The short version
- We put 24 real customer questions about Vancouver, BC HVAC to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. The same handful of names recur, but only four (Vanheat Heating and Air Conditioning Services, Milani Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, BC Wide Heating & Air Conditioning and Ashton Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning) 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 Western Pacific HVAC the quotes span $289, on Vanheat Heating and Air Conditioning Services $161. 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 Vancouver?” a few times and you'll see the same handful of names, right now that's Vanheat Heating and Air Conditioning Services, Milani Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning and Eco Pro Heating & Cooling. Only Vanheat Heating and Air Conditioning Services, Milani Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, BC Wide Heating & Air Conditioning and Ashton Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning 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 75% of the time and fit 63%, directly and accurately.
It's the decision questions where it falls apart. Across the Vancouver, BC HVAC businesses we tracked, on availability it hedged or deflected nearly half the time, and on pricing the assistants' quotes for a single business diverged by as much as $289. 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. Pro Ace Heating and Air Conditioning tops the Vancouver board at 82; Vanheat Heating and Air Conditioning Services sits at 53, 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.