Who AI assistants recommend for under-cabinet lighting installation

1. What people actually asked
2. What your under-cabinet lighting installation page has to explain
3. What the assistants looked for before recommending anyone
4. Your under-cabinet lighting installation 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 under-cabinet lighting installation in three different ways. Here is each one, word for word, with how many of the 261 answers it produced between September 7 and October 13, 2026:

• “Under-cabinet lighting installation near me — I'm in Clearwater, FL 33755. Who do you recommend?”95 answers
• “Who should I call for under-cabinet lighting installation in 33781?”87 answers
• “Looking for someone to do under-cabinet lighting installation in Palm Harbor, FL next month. Any recommendations?”79 answers, asked with five different timings: sometime this month, before the end of the month, in the next few weeks, in two weeks and next month

Together, the 261 answers covered eight towns in Pinellas County: Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole, Palm Harbor, St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs. Each town came up in 32 to 33 answers. By assistant: ChatGPT 112, Claude 101 and Google AI Mode 48.

Customers also call it “kitchen under-cabinet lights” or “hardwired under-cabinet strip lighting”, so use those words on the page as well.

The question underneath all of them

“What will the finished lighting and controls look like in my kitchen?” Visible finish, routing and control choices are part of the decision as well as the light fittings.

What your under-cabinet lighting installation page has to explain

The first choice answers raised was how the lights get power. Plug-in and battery lights are simple, while hardwired lights run to a wall switch or dimmer with no cords showing. Many answers suggested hardwired LED strips on a dimmer as the cleanest result. A page that says which kinds the electrician installs, and what each one looks like when done, answers that before the call.

Under-cabinet lighting is judged by how it looks. Assistants told customers to ask whether wiring is hidden inside the wall or run along the cabinet, and where the driver or transformer will sit. Some noted that not every electrician does in-wall runs. Photos of a finished kitchen, with the switch and the light color visible, show what the customer will actually see.

Few electricians name under-cabinet lighting on their pages. Assistants often found a kitchen lighting page and still told customers to ask whether the company does this job. The page should name it plainly, say whether the electrician supplies the lights or installs ones the customer bought, and show a recent job.

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 under-cabinet lighting installation, 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:

What switch or dimmer controls the lights?

Most answers told customers to ask about a wall switch or dimmer, and where it will go. Assistants asked whether the switch or dimmer is in the price and whether the lights work with it.

62% of the answers (161 of 261) brought this up.

Ask about dimmer or switch placement, and get the price in writing.

Hardwired, or plug-in?

Many answers told customers to decide whether they want hardwired, plug-in or battery lights before asking for quotes. Assistants often pointed to hardwired lights as the cleaner setup, with no visible cords.

51% of the answers (132 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether the quote covers hardwired lights or plug-in ones, and whether they'll run the wiring inside the wall.

Which kind of light, and what color?

Answers often compared puck lights with LED strips or bars. Some told customers to name the light color they want in the written quote, such as a warm white for a kitchen.

34% of the answers (88 of 261) brought this up.

Ask which one they'd suggest for your kitchen.

Does it need a permit?

Many answers told customers to ask whether the job needs a permit, mainly when hardwiring adds a new circuit. Assistants said a licensed electrician will usually handle it.

28% of the answers (72 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether they're pulling a permit if it involves new circuits — most reputable licensed electricians will handle that.

Will the wiring be hidden?

Assistants told customers to ask whether wiring runs inside the wall or along the cabinet underside. Answers noted this changes the price and that some electricians will not do in-wall runs.

25% of the answers (66 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether the wiring will be hidden inside the wall or surface-mounted, because that changes the price and some electricians won't do in-wall runs.

Where does the driver or transformer go?

Some answers told customers to ask where the driver or transformer will be placed. They wanted it hidden but still reachable, and asked about a warranty on it.

23% of the answers (59 of 261) brought this up.

Ask whether each one includes the power supply, a dimmer and the wiring behind the cabinets.

What the assistants couldn’t find

In 46 of the 261 answers, the assistant said it couldn’t find or confirm something it needed about a company. By assistant: Claude in 41 of its 101, ChatGPT in 5 of its 112 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: 24 answers
• Reviews it could check: 13 answers
• Whether the company serves the customer’s town or ZIP code: 12 answers
• A license or insurance it could check: 8 answers
• When the company could do the work: 5 answers

Phone numbers were what assistants most often could not find for this job, followed by reviews of under-cabinet work and service areas. A page with a working number, the towns served and photos of finished kitchens answers what they kept telling customers to check.

Their page doesn't say "under-cabinet" specifically, so ask them about it.

Where the assistants sent people

Each answer linked to the pages the assistant relied on. Of the 213 ChatGPT and Claude answers about under-cabinet lighting installation, this is how many linked at least once to each kind of site:

• A contractor’s own website: 99% (211 answers)
• A directory or review site such as Yelp, Angi or the BBB: 60% (127 answers)
• A manufacturer or home-improvement guide: 8% (16 answers)
• An official license lookup: 6% (13 answers)
• A Google search or Maps page: under 1% (1 answer)

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 79% 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 under-cabinet lighting installation

Can the customer reach a person?

Phone numbers were the thing assistants most often could not find for this job. Several sent customers to directory listings to get one.

24 of the 261 answers about under-cabinet lighting installation, 23 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 found reviews that did not say what kind of lights were installed, or photos with no written review behind them.

13 of the 261 answers about under-cabinet lighting installation, 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.

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

Assistants often found companies whose pages did not name the customer's town, or a franchise whose territory they could not confirm.

12 of the 261 answers about under-cabinet lighting installation, 12 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 under-cabinet lighting installation page checklist

Work through this list on your under-cabinet lighting installation page. Each item answers something the assistants looked for above.

1. Use “under-cabinet lighting installation”, “kitchen under-cabinet lights” or “hardwired under-cabinet strip lighting” in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph.
2. Describe the switch and dimmer options you install, and say where they usually go in a kitchen.
3. Say which kinds of under-cabinet lights you install and explain the difference in look and price.
4. Show the light styles you install and photos of how each color looks under real cabinets.
5. Explain when an under-cabinet job needs a permit where you work, and say that you pull it.
6. Say whether you run wiring inside the wall, how you hide it, and how patching is handled.
7. Say where you place the driver, how it stays reachable, and what warranty covers it.
8. Put a working phone number and a quote form that accepts kitchen photos on the under-cabinet lighting page.
9. Link to recent reviews and point to ones that mention under-cabinet or kitchen lighting.
10. List the towns and ZIP codes where you install under-cabinet lighting.

Going further: let assistants see real openings

For planned work like under-cabinet lighting installation, 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

Should under-cabinet lights be hardwired or plug-in?

Answers said both work, but many described hardwired lights on a wall switch or dimmer as the cleaner result, with no cords showing. Plug-in and battery lights cost less to install. The page should explain the difference and which the electrician recommends for each kitchen.

Can an electrician hide the wiring for under-cabinet lights?

Assistants told customers to ask whether the wiring runs inside the wall or along the cabinet underside, and noted that some electricians do not do in-wall runs. The page should say how the electrician hides wiring and how any patching is handled.

What should an under-cabinet lighting quote include?

Answers told customers to look for the lights, the switch or dimmer, the driver or transformer, any hidden wiring, drywall patching and a permit if needed. A page with a sample quote helps customers compare prices fairly.

Which AI assistants did you test?

ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode. Between September 7 and October 13, 2026, they answered 261 questions about under-cabinet lighting installation: ChatGPT 112, Claude 101, 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 under-cabinet lighting installation 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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