What your customers ask the AI
When a boiler packs up or a roof starts leaking, some people now type the problem straight into ChatGPT or Gemini instead of scrolling through search results. The questions are usually short and local:
- "Who's a reliable electrician in Peterborough who can come this week?"
- "Emergency plumber near Stamford, open on a Sunday?"
- "Recommend a roofer in Leicester for a flat roof repair."
- "Which builders in Oakham do kitchen extensions?"
The assistant answers with a few names. If yours isn't one of them, that customer may never get as far as your website. And unlike a search results page, there's no second page to scroll to.
What makes a trade business easy to recommend
AI assistants can only put forward a business they can find, understand and trust. For trades, that usually comes down to a handful of plain, checkable things:
- Where you work, spelled out. A list of the towns and areas you cover on your website, not just "and surrounding areas". Assistants match the town in the question.
- One page per main job. "Rewiring", "fuse board upgrades" and "EV charger fitting" each explained on their own page are easier to match than one long list of services.
- The details customers ask about. Call-out hours, emergency availability, whether you give free quotes, and any accreditations you genuinely hold, written in words on the page.
- The same name, phone and address everywhere. Your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings should agree. Old numbers and previous trading names cause confusion.
- Recent reviews that mention the work. Reviews that say what you did and where give an assistant something concrete to repeat.
See where you stand first. It's free.
We ask ChatGPT and Google's Gemini the kind of questions your customers ask, then email you whether you were named, roughly where, and who was suggested instead. A person reviews your check before we send it, usually within 2 working days.
Get my free checkCommon gaps worth checking
Many trade websites were built years ago and never touched again. Things to look for on yours: a phone number only in an image (assistants can't always read it), a services page that's a single paragraph, no mention of the towns you cover, a Google Business Profile with the wrong category, or a van livery name that doesn't match the name on your website.
None of these are expensive to fix. The hard part is knowing which ones matter for your trade in your area, which is what checking the actual answers tells you. Our guide to why a competitor shows up and you don't has a self-audit checklist you can work through in an evening.
What the free check tells you
We ask ChatGPT and Google's Gemini the kind of questions your customers ask, using your trade and your town. You get a plain-English email saying whether you were named, roughly where, who was suggested instead, and anything the assistant said about you that looks wrong. It doesn't cover Perplexity or other assistants.
It's a snapshot, not a ranking or a promise: AI answers change from one asking to the next. If the results show gaps, there are optional paid next steps, but there's no obligation.
Questions people ask
Do people really ask ChatGPT to find a tradesperson?
Some do, alongside Google, review sites and asking friends. Nobody outside the AI companies knows exactly how many, and it varies by trade and area. That's why it's worth a quick check of what the assistants say about you rather than guessing either way.
I get most of my work from word of mouth. Does this matter to me?
Possibly less than to a business that relies on new enquiries. But people who've been recommended to you often look you up before they call, and some now do that by asking an AI assistant. It helps if what it says about you is right.
Will being on a trade directory help?
Listings on well-known directories and trade bodies are one of the places assistants can find and confirm your details. What matters most is that your name, area, services and contact details say the same thing everywhere.
Is the check really free?
Yes. No card and no obligation. We ask ChatGPT and Google's Gemini the questions your customers would ask and email you what they said. Paid help exists if you want it, but you don't need to buy anything.
