Which contractors do ChatGPT and Gemini recommend? A 50-metro study

• ChatGPT and Gemini agreed on 14% of the contractors they recommended.
• 1,459 contractors were named across 300 answers in 50 metros, each counted once per city and trade.
• 198 contractors were named by both engines for the same city and trade.
• ChatGPT named 6.8 contractors per answer; Gemini named 4.2.
• ChatGPT cited 19.4 sources per answer; Gemini cited 4.3.

Cite this study: Sourci, "Which contractors do ChatGPT and Gemini recommend? A 50-metro study," November 2026, getsourci.com/research/ai-contractor-recommendations. The data is free to reuse with that credit.

We asked two AI assistants the same three questions for each of the 50 largest US metro areas: ChatGPT with web search on and a US location, and Google Gemini with Google Search grounding and a US location. Gemini answers were collected through cloro, a third-party AI answer collection service.

1. "Who are the best commercial painting contractors in [city], [state]? Give me a shortlist."
2. "Who are the best commercial roofing contractors in [city], [state]? Give me a shortlist."
3. "Who are the best epoxy floor coating contractors in [city], [state]? Give me a shortlist."

That is 300 answers: 150 per engine, 3 trades x 50 metros. For each answer we recorded every company recommended, in order, and every source cited. Metros are the 50 largest US metropolitan areas by the Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 population estimates. We collected one answer per question per engine, all on November 8, 2026, so treat any single city as a snapshot: AI answers change from day to day.

Across both engines: 50 metros, 300 answers, 1,658 recommendations, all collected November 8, 2026.

Mostly not. For each of the 150 metro and trade questions, we matched the companies ChatGPT named against the companies Gemini named for the same question. Names are compared without punctuation, text in brackets, legal endings such as Inc. and LLC, and the city and state; they match when they are then the same, when one is the start of the other, or when both start with the same distinctive name.

A spot on ChatGPT's shortlist does not carry over to Gemini's, and the reverse holds too. In 33 of the 150 city and trade questions the two lists shared no names at all, and only 24, about one question in six, had the same company in first place.

The engines also lean on different third-party sites. Here are the most-cited sites other than contractor websites, by the number of answers (of 150 per engine) that cited each:

ChatGPT's top four were Thumbtack, Angi, BBB and Birdeye. Gemini's were DownToBid, ServiceAgent, BBB and Angi. BBB and Angi are the only sites in both top fours. ServiceAgent had the closest counts: 24 ChatGPT answers and 18 Gemini answers.

What it means for a contractor: being visible to one engine is half the job. ChatGPT reads a wide spread of sources per answer, with directory and review profiles in 85% of its answers. Gemini reads fewer sources, cites a directory in 32% of answers, and draws 76% of its citations from company websites. A strong service page on your own site counts with both. Complete profiles on BBB and Angi count with both. Thumbtack and Birdeye were cited far more often by ChatGPT than by Gemini, and DownToBid and ServiceAgent were the third-party sites Gemini cited most.

1. Your own website is the main evidence for both engines. Contractor websites made up 1,699 of ChatGPT's 2,914 citations (58%) and 484 of Gemini's 638 (76%). ChatGPT cited the recommended company's own site in 89% of its recommendations, usually a service page for the exact work asked about. Gemini cited it in 51%, so Gemini named 310 of its 637 contractors without citing their site in that answer. A contractor with no specific page for commercial roofing, or for epoxy floors, gives either engine nothing to quote.

2. Directory and review profiles are ChatGPT's second source. Directory and review sites made up 712 of ChatGPT's citations (24%), against 78 of Gemini's (12%). In ChatGPT's answers the same few platforms appeared again and again:

Thumbtack and Angi showed up in ChatGPT's answers even for commercial questions. A complete, accurate profile there feeds the ChatGPT answer whether or not you buy leads from them.

3. In ChatGPT's answers, each trade leans on different sources. The figures below are ChatGPT's.

For roofers, manufacturer certification pages carried real weight with ChatGPT: GAF's contractor pages were cited in 33 of its 50 roofing answers. For epoxy and coatings contractors, homeowner marketplaces dominated ChatGPT's answers: Angi in 35 of 50 and Thumbtack in 31.

4. National brands take some slots, locals take most. In ChatGPT's answers, CentiMark was recommended in 17 of the 50 commercial roofing answers and CertaPro franchise locations in several painting answers. Still, 906 of ChatGPT's 1,021 recommendations (89%) went to companies named in fewer than three of the 50 metros: the shortlist is mostly local firms, and it is winnable for a contractor that gives the engines clear evidence.

1. Build one specific page per service you want to be named for. "Commercial roofing in Dallas" and "epoxy garage and warehouse floors in Phoenix" each need their own page with real projects, service areas and a way to request an estimate. Your own site was the largest share of citations for both engines.
2. Claim and complete the profiles the engines read. Google Business Profile, Bing Places, BBB, Angi, Thumbtack and Yelp, with the same name, phone, services and service area everywhere. You do not have to buy leads to keep a complete profile.
3. Check your listings on the contractor sites Gemini cites. DownToBid and ServiceAgent were the two third-party sites Gemini cited most. Make sure the company name, trade and city they show for you are correct.
4. Get on the manufacturer and association lists your trade has. For roofers, manufacturer certification pages such as GAF's were among the sources ChatGPT cited most.
5. Collect reviews on the platforms that get cited. Birdeye, BBB and Angi review pages were cited by ChatGPT across all three trades, and BBB and Angi were in Gemini's top four.
6. Check where you stand on both engines, then recheck monthly. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini the same buyer questions for your trade and city, note who is named and which sources are cited, and fix the gaps. A spot on one list tells you nothing about the other.

Download all 1,658 recommendations (CSV: metro, state, trade, engine, rank, company, own website cited, date)

The table shows, for each city and trade, the contractors that both ChatGPT and Gemini recommended on November 8, 2026, listed in ChatGPT's order. "None in common" means the two engines named no contractor in common for that question. The full 1,658-row CSV (metro, state, trade, engine, rank, company, whether the contractor's own website was cited, date) is in the download, with every contractor each engine named.

Sourci is an Austin, Texas based lead generation agency for painting, flooring and coatings, and roofing contractors, general contractors and remodelers. Our inbound lead generation plans build the pages and profiles this study shows ChatGPT and Gemini rely on, and track the same buyer questions every month across ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity: Foundation is $1,950 a month plus $1,000 onboarding, Growth is $3,450 a month plus $1,500 onboarding, month-to-month. A commercial painting contractor in Dallas grew revenue 234% and website visitors 657% in six months of this work (case study).

Get a free AI-search check to see whether AI assistants name your company in your city today, and which sources they cite instead.

• Sourci, 50-metro AI contractor recommendations study, ChatGPT and Gemini answers collected November 8, 2026 (CSV download on this page).
• U.S. Census Bureau, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Population Totals, 2020 to 2025 (July 1, 2024 estimates)

Checked November 2026.