How AI assistants choose who to recommend for leak detection

1. What people actually asked
2. What your leak detection page has to explain
3. What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
4. Your leak detection 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 leak detection in three different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 263 answers it produced between September 8 and October 14, 2026:

• “Leak detection near me — I'm in Dunedin, FL. Who do you recommend?”96 answers
• “Who should I call for leak detection in St. Petersburg, FL 33713?”87 answers
• “I need leak detection tonight — I'm in 33772. Who can actually come out?”80 answers, asked with five different timings: tonight, within the next few hours, tomorrow morning, first thing tomorrow and today

Together, the 263 answers covered eight towns in Pinellas County: Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Park, Seminole, St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs. Each town came up in 32 to 33 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 104, Claude 87 and Google AI Mode 72.

Customers also call it “water leak detection”, “hidden leak detection” or “leak locating”, so use those words on the page as well.

The question underneath all of them

“Will this visit locate the leak, repair it or both?” Investigation and repair are separate deliverables; say what the customer receives from each.

What your leak detection page has to explain

Finding a leak and fixing it are two different services, and the answers kept them apart. Assistants told customers to ask whether a visit only locates the leak or also repairs it, and whether those are billed separately. Some companies only find leaks and hand the repair to a plumber. A page that says what the customer gets from each part, and who does the fix, removes the main doubt.

The method mattered because customers feared damage. Assistants often told customers to ask for non-invasive detection, such as acoustic listening or thermal imaging, before anyone cuts into a wall or slab. Several said a general plumber may not have that equipment. The page should name the methods used and say when opening a surface becomes necessary, and who repairs it.

Many customers also needed proof for someone else. Assistants told them to ask for a written report of where the leak was found, often for a homeowner's insurance claim. The answers also mentioned the signs that send people looking, such as a high water bill or a meter that keeps moving. A page that names those signs and shows a sample report speaks to the customer's real situation.

What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone

We read all 263 answers to see what the assistants looked for before naming a company for leak detection, 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 kinds of leaks does the company find?

Many answers sorted companies by the leak they handle: under a slab, inside a wall or in a pool. Assistants asked customers where they thought the leak was, because not every company finds every kind.

72% of the answers (190 of 263) brought this up.

How is the leak found without opening walls or floors?

Most answers told customers to ask which method a company uses, such as acoustic listening, thermal imaging or pressure testing. Several told them to ask for non-invasive methods before any digging or concrete cutting.

70% of the answers (184 of 263) brought this up.

Ask whether they do electronic or acoustic detection, not just plumbing repair.

What signs lead a customer to call?

Some answers named the signs that point to a hidden leak, such as a high water bill or a meter that keeps moving with everything off. Some answers sent customers with those signs to a detection company first, rather than a general plumber.

31% of the answers (82 of 263) brought this up.

Does the visit find the leak, fix it, or both?

Assistants regularly told customers to ask whether a quote covers only locating the leak or the repair as well. Some companies only detect, so customers wanted to know who would do the fix.

27% of the answers (70 of 263) brought this up.

Ask whether they only find the leak or also repair it.

Does the detection fee count toward the repair?

Many answers told customers to ask for the detection fee and whether it is credited toward the repair if the same company does the fix. Customers wanted to know the visit would not be a cost on top of the repair.

26% of the answers (69 of 263) brought this up.

Ask whether the detection fee is credited toward repair if you hire them for the fix.

Does the customer get a written report of where the leak is?

Assistants often told customers to ask for a written leak-location report. Answers tied it to insurance claims and to handing the job to a plumber, so the report is part of what the customer pays for.

11% of the answers (29 of 263) brought this up.

Ask whether you'll get a written report, since your insurer may want one.

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 36 of the 263 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 34 of its 87, ChatGPT in 1 of its 104 and Google AI Mode in 1 of its 72. 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: 19 answers
• Reviews it could check: 13 answers
• When the company could do the work: 13 answers

Assistants most often could not find a phone number, and often could not confirm that anyone could come today or tomorrow. A page with a working number and a plain statement of how soon a detection visit can happen answers what they kept sending customers to ask.

I couldn't confirm that any of them has a slot tomorrow morning, because availability isn't posted online.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 191 ChatGPT and Claude answers about leak detection, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

• A contractor’s own website: 99% (189 answers)
• A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 53% (102 answers)
• A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 6% (11 answers)
• A Google search or Maps page: 1% (2 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 57% of its 72 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 leak detection

Can the customer reach a person?

Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find for this job. Some also could not tell which office's number covered the customer's area.

19 of the 263 answers about leak detection, 19 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.

Can you schedule the job when the customer needs it?

Many customers wanted someone today, tonight or first thing tomorrow, often with water actively leaking. Assistants could not see any schedule and told customers to call for an arrival window.

13 of the 263 answers about leak detection, 13 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.

What do recent customers say?

Assistants often could not find independent reviews for detection companies and told customers to check Google or the BBB. Reviews that mention a leak being found speak to this job directly.

13 of the 263 answers about leak detection, 13 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 leak detection page checklist

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

1. Use “leak detection”, “water leak detection” or “hidden leak detection” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
2. List the kinds of leaks you locate, such as slab, wall, yard line or pool, and say which ones you do not.
3. Name the detection methods and equipment you use, and say when opening a wall or slab becomes necessary.
4. Name the signs that usually mean a hidden leak, in the words customers use, so they know your page is the right one.
5. Say what the detection visit delivers, whether you also repair the leak, and how the repair is quoted.
6. State the detection fee and say whether it is applied to the repair when you do both.
7. Describe what the report contains and show a real example with the customer's details removed.
8. Put one working phone number for the customer's area on the leak detection page.
9. Say how soon a detection visit can usually happen and how after-hours calls are handled.
10. Link to recent reviews and point to ones where a hidden leak was located.

Going further: let assistants see real openings

For planned work like leak detection, 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

Does leak detection include fixing the leak?

Not always. Assistants told customers to ask whether a visit only locates the leak or also repairs it. Some companies only detect and pass the repair to a plumber. A page should say what the detection visit delivers and who does the fix.

Will finding a leak mean cutting into my walls or floor?

Assistants told customers to ask for non-invasive methods, such as acoustic listening or thermal imaging, before anything is opened. The page should name the methods used and explain when opening a surface is still needed and who repairs it.

Can a leak detection report help with an insurance claim?

Assistants often told customers to ask for a written leak-location report, and many tied it to insurance claims. The answers did not say any report guarantees a claim. A page should show what the report includes, using a sample with details removed.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 8 and October 14, 2026, they answered 263 questions about leak detection: ChatGPT 104, Claude 87, Google AI Mode 72.

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 leak detection 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

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