Who AI assistants recommend for home services in Largo, FL

1. What people actually asked
2. What your Largo page has to explain
3. What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
4. Your Largo 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 536 different questions here between September 2 and October 14, 2026. These are the six asked most, word for word, with how many of the 5,705 answers each produced:

• “Who should I call for whole-house fan installation in 33770?”24 answers
• “Whole-house fan installation near me — I'm in 33770. Who do you recommend?”21 answers
• “I need a full AC system replacement in 33770. I'm looking to get this done sometime this month. Who should I get quotes from?”17 answers, asked with five different timings: sometime this month, in the next few weeks, before the end of the month, in two weeks and next month
• “Looking for someone to do an AC tune-up in Largo, FL 33770 sometime this month. Any recommendations?”17 answers, asked with four different timings: in the next few weeks, next month, sometime this month and in two weeks
• “Electrician near me — I'm in Largo, FL 33770. Who do you recommend?”16 answers
• “How do I check that an electrician in Largo, FL actually holds a valid electrical contractor license and is insured? And which ones near me genuinely check out?”16 answers

The other 530 questions asked for other jobs or worded the request differently. All 5,705 answers were about Largo, in Pinellas County (ZIP codes 33756, 33760, 33764, 33770, 33771, 33773, 33774, 33778, 33779 and 34640). By assistant: ChatGPT 2,364, Claude 1,966 and Google AI Mode 1,375.

The questions covered 146 specific jobs. The most asked here, each with its own post:

• drain cleaning (52 answers)
• septic tank pumping (52 answers)
• circuit breaker replacement (51 answers)
• toilet repair (48 answers)
• sewer-line repair (46 answers)
• whole-house fan installation (45 answers)
• septic system repair (45 answers)
• air handler repair and installation (44 answers)

The question underneath all of them

“Who in Largo is licensed, upfront on price and pulls the permit?” In all four trades, answers noted which companies were based in Largo, then told customers to check the license, trip fee and permit.

What your Largo page has to explain

Largo is one of the largest towns in this research, and its answers look much like the others. Assistants rarely said no one served Largo. Instead they often noted where each company was based, calling one Largo-based or located right in the customer’s ZIP code, most often 33770. A Largo page should say where the company is based and which Largo ZIP codes it serves.

The same few questions came up whether the job was a drain cleaning, a breaker replacement, an AC tune-up or a roof inspection. Assistants told customers to check the Florida license on the state DBPR site, ask what the visit costs before anyone comes out, and get bigger jobs in writing. Some also pointed to Pinellas County’s contractor search and told customers to ask who pulls the county permit.

Insurance paperwork came up often in roofing and electrical answers. Roofing answers mentioned wind-mitigation notes and storm-damage photos. Electrical answers mentioned papers an insurer asks for after a panel or wiring job. Assistants told customers to ask whether the contractor provides that documentation, and warned against anyone offering to handle the insurance claim for them. A Largo page should say what records the customer receives after the job.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 5,705 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for home services in Largo, FL, 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:

Is the company actually in Largo or the customer’s ZIP code?

Answers across all four trades often said when a company was Largo-based or located right in the customer’s ZIP code. When a company was based elsewhere, assistants told customers to confirm it served their Largo address.

39% of the answers (2,200 of 5,705) brought this up.

Can the customer check the license and insurance?

Many answers told customers to get the license number, look it up on the state DBPR site and ask for proof of liability and workers’ comp insurance. This advice was the same for plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies and roofers.

24% of the answers (1,388 of 5,705) brought this up.

Confirm each is licensed with the Florida DBPR and carries general liability + workers' comp — ask for the certificate directly.

Is the price upfront and in writing?

Assistants told Largo customers to get a written quote for anything beyond a small repair, and to ask whether pricing is flat-rate or hourly. They wanted the quote to say what was included before the work started.

20% of the answers (1,169 of 5,705) brought this up.

Ask if the price is flat-rate vs hourly — flat-rate avoids surprise overtime charges if the job runs long.

What does the first visit cost?

For repairs in every trade, answers told customers to ask for the trip, service-call or diagnostic fee before booking. They also told them to ask whether that fee is credited toward the repair.

10% of the answers (571 of 5,705) brought this up.

Ask for the service-call/diagnostic fee and an upfront quote before authorizing work.

Who pulls the Pinellas County permit?

Answers about roofing, panel work, water heaters and AC replacements told customers to ask who pulls the permit and whether it is in the quote. Several mentioned Pinellas County’s own permit rules by name.

7% of the answers (406 of 5,705) brought this up.

Ask if the quote includes a permit if required — breaker panel work often needs one in Pinellas County.

Will the customer get papers an insurer accepts?

Roofing and electrical answers in Largo often told customers to ask for photos, a written report or wind-mitigation notes they could give their insurer. Some said insurers ask for proof of certain panel or wiring work.

6% of the answers (326 of 5,705) brought this up.

Ask whether the inspection includes photos, attic check, wind-mitigation notes, and a written report.

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 829 of the 5,705 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 782 of its 1,966, ChatGPT in 43 of its 2,364 and Google AI Mode in 4 of its 1,375. 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: 460 answers
• Reviews it could check: 173 answers
• When the company could do the work: 124 answers
• A license or insurance it could check: 109 answers
• A price or how the job is priced: 68 answers
• Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 59 answers
• A warranty: 8 answers

Compared with the larger towns: Claude said it couldn’t confirm something in 782 of its 1,966 answers about Largo (40%), and couldn’t confirm that any company served Largo in 59 (3%). In the eight largest towns we studied, those figures were 40% and 4%.

In Largo, assistants most often could not find a phone number, and often could not verify reviews or say who could come out soon. Every trade’s Largo page can answer those three with a working number, links to current reviews and how soon a crew can come.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 4,330 ChatGPT and Claude answers about home services in Largo, FL, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

• A contractor’s own website: 97% (4,217 answers)
• A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 55% (2,370 answers)
• A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 11% (493 answers)
• An official license lookup: 8% (363 answers)
• A Google search or Maps page: 1% (52 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 68% of its 1,375 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 home services in Largo, FL

Can you come out when the customer needs you?

Largo questions often asked for help tomorrow morning, this weekend or within a couple of weeks. Assistants usually could not confirm who had an opening, so they told customers to call and ask for the earliest slot.

124 of the 5,705 answers about home services in Largo, FL, 114 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?

Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find for Largo contractors, in every trade. Several left numbers out rather than guess, and sent customers to a website or listing.

460 of the 5,705 answers about home services in Largo, FL, 456 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 said not to rely on what a company’s own site claimed about its rating.

173 of the 5,705 answers about home services in Largo, FL, 171 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 Largo page checklist

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

1. Use “Largo” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
2. Say whether you are based in Largo, give your street address if it is here, and list the Largo ZIP codes you serve.
3. Show the Florida license number for each trade you do, with a link to the DBPR lookup, and say what insurance you carry.
4. Say how you price your common Largo jobs, flat-rate or hourly, and what a written quote lists.
5. State your trip or diagnostic fee, or how it is set, and whether it counts toward the repair.
6. Say which of your Largo jobs need a permit, that you pull it, and whether its cost is in the quote.
7. Describe the photos, reports or certificates the customer receives after the job, and show a sample with personal details removed.
8. Say how soon you can usually reach a Largo address for each trade, and whether you take weekend calls.
9. Put one working phone number on the Largo page, matching your Google listing.
10. Link to your Google and BBB reviews, and point to recent ones from Largo customers for each trade.

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 a Largo contractor’s town page say?

Answers about Largo looked for where a company is based, its Florida license, the trip or diagnostic fee and who pulls the permit. A Largo page should state each of these plainly, name the Largo ZIP codes you serve, and give a working phone number that matches your Google listing.

Should my Largo page mention Pinellas County permits?

If your work needs one, yes. Answers about roofing, panel work and system replacements told Largo customers to ask who pulls the permit, and some named Pinellas County’s rules. Say which of your jobs need a permit, that you pull it, and whether it is in the price.

Does a Largo page need to mention insurance paperwork?

For roofing and electrical work, answers often told customers to ask for photos, reports or wind-mitigation notes their insurer would accept. If you provide these, describe them on the page. The answers also warned against contractors who offer to handle the insurance claim, so say only what you actually do.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 2 and October 14, 2026, they answered 5,705 questions about home services in Largo, FL: ChatGPT 2,364, Claude 1,966, Google AI Mode 1,375.

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 Largo 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

• Who AI assistants recommend for HVAC work in Largo, FL
• Who AI assistants recommend for plumbing work in Largo, FL
• Who AI assistants recommend for electrical work in Largo, FL
• Who AI assistants recommend for roofing work in Largo, FL