A few years ago, a homeowner with a leaking roof would open Google, scroll through the results and call two or three companies. Today, more and more of them are typing the whole problem into ChatGPT and asking it who to call, and that changes who gets the job.
Key takeaways
- 45% of US consumers now ask AI tools to recommend local businesses, up from 6% in 2025.
- AI usually names two or three companies, so if you are not one of them the homeowner may never find you.
- A clear website, a complete Google profile, fresh reviews and consistent listings are what AI uses to decide.
The shift happened faster than anyone expected
BrightLocal published a study in March 2026 with a number that surprised a lot of people in our industry. 45% of US consumers now use AI tools to get recommendations for local businesses, up from just 6% in 2025. That makes AI the third most used way to find a local business, behind Google and Facebook and ahead of Yelp.
6% → 45%
of US consumers using AI to find local businesses, from 2025 to 2026.
BrightLocal, March 2026
Trust is following the same path. Among people who use AI this way, 63% say they trust the recommendations they get, and adults between 30 and 44, the age group buying and fixing homes, lead adoption at 64%.
AI does not show ten results. It names a few.
On a normal Google search, being in position seven still gets you some calls. With AI, the answer usually lists two or three businesses and explains why. If you are not one of them, the homeowner may never know you exist.
Google is moving the same way. Studies tracking AI Overviews in 2026 report that when an AI summary appears, people click on regular results much less, but pages cited inside the summary get more than twice the clicks of pages that are not cited. Being the source the AI quotes is becoming more valuable than simply ranking.
How AI decides who to recommend
These tools do not have a secret list of favorite contractors. They put together an answer from what they can find and verify about your business online, which usually includes:
Your Google Business Profile
Categories, services, service areas, photos, hours and, above all, recent reviews.
Your website
Clear pages that say what you do, where you do it and for whom. A page called “Roof Repair in Delray Beach” is much easier for AI to understand than a homepage that says “Quality you can trust.”
What others say about you
Reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook and the BBB, plus mentions in local news, directories and associations.
Consistency
The same name, address, phone and services everywhere. When your information conflicts across sites, AI has less reason to trust it.
Five things you can do this month
- Ask ChatGPT about yourself. Type “Who is the best [your trade] in [your city]?” and see who comes up. Then ask directly about your company and read what it says. This is the fastest way to learn how AI sees you today.
- Build one page per service and per city. If you do roof repair, roof replacement and inspections in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, each of those deserves clear content that answers the questions homeowners actually ask.
- Answer real questions on your site. “How much does a roof replacement cost in Palm Beach County?” or “Does insurance cover storm damage?” are exactly the questions people now ask AI. A plain, honest answer on your site gives AI something to quote.
- Keep your reviews fresh and detailed. Reviews that mention the service and the city help both people and AI connect your name to the right searches. We covered this in detail in why your Google reviews might be costing you jobs.
- Fix your listings. Check that your name, phone and address match on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing and the BBB.
The contractors who move first will be the ones AI remembers
AI search is still new, which means most of your competitors have not done anything about it yet. The ones who build a clear, consistent and well reviewed presence now are the ones these tools will keep recommending as they grow. That is exactly what our local visibility work is built around.
Want to know how visible you are today?
Our free 2-Minute Marketing Checkup shows you where you stand on Google and what is missing for AI to find you.
Sources: BrightLocal, “Half of consumers are asking AI for business recommendations” (March 2026); AI Overviews click data as compiled by Cognizo (2026).