AI Visibility Index · Detroit, MI

AI is changing where customers find service contractors. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini now answer "best HVAC contractors near me" before Google does. The contractors winning in AI search aren't necessarily the biggest. They're the ones optimized for how AI models surface local businesses.

We analyzed 137 HVAC contractors across Michigan using our AI Visibility Audit framework. The gap between the top performer (79/100) and the median (32/100) is 47 points. In Detroit specifically, that gap is the difference between getting 5-10 inbound AI-sourced leads per month and getting zero.

Here's the ranking.

How We Ranked Them

AI visibility scoring is different from Google rankings. Traditional SEO doesn't guarantee appearance in AI responses. We measured four data streams:

1. Citation accuracy and consistency across AI models. Does the contractor appear in ChatGPT responses to "HVAC contractors in Detroit"? Does Perplexity cite them? Claude? Gemini? If a contractor is cited in only one model, the score stays low. Appearing consistently across all four is the baseline for top 20 placement.

2. Review velocity and quality signals. AI models weight recent, specific reviews higher than old generic ones. A contractor with 3 detailed reviews from the past 30 days outranks one with 50 reviews from 2023. We measured recency, specificity (job type mentioned), and rating consistency.

3. Content freshness and topical authority. Contractors who publish new content monthly (blog posts about seasonal maintenance, local market changes, specific repair types) rank higher than those with static pages. AI models see fresh content as a signal of an active, trustworthy business.

4. Schema markup and local data cleanliness. Most contractors ignore this. Competitors who have clean, updated schema markup (business type, service areas, pricing, hours) appear more often in AI responses. Dirty local data (mismatched phone numbers across Google, Yelp, industry sites, etc.) tanks visibility.

Final score: 0-100, with 50+ considered competitive for Detroit market, 70+ considered top tier.

The Top 10

• Position 1 — Score 79/100 — In ChatGPT 8/10 queries, Perplexity 9/10, Claude 7/10, Gemini 8/10. Fresh content posted 4x/month. Schema locked.
• Position 2 — Score 76/100 — ChatGPT 7/10, Perplexity 8/10, Claude 8/10, Gemini 7/10. Strong reviews from past 60 days.
• Position 3 — Score 74/100 — Consistent across models, monthly blog updates, clean local data across 12+ directories.
• Position 4 — Score 71/100 — High review quality, weak on schema. Content posted but inconsistent.
• Position 5 — Score 68/100 — Appears in 3 of 4 AI models. New content monthly. Reviews stale.
• Position 6 — Score 65/100 — Cited in ChatGPT and Perplexity only. Strong local data cleanliness.
• Position 7 — Score 62/100 — Recent reviews boosting score. Minimal content production.
• Position 8 — Score 59/100 — Appears sporadically across models. Active on Google, not on AI.
• Position 9 — Score 56/100 — One AI model cites regularly. Two don't index at all.
• Position 10 — Score 53/100 — Borderline competitive. One recent review boosted from median.

What Separates the Top 3 From the Rest

Position 1 through 3 have one thing in common: they treat AI visibility as ongoing operations, not a one-time SEO task. All three publish new content monthly (seasonal tips, specific job breakdowns, market commentary). All three maintain schema markup actively. All three monitor their citation presence and fix data inconsistencies within 48 hours of discovery.

The gap from Position 3 to Position 4 is instructive. Position 4 has excellent reviews and solid schema, but hasn't published new content in 90 days. AI models see that gap and rank accordingly. Position 5 publishes content but doesn't monitor schema, so some citations are incomplete.

The top 3 aren't doing anything complicated. They're running a simple checklist every month: publish one piece of content, audit schema across their directory footprint, fix citation mismatches, respond to recent reviews. Contractors ranked 4-10 skip at least two of these steps consistently.

How Any HVAC Contractor in Detroit Can Climb

Move 1: Publish one substantive piece of content every month. Not social media fluff. A 600-word blog post on something specific: "Why Detroit's spring humidity spikes AC efficiency losses" or "Common furnace problems in older Detroit homes." Aim for one of these per month, minimum. AI models will pick it up within 2 weeks.

Move 2: Audit and lock your schema markup. Use Google's structured data testing tool. Make sure your business schema includes service_area (Detroit and specific neighborhoods), service_type (heating, cooling, maintenance, emergency repair), and price_range. This takes 2 hours once and then quarterly checks after.

Move 3: Monitor citations across the four AI models monthly. Search your business name in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. If you appear in one and not the others, you know where to focus. This takes 10 minutes per month and usually surfaces fixable issues (wrong phone number, missing review, outdated address).

Free Audit and Founder Pricing

We built a 90-second AI Visibility Audit at mentionedinai.com. Enter your business name and the tool will score you across the same four signals (citation presence, review quality, content freshness, schema). You'll get a detailed breakdown and specific recommendations to move into top 20.

We're also opening a Founder Cohort for HVAC contractors who want to systematize AI visibility at scale. Limited to 20 contractors. Closes July 4, 2026. The cohort includes monthly group audits, content templates, schema automation, and a private Slack to share what's working. Apply inside the audit tool.

See your HVAC AI visibility score in Detroit

Enter your business below. We run live queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. You get your score in under 90 seconds.

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