How AI assistants choose who to recommend for HVAC work

We asked ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode for HVAC work recommendations 11,590 times. Here is what they looked for on an HVAC company’s page, across repairs, installs, tune-ups and specialty systems.

October 15, 2026Research data through October 14, 2026

By Patrick

The short answer

Across HVAC jobs, assistants told customers to check the Florida HVAC license and get a written price. Repairs turned on the diagnostic fee and how soon a technician could arrive. Installations turned on sizing the system to the house. For less common jobs, they first checked whether the company did that work at all.

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

What people actually asked

We asked 125 different questions about HVAC work between September 2 and October 14, 2026. These are the six asked most, word for word, with how many of the 11,590 answers each produced:

“Duct installation near me — I'm in St. Petersburg, FL. Who do you recommend?”177 answers
“I'm looking to get duct installation done in 33781 in the next few weeks. Who should I get quotes from?”177 answers, asked with five different timings: in the next few weeks, in two weeks, sometime this month, next month and before the end of the month
“Who should I call for ductless mini-split installation in 33755?”177 answers
“Looking for someone to do air purifier installation in Dunedin, FL 34698 next month. Any recommendations?”176 answers, asked with five different timings: next month, before the end of the month, in the next few weeks, sometime this month and in two weeks
“Who should I call for ventilation system installation in Largo, FL?”170 answers
“Who should I call for duct installation in Tarpon Springs, FL 34689?”169 answers

The other 119 questions asked for other jobs or worded the request differently. Together, the 11,590 answers covered 45 towns in Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Pinellas County, including Largo, Dunedin, Pinellas Park, Seminole and St. Petersburg. Each town came up in 28 to 1,317 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 4,798, Claude 4,076 and Google AI Mode 2,716.

The questions covered 33 specific jobs. Each has its own post:

The question underneath all of them

“Which licensed heating and cooling company does this exact job, and what will it cost?” Across every HVAC job, answers checked the Florida license and a written price, then split: repairs turned on the diagnostic fee, installs on sizing and an itemized quote.

What your HVAC page has to explain

Two pieces of advice held for nearly every HVAC job, from a thermostat swap to a full system replacement. Assistants told customers to get the company’s Florida license number and look it up on the state DBPR site. They also told them to get the price in writing before work began. An HVAC page that shows the license and explains how jobs are priced answers both before the customer calls.

Beyond that, the jobs split into groups. For repairs, answers asked about the diagnostic fee, whether it counts toward the repair, the arrival window and whether the technician carries parts for the customer’s brand. For installations, they asked about a load calculation, model numbers, the permit and the labor warranty. For tune-ups, they asked for the exact checklist and a written report. Each group needs its own explanation on the page.

Many HVAC listings said only heating and cooling. For boilers, geothermal, evaporative coolers, ventilation or commercial work, assistants often could not tell whether a company did the job, and told customers to ask directly. Answers also noted that most Florida homes heat with a heat pump or electric heat strips, not a gas furnace. A page that names each job and system the company handles leaves less to guess.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 11,590 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for HVAC 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 HVAC license?

Answers across the trade told customers that Florida requires a state HVAC license. They said to ask for the license number and the exact business name, then check both on the state DBPR site.

22% of the answers (2,535 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask the company for its exact legal business name and Florida license number.
— ChatGPT, asked “How do I check that an HVAC company in 34683 actually holds a valid HVAC contractor license and is insured? And which ones near me genuinely check out?”, September 3, 2026

Does the written quote break the job down?

For installs and replacements, assistants told customers to collect written quotes from more than one company. They wanted each quote to list the equipment, labor and any duct or electrical work, so the quotes could be compared side by side.

16% of the answers (1,909 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask each company for a written estimate that separates equipment cost, labor, and any duct/electrical work — that makes quotes easier to compare apples-to-apples.
— Claude, asked “I'm looking to get air handler repair and installation done in 34689 in two weeks. Who should I get quotes from?”, September 7, 2026

What does a repair visit cost before any fix?

For AC, heat pump, thermostat, commercial and emergency repairs, answers told customers to ask for the diagnostic or trip fee before booking. They also told them to ask whether the fee is credited when the customer approves the repair.

14% of the answers (1,572 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask for the diagnostic fee up front, whether it’s credited toward the repair, and whether they offer same-day service.
— ChatGPT, asked “AC repair near me — I'm in 34698. Who do you recommend?”, September 5, 2026

Will the new system be sized to the house?

Answers about new systems, heat pumps, mini-splits and ductwork told customers to ask for a load calculation, often called a Manual J. Assistants warned against sizing a unit by guesswork or by matching the old one.

10% of the answers (1,122 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask for a written estimate, license number, equipment warranty, labor warranty, and whether they’ll do a proper load calculation before sizing the system.
— ChatGPT, asked “Who should I call for furnace installation and replacement in 34698?”, September 5, 2026

Does the page say the company does this job?

Assistants often pointed out whether a company explicitly listed the job asked about. When a listing mentioned only general heating and cooling, they told customers to ask directly before booking, especially for geothermal, boilers, humidifiers and commercial work.

8% of the answers (899 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask whether they install or partner on geothermal/ground-source systems, not just air-source heat pumps.
— ChatGPT, asked “I'm looking to get geothermal heating and cooling done in Pinellas Park, FL sometime this month. Who should I get quotes from?”, September 10, 2026

Does the page match the systems Florida homes actually have?

Answers about furnaces, boilers and humidifiers often noted that most Florida homes heat with a heat pump or electric heat strips. Assistants told customers to confirm what system they have, and some said homes here need humidity removed more than added.

5% of the answers (601 of 11,590) brought this up.

Ask for a “heating system tune-up” or “heat pump/furnace maintenance,” since many homes in Dunedin use heat pumps rather than traditional gas furnaces.
— ChatGPT, asked “Looking for someone to do furnace maintenance in 34698 sometime this month. Any recommendations?”, September 4, 2026

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 1,940 of the 11,590 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 1,848 of its 4,076, ChatGPT in 85 of its 4,798 and Google AI Mode in 7 of its 2,716. 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: 1,150 answers
Reviews it could check: 473 answers
When the company could do the work: 283 answers
Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 251 answers
A price or how the job is priced: 159 answers
A license or insurance it could check: 155 answers
A warranty: 16 answers

Claude most often said it could not find a phone number for HVAC companies, and often could not verify reviews or say who could come soon. ChatGPT and Google AI Mode rarely said what they could not find. A working number, links to current reviews and how soon a technician can come answer what Claude kept sending customers to check.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 8,874 ChatGPT and Claude answers about HVAC work, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

A contractor’s own website: 97% (8,604 answers)
A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 51% (4,539 answers)
A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 17% (1,492 answers)
An official license lookup: 6% (569 answers)
A Google search or Maps page: 1% (122 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 76% of its 2,716 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 HVAC work

Can you come out when the customer needs you?

Many answers repeated companies’ round-the-clock or same-day claims, but no assistant could see a schedule. They told customers to ask for an arrival window on repairs and the earliest install date on replacements.

283 of the 11,590 answers about HVAC work, 254 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 Claude most often could not find for HVAC companies, across nearly every job. It left numbers out rather than guess, and sent customers to a listing or website.

1,150 of the 11,590 answers about HVAC work, 1,147 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?

Claude often could not verify ratings, and noted when review counts came only from a company’s own marketing. Assistants told customers to read recent Google reviews themselves.

473 of the 11,590 answers about HVAC work, 472 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 HVAC page checklist

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

Use “HVAC” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
Show your Florida HVAC license number and legal business name, with a link to the state lookup, and say what insurance you carry.
Describe what your written quotes list, such as equipment model, labor, duct or electrical work and the permit, and show a sample with personal details removed.
State your diagnostic or trip fee, or how it is set, and whether it counts toward the repair.
Explain how you size a new system for the home, and say whether a load calculation is part of every install quote.
Name every HVAC job you take on, including less common ones, and say which systems and brands you service.
Say which heating systems you work on, such as heat pumps, air handlers with heat strips or gas furnaces, and which you do not service.
Say how soon a technician can usually arrive for a repair, how far out installs are booked, and who answers after hours.
Put one working phone number on every HVAC page, matching your Google listing.
Link to your Google and BBB reviews, and point to recent ones that describe the kind of job the 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 do AI assistants check before naming an HVAC company?

Across HVAC jobs, answers checked the Florida HVAC license and told customers to get a written price. For repairs they asked about the diagnostic fee and arrival time. For installs they asked about a load calculation and an itemized quote. An HVAC page can answer each of these plainly.

Why do assistants say an HVAC listing doesn’t mention boiler or geothermal work?

Answers often said a company’s listing did not mention the job asked about, and told customers to ask directly. This came up most for less common work, such as boilers, geothermal and evaporative coolers. A page that names each job and system you handle answers that question in advance.

Should an HVAC company publish its diagnostic fee?

Assistants told repair customers to ask for the diagnostic or trip fee before booking, and whether it counts toward the repair. Answers rarely found that fee on a company’s page. Stating the fee, or how it is set, answers what customers were told to call and ask.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 2 and October 14, 2026, they answered 11,590 questions about HVAC work: ChatGPT 4,798, Claude 4,076, Google AI Mode 2,716.

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 11,590 answers ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode gave between September 2 and October 14, 2026. We asked for HVAC work in 45 towns in Hillsborough County, Pasco County and 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

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

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