ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews/AI Mode and Perplexity can search the live web and show links to sources. Contractors who keep a clear site, matching listings and real reviews make it easier for those tools — and for customers — to check the business. Nobody can promise you will be named on any given day.
How do ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity search?
OpenAI’s help centre says ChatGPT can search the web for current information and link to relevant sources. It may search automatically when a question would benefit from current information, or you can start Search from the tools menu. Responses that use web search may include citations; OpenAI also says those results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect, so you should open the cited source and check it. For local questions, ChatGPT may use an approximate location from your IP address, and it can rewrite a prompt into one or more search queries sent to search partners.
Google’s Search Central documentation says AI Overviews and AI Mode surface relevant links to supporting websites. Both may use a “query fan-out” technique — multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources — while building a response. AI Overviews appear when Google’s systems decide generative AI adds value beyond classic Search, and they often do not trigger. To be eligible as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet; Google says there are no extra technical requirements and no special AI markup. Indexing and serving are not promised. Google’s consumer help also states that AI Overviews can and will make mistakes, and that you should check important information in more than one place.
Perplexity’s help centre says that when you ask a question it interprets the query, searches the internet in real time, gathers information from sources, and summarises it. Each answer includes numbered citations linking to the original sources so you can verify them.
None of those pages publish a shortlist of “approved” contractors. Practical advice: ask the same customer-style question on all three, write down who was named, and open the sites they cite. Those citations are your homework list. “Best plumber near me” is vague; “Emergency plumber in Round Rock who does water heaters” is closer to how someone types when they have a real problem. Include the city you actually serve. Do the check from a phone and a laptop occasionally — answers can differ by product and by day. Look for patterns over a month, not a single lucky mention.
Five things you can do
1. Be findable
Google says pages need to be crawlable and indexable for Search (and therefore for AI Overviews and AI Mode). OpenAI says sites should allow OAI-Searchbot to crawl if they want to be eligible for ChatGPT search results; placement is not promised. Publish a website for the business, on your own domain if you have one. Submit a sitemap in Google Search Console, and do the same for Bing. It helps to put who you are, where you work and what you do in plain text on the page. On a free Mortar address, Search Console is set up for you; on your own domain you connect it yourself.
2. Be the clear answer
Google’s AI-features guidance points site owners back to helpful, people-first content and text that is easy to find. Write a page for each service and each city you actually cover. Use the words a customer would type, such as “bathroom remodel Austin”, and answer the obvious questions: what you do, where, how to get in touch, and your opening hours. Do not add cities you will not drive to. A page that only swaps the city name is not a real answer.
Put proof on the page: photos of your own jobs, the trades you hold licenses for, and a plain description of the process from first call to finish. Licensing and insurance requirements vary by state — check with your state licensing board for what you must say, and do not invent credentials. If you only remodel kitchens, say that. Vague “we do everything” copy helps neither a customer nor a citation check.
3. Be listed where they look
Google lists keeping Business Profile information up to date among best practices for AI experiences on Search. Claim your Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places and Facebook, and any other free directory that already has a page for your trade. Use the same name, phone number and address on every one. If you find a duplicate or an old number, fix it or ask for it to be removed. Paid memberships on lead marketplaces are optional. Licensing and insurance rules vary by state — check with your state licensing board for what you must show on the listing.
4. Be talked about
After a job the customer was happy with, ask for a Google review and send one reminder. Reply to the reviews you get, including the awkward ones. Google’s own guidance is to solicit genuine experiences without incentives that buy a rating, and not to selectively solicit only positive reviews. The longer version is in how to get more Google reviews as a contractor.
5. Be measured
Once a week, ask ChatGPT (with Search), check Google for an AI Overview or AI Mode follow-up, and ask Perplexity the question a customer would ask, including your trade and city. Write down whether you were named, who was named instead, and which websites the answer cited. OpenAI and Google both warn that AI answers can be wrong — treat one week as a snapshot. Improve the cited sources first.
Keep the notes in one place: date, question asked, named or not, competitors named, and the top two cited URLs. After four weeks you will see whether a new service page or a fixed phone number changed anything. If nothing moves, the gap is usually still on the public web — thin pages, missing listings, or reviews that never got asked for.
Checklist
- A website with a page for each service and city you cover.
- A sitemap sent to Google and Bing; crawling allowed for search bots.
- The same name, number and address on Google, Apple, Bing and Facebook.
- Duplicates and old numbers removed.
- A review asked for after a finished job, with one reminder, and no discount for a star rating.
- A weekly note of who the assistants named, and which sites they cited.
Local search and the Google listing sit beside this work. See local SEO for contractors, 12 things every contractor website needs, and what a contractor website has to do. If you want the weekly AI check done for you, that is Grow.
Questions
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend me?
No. OpenAI says search citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect. You can make the business easier to find on the public web, then check what the assistants actually say.
Which assistants are worth asking?
ChatGPT (with web search), Google AI Overviews or AI Mode in Search, and Perplexity. Ask the same question a customer would, including the trade and the city.
Do I need special AI markup on my site?
Google’s documentation says there are no additional technical requirements beyond being indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. No special AI schema is required.
Does a Google Business Profile help?
Google lists keeping Business Profile information up to date among SEO best practices for AI features. Contractors who match the profile to the website make the public record cleaner to check.
How often should I check?
Once a week is enough. Write down whether you were named, who was named instead, and which websites the answer cited.
If you want a weekly check
You can run the five steps above without Mortar. If you use Mortar, Core is $49 a month for the business (no per-user fee). The website, the leads inbox and Google reviews on the site are included. The free Grow scorecard checks Google, AI assistants, listings and reviews once. Grow as an add-on is $29 a month for the weekly work. Prices exclude sales tax where it applies — see the pricing page.