The short version
- We put 24 real customer questions about Austin, TX HVAC to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. The same handful of names recur, but only seven (Alamo Austin Air Conditioning & Heating, McCullough Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, The Coolest Service LLC, Goettl Air Conditioning and Plumbing, Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning, & Electrical, Elite Air Conditioning and Plumbing and Stan's Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical) are named by all four.
- Being listed isn't being answered for. AI nails what you do and whether you do it, then breaks down on the questions that decide the job.
- Ask what you charge and every assistant invents a different number: on Stan's Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical the quotes span $161, on ABC Austin Service Express LLC $125. Ask when you're available and it hedges: “I can't book on your behalf, call them.”
- Fix the gaps below (pricing first) and you move from a name in a list to the business AI can actually book.
First, find out if AI surfaces you at all
Which businesses AI names isn't random. Ask ChatGPT “who's the best HVAC company in Austin?” a few times and you'll see the same handful of names, right now that's ABC Home & Commercial Services, ABC Austin Service Express LLC and Champion Cooling, Heating & Plumbing. Only Alamo Austin Air Conditioning & Heating, McCullough Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing, The Coolest Service LLC, Goettl Air Conditioning and Plumbing, Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning, & Electrical, Elite Air Conditioning and Plumbing and Stan's Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical are named across all four assistants.
If your business isn't in that set, AI isn't recommending you yet, and no amount of ad spend changes that. Check where you rank →
Showing up isn't the same as being answered for
AI is good at the surface questions. It answered what they offer 60% of the time and fit 49%, directly and accurately.
It's the decision questions where it falls apart. Across the Austin, TX HVAC businesses we tracked, on availability it hedged or deflected 65% the time, and on pricing the assistants' quotes for a single business diverged by as much as $161. Those are the exact questions a customer asks right before they book.
We roll this into a depth score: how completely AI can carry a customer to a booking. Goettl Air Conditioning and Plumbing tops the Austin board at 73; Resilience Heating and Cooling, LLC sits at 46, not because it's a worse business, but because AI has nothing concrete to say about why you'd choose it. Depth is the difference between a name in a list and the business AI actually books the job with.
The five things AI needs to know about you
These are the five dimensions we grade depth on, and the exact checklist for moving from “mentioned” to “booked.” Get each one accurate, complete and current everywhere AI looks.
The fastest way to close the gap
This is exactly what Courtyard does. It builds a living knowledge base of your business and connects it to your booking, hours, services and pricing, so AI stays accurate and can recommend and book through you, not an aggregator. Set up in about 10 minutes, first month free. Then watch your depth score climb week over week.
The more AI understands your business, the more customers it sends.