate-drain flushing, electrical-component testing, airflow/temperature measurements, and refrigerant-leak checks—not just a quick visual inspection.

Are refrigerant and electrical parts checked?

Assistants told customers to ask whether the technician checks the refrigerant charge and tests the capacitor and electrical connections. Some also told customers to ask whether refrigerant costs extra.

40% of the answers (106 of 262) brought this up.

Ask whether the visit includes a refrigerant level check and an electrical connection inspection.

Is there a plan with a visit for each season?

Many answers told customers to ask about a twice-yearly plan, with one visit for cooling and one for heating. They told customers to ask whether a plan costs less than paying per visit and includes priority service.

29% of the answers (76 of 262) brought this up.

Ask whether a maintenance plan costs less than paying per visit.

Does the visit test heating mode and defrost?

Answers told customers to ask whether the tune-up checks the reversing valve, the defrost cycle and the backup heat. Assistants treated these checks as what separates a heat pump tune-up from an AC tune-up.

27% of the answers (70 of 262) brought this up.

Ask whether the tune-up covers a heat pump's heating mode, including the reversing valve and defrost operation.

Is the service meant for a heat pump, or reused from AC?

Assistants told customers to confirm a company services heat pumps specifically, not just AC. Some found tune-up prices that applied only to AC and told customers to ask what a heat pump visit costs.

12% of the answers (31 of 262) brought this up.

Ask for a flat tune-up price and what the visit covers for a heat pump specifically.

Are findings and repair advice given in writing?

Some answers warned that a cheap tune-up can lead to repair sales, and told customers to ask for any recommendation in writing. Others said to ask for a written maintenance record to keep for warranty purposes.

8% of the answers (22 of 262) brought this up.

Some use a low-priced tune-up to sell you extra repairs, so ask for any repair recommendations in writing.

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 28 of the 262 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 28 of its 94, ChatGPT in 0 of its 120 and Google AI Mode in 0 of its 48. 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: 17 answers
• A price or how the job is priced: 7 answers
• Reviews it could check: 6 answers
• Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 4 answers

Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find, and pages for this job often listed no tune-up or plan price. A page with a working number and the heat pump visit price answers what they kept telling customers to ask.

The page didn't list pricing, so ask what a tune-up costs and what the plan includes.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 214 ChatGPT and Claude answers about heat pump maintenance, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

• A contractor’s own website: 100% (214 answers)
• A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 57% (122 answers)
• A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 27% (58 answers)
• A Google search or Maps page: 3% (6 answers)
• An official license lookup: 2% (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 71% of its 48 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 heat pump maintenance

Can the customer reach a person?

Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find. Some warned against generic call-center numbers that resell the customer's details to a contractor.

17 of the 262 answers about heat pump maintenance, 17 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 will the job cost?

After phone numbers, prices were what assistants most often could not find for this job. They found pages with no tune-up or plan price, and told customers to ask for a flat price in writing.

7 of the 262 answers about heat pump maintenance, 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 49 of the 366 conversations where it came up.

What do recent customers say?

Assistants often could not confirm ratings, and some noted high scores that may rest on very few reviews.

6 of the 262 answers about heat pump maintenance, 6 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 heat pump maintenance page checklist

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

1. Use “heat pump maintenance”, “heat pump tune-up” or “heat pump service” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
2. Say which coils are cleaned and how the drain line is cleared at a standard heat pump visit.
3. List the refrigerant and electrical checks done at each visit, and say whether added refrigerant is charged separately.
4. Give the price of a single heat pump visit and of the plan, and say when in the year plan visits happen.
5. State that the visit tests both heating and cooling modes, and list the heating-side checks.
6. Name a heat pump tune-up on its own, with its own checklist and price, separate from the AC tune-up.
7. Describe the written record the customer receives, and say that repairs are quoted separately and need approval.
8. Put your own working phone number and a booking link on the heat pump maintenance page.
9. State the flat price of a heat pump tune-up, the plan price, and any travel or diagnostic fee.
10. Link to your recent reviews and point to ones from heat pump maintenance customers.

Going further: let assistants see real openings

For planned work like heat pump maintenance, 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 should a heat pump tune-up include?

Answers about this job most often mentioned coil cleaning, clearing the condensate drain, and refrigerant and electrical checks. They also told customers to ask for tests of the reversing valve, the defrost cycle, and both heating and cooling modes. The page should publish its own heat pump checklist.

Is a heat pump tune-up different from an AC tune-up?

Assistants said it should be. A heat pump also heats, so they told customers to ask whether the visit checks the reversing valve, defrost and backup heat. A page should show a heat pump checklist rather than reuse the AC one.

How often does a heat pump need maintenance?

Many answers told customers to ask about a twice-yearly plan, with a visit before cooling season and one before heating season. The answers did not set a rule. The page should say what the company recommends and why.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 4 and October 11, 2026, they answered 262 questions about heat pump maintenance: ChatGPT 120, Claude 94, Google AI Mode 48.

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 heat pump maintenance 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?