AI SEARCH FOR PAINTERS AND ROOFERS
How do painting and roofing companies get recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI?
Give both assistants evidence they can find and cite, then check both. In Sourci’s 50-metro study, ChatGPT cited the recommended contractor’s own website in 89% of its recommendations and Gemini in 51%, so start with one page for each service you want to be named for, then complete profiles such as BBB and Angi. Google says its AI Overviews and AI Mode need nothing beyond normal SEO. No one can guarantee a recommendation.
WHAT THE STUDY FOUND
What decides who ChatGPT and Gemini recommend?
On we asked ChatGPT (web search on) and Google Gemini (with Google Search grounding) for the best commercial painting, commercial roofing and epoxy floor coating contractors in the 50 largest US metros: 300 answers, with every company named and every source cited. The full method and data are in the 50-metro study.
| Measure | ChatGPT | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Contractors named per answer | 6.8 | 4.2 |
| Sources cited per answer | 19.4 | 4.3 |
| Recommendations citing the contractor’s own website | 911 of 1,021 (89%) | 327 of 637 (51%) |
| Citations that were contractor websites | 1,699 of 2,914 (58%) | 484 of 638 (76%) |
| Citations that were directory and review sites | 712 (24%) | 78 (12%) |
| Most-cited third-party sites | Thumbtack, Angi, BBB, Birdeye | DownToBid, ServiceAgent, BBB, Angi |
Your own website is the main evidence. It was the largest share of citations for both assistants. A contractor with no page for the exact work asked about gives either one nothing to quote.
Directory and review profiles matter most to ChatGPT. They made up 24% of ChatGPT’s citations and 12% of Gemini’s. BBB and Angi were in both assistants’ top four.
The lists are mostly local. 906 of ChatGPT’s 1,021 recommendations (89%) went to companies named in fewer than three of the 50 metros. National brands take some places; most go to local firms with clear evidence.
One list says little about the other. ChatGPT and Gemini agreed on 14% of the contractors they named, and 33 of 150 shortlists had no contractor in common. Check both.
Limits: one answer per question per assistant, all on one day, and all for commercial work. Gemini with Google Search grounding is not the same product as Google’s AI Overviews or AI Mode in Search; for those, see what Google says below.
BY TRADE
What should painters and roofers look at first?
| Trade | ChatGPT’s most-cited sources | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial painting | CertaPro location pages (26 answers), Thumbtack (18), Very Good Painters (17), DownToBid (16), BBB (15) | A page for each painting service you want to win; complete Thumbtack and BBB profiles; check how DownToBid lists you. |
| Commercial roofing | GAF contractor pages (33 answers), The Roofing Brief (31), ServiceAgent (24), Birdeye (18), CentiMark (17) | Get on the manufacturer contractor lists you qualify for; check ServiceAgent and Birdeye; a page for each roof system you install. |
| Epoxy floor coating | Angi (35 answers), Thumbtack (31), BBB (20), GarageExperts (16), HomeAdvisor (15) | Complete Angi and Thumbtack profiles; a page for each kind of floor you coat. |
For roofers, manufacturer pages carried the most weight: GAF’s contractor pages were cited in 33 of ChatGPT’s 50 commercial roofing answers. For painters, the most-cited sources were franchise location pages and marketplace and directory profiles, so a complete Thumbtack and BBB profile is the quickest gap to close. Residential painting and roofing questions were not part of the study, so we have no figures for them.
IN GOOGLE’S WORDS
What does Google say about its AI Overviews and AI Mode?
“There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.”
Google Search Central: AI features and your website, checked .
“You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features.”
Google Search Central: AI features and your website, checked .
“Google Business Profiles can help your products and services to be visible in both AI responses and other Google Search results.”
Google Search Central: optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search, checked .
“Indexing and serving aren't guaranteed.”
Google Search Central: optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search, checked .
For Google, then, the work is ordinary search work: a page that is indexed and answers the question, and an accurate Business Profile. No special file or markup is needed for its AI features.
STEPS
Steps to get your painting or roofing company recommended
- Build one page for each service you want to be named for. Commercial repainting, exterior painting, roof replacement, roof repair, epoxy warehouse floors: each needs its own page with real projects, the areas you serve and a way to request an estimate. ChatGPT cited the contractor’s own site in 89% of its recommendations.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current. Use the same name, services and service area as your website. Google names Business Profiles as a way to be visible in its AI responses.
- Complete the profiles the assistants read. Bing Places, BBB, Angi, Thumbtack and Yelp, with the same details everywhere. You do not need to buy leads to keep a profile complete.
- Check how contractor sites list you. DownToBid and ServiceAgent were the third-party sites Gemini cited most. Make sure your company name, trade and city are right there.
- Roofers: get on the manufacturer lists you qualify for. If you hold a manufacturer certification, check that the manufacturer’s contractor finder shows you.
- Ask for reviews on the sites that get cited. Birdeye, BBB and Angi review pages were cited by ChatGPT across all three trades. Ask every customer; never buy or write reviews.
- Ask both assistants your buyers’ questions every month. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini, or Google’s AI Mode, what a customer would ask for your trade and city. Note who is named and which sources are cited, then fix the gaps.
Sourci’s inbound lead generation plans do this work for painting, roofing and coatings contractors and track the same buyer questions each month. Start with the free check below to see where you stand today.
FREE CHECK
Where does your company stand today?
The quickest way to know which step to take first is to see where you stand. Ask the assistants yourself, or let us run the questions for your trade and city and send you who gets named, whether you are one of them, and the first gaps worth fixing.
FREE CHECK
Is your company named when buyers ask AI in your city?
We ask ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity 24 questions a buyer might ask about your trade and city, then send you who gets named and whether you are one of them. Free.
Result: A Dallas commercial painter grew revenue 234% and website visitors 657% in six months of SEO and AI-search work with Sourci. The owner asked us to keep the company name private. Read the Dallas case study
QUESTIONS
Getting recommended by AI, answered.
Do ChatGPT and Google AI recommend the same contractors?
Often not. In our study ChatGPT and Gemini agreed on 14% of the contractors they named, and 33 of 150 shortlists had no contractor in common. The study measured Gemini with Google Search grounding; Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode were not part of it.
Can anyone guarantee that ChatGPT or Google AI will recommend my company?
No. Google says indexing and serving aren’t guaranteed, and AI answers change from day to day. What you control is the evidence: your pages, your profiles and your reviews.
Do I need an llms.txt file or special schema to show up in AI answers?
Not for Google: it says you don’t need new machine readable files, AI text files or markup for its AI features. Spend the time on service pages and profiles first.
Does this apply to residential painters and roofers?
The study asked commercial painting, commercial roofing and epoxy floor coating questions, so its figures are for those. The steps here are not specific to commercial work, but we have not measured residential answers.
How do I check whether ChatGPT recommends my company?
Ask ChatGPT and Gemini the questions your customers ask, for your trade and city, and note who is named and which sources are cited. Or request the free check: we ask ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity 24 buyer questions and send you the results.
SOURCES
Where these facts come from.
- Sourci, 50-metro AI contractor recommendations study, answers collected
- Sourci, study dataset (CSV, 1,658 recommendations)
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Google Search Central: optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search
Google pages checked .
FREE CHECK
Which contractors get recommended
in your city?
When a customer asks ChatGPT or Google AI who to hire, it names a few contractors. Tell us your trade and city. We send you which contractors get named, and whether you are one of them.
What you get
- We ask ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity the buyer questions from our 24-question method, set to your trade and city.
- We record which companies each assistant recommends or cites, and whether yours appears.
- We reply with what we found and the first gaps worth fixing.
How the 24-question method works
Result: A Dallas commercial painter grew revenue 234% and website visitors 657% in six months of SEO and AI-search work with Sourci. The owner asked us to keep the company name private. Read the Dallas case study