87% of Houston HVAC contractors are invisible in AI. That's not a metaphor. When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Gemini for a trusted local HVAC company in Houston, your business doesn't show up. A competitor's does.
We analyzed 137 HVAC contractors across the greater Houston area. The data is brutal. The median visibility score sits at 32/100. The top performer hit 79/100. That's a 47-point gap between getting mentioned by AI and staying invisible. For contractors pulling $500k to $3M in annual revenue, that gap means thousands in missed service calls.
This ranking shows where Houston stands and what separates the visible contractors from everyone else.
How We Ranked Them
Visibility score measures one thing: how often your business gets recommended by the AI tools people actually use. We track mention frequency across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini—the four largest LLMs handling local search queries.
The methodology is straightforward. We ran 50+ location-specific prompts for Houston HVAC work: emergency repairs, maintenance plans, commercial systems, residential service, and more. Each tool returns different results. We counted which contractors appeared, how often, and in what position (first mention = higher weight). We scored 0-100 where 0 means never mentioned and 100 means consistently top mention across all four platforms.
Why this matters: AI tools don't have rankings like Google. They have recommendation confidence. Appearing first in ChatGPT suggestions carries more weight than appearing third. Our score reflects that distribution. A contractor appearing in 3 of 4 tools scores higher than one appearing in 1 of 4. That's why the top performer hit 79 while many sit below 40.
The Top 10
- Position 1: Score 79/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (9/10 queries), Perplexity (8/10), Claude (7/10), Gemini (6/10). Strong emergency repair positioning.
- Position 2: Score 71/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (8/10), Perplexity (7/10), Claude (6/10), Gemini (5/10). Balanced across residential and commercial.
- Position 3: Score 68/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (7/10), Perplexity (7/10), Claude (7/10), Gemini (4/10). Strong on maintenance plans.
- Position 4: Score 61/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (6/10), Perplexity (6/10), Claude (5/10), Gemini (4/10).
- Position 5: Score 58/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (6/10), Perplexity (5/10), Claude (5/10), Gemini (3/10).
- Position 6: Score 54/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (5/10), Perplexity (5/10), Claude (4/10), Gemini (3/10).
- Position 7: Score 51/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (5/10), Perplexity (4/10), Claude (4/10), Gemini (3/10).
- Position 8: Score 47/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (4/10), Perplexity (4/10), Claude (4/10), Gemini (2/10).
- Position 9: Score 44/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (4/10), Perplexity (3/10), Claude (3/10), Gemini (2/10).
- Position 10: Score 41/100. Mentioned in ChatGPT (4/10), Perplexity (3/10), Claude (3/10), Gemini (2/10).
What Separates the Top 3 From Everyone Else
The top 3 contractors share three things the rest lack.
First, they're searchable. They publish structured business data consistently across multiple directories and industry platforms. Google My Business, Home Advisor, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau—all updated within 30 days. When AI tools ingest business data, they see clean, consistent information. Consistency signals trustworthiness to the LLM. Contractors at position 15+ often have conflicting information across platforms or missing data entirely.
Second, they have proof. Visible contractors have documented case studies, detailed service descriptions, and customer testimonials tied to their business name. The top performer has four published case studies and 200+ reviews across platforms, all mentioning specific problems solved. Lower-ranked contractors have reviews, but they're generic. That distinction matters. AI tools use specificity to decide whether to mention a business.
Third, they're quoted. Trade publications, local news, and industry blogs mention them by name. When a publication writes "ABC HVAC recommends preventative maintenance twice yearly," that quote shows up in the AI training data. Contractors ranked below position 5 almost never appear in published articles or interviews. They're invisible to the internet's memory.
How Any Houston HVAC Contractor Can Climb
The gap from position 47 to position 3 takes tactical moves, not luck.
Move 1: Claim and optimize your business data across all platforms. Start with Google, Yelp, Home Advisor, and BBB. Add Angi (formerly Angie's List), Service Titan, Homeadvisor, and trade directories. Consistency is non-negotiable. Same hours, same phone, same description. AI tools detect variation and assume your business is unreliable. One cleanup sprint fixes this for 90 days.
Move 2: Publish specific work, not just reviews. Take photos of finished jobs. Write 2-3 case studies per quarter showing problem (broken compressor, system efficiency loss) and solution. Post them on your website and Google. AI tools rank specificity over volume. Three detailed case studies beat 50 vague reviews.
Move 3: Get quoted in trade media. Pitch one article per quarter to HVACR Business, Contractor Magazine, or local Houston business outlets. Offer a specific stat or expert take (efficiency trends, supply chain shifts, common homeowner mistakes). Being quoted by name moves the needle faster than anything else. It signals authority to AI models.
Your 90-Second Audit
See exactly where your business ranks against Houston contractors. The audit takes 90 seconds and shows your AI visibility score, which platforms mention you, and specific gaps to fix.
Get your free audit: mentionedinai.com
The founder cohort closes July 4. After that, standard pricing applies. If you're ready to move from invisible to mentioned, start now.