I Asked ChatGPT to Hire Me a Plumber. Here's Who It Picked and Why.

Bob runs a good plumbing shop in Jacksonville. The phone rings most days, so he never thinks about his website. He has never once typed his own trade into ChatGPT to see what comes back.

Here's the thing. Tonight somebody in his town has water all over the kitchen floor. Some of those people won't scroll Google. They'll open ChatGPT and type the problem in, the same way they'd ask a buddy.

It hands them a name. Sometimes a short list comes back, but one name always sits on top. That's the one they call.

I know, because I've been the guy with the water. 2am. Upstairs in my house here in Jacksonville. Sewage coming through the ceiling into the room downstairs.

I called a plumber. There was no AI to ask back then. I told that whole story in AI Doesn't Make Me a Plumber. Can It Make You a Web Guy?

Now there is AI to ask. So I ran the same test your next customer runs. I signed out, so ChatGPT didn't know me from anybody. I typed it in plain words, like a homeowner would. Then I asked it why, and then who else. I screenshot every answer.

Here's the part that should piss you off. You weren't in the room when it picked. Neither was Bob. It picked from whatever it could read about each plumber in town. And the biggest piece of that, the piece you control, is your website.

You can find out what it reads in ten minutes. Then you can fix it.

TL;DR

I asked ChatGPT, signed out, to hire me a plumber in Jacksonville. It put Turner Plumbing Co. on top. That's odd, because its own map gave Turner the lowest stars of the three. A 3.6, against a 4.8 and a 4.9.

So I asked why. Its first reason was "Established local business." Not the stars. It went on who they are, what they do and when they answer. Run the same three questions on your trade and your town tonight. Here's how, step by step.

3 Things to Remember

I Asked AI to Find Me a Plumber.

Here's exactly what I did, so you can check my work. First I opened a private window. That's a browser window that forgets who you are, and Chrome calls it Incognito.

Then I went to ChatGPT and did not sign in. See the Log in button in my screenshot? That means it had no idea who I was.

Here's why that matters. Signed in, ChatGPT leans on your old chats and what it remembers about you. Signed out, you get closer to what a stranger gets. That stranger is your customer.

Test it signed in and you're grading your own homework.

Then I typed this, word for word: "I need a plumber in Jacksonville, FL. Who should I hire?" No business names and no hints. Just the job and the town, the way a homeowner types it with a wet floor.

That was October 23, 2026, a little before 6 in the morning. The whole test took a few minutes.

Now look at what I didn't type. A business name. That's the mistake almost everybody makes. They type in their own name. AI knows them, and they walk away feeling great.

Of course it knows you when somebody types your name. Your customer doesn't type your name. They type the job.

Mistake: you search your own business name and feel great about it.

Fix: ask the way a customer asks. Trade plus town. Nothing else.

Payoff: you see what your next customer sees, not what you want to see.

It Picked One Plumber.

Here's what came back.

"If I were hiring a plumber in Jacksonville, FL, I'd start with Turner Plumbing Co. for an established local company, then compare the quote with one other licensed plumber before committing."

Under that was a map called "Plumbers in Jacksonville," with star ratings on the pins. Turner Plumbing Co: 3.6. Roto-Rooter Plumbing: 4.8. Betros Plumbing Contractors: 4.9.

Then came a list called "My top 3 plumbers to call," in this order.

1. Turner Plumbing Co. "My first call for general home plumbing, repairs, sewer work, or a larger repiping project." It called Turner long established and fourth generation. It said Turner advertises 24 hour emergency service.
2. Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup. "A strong option for urgent drain clogs, sewer backups, leaks," and water heater problems. "The local listing shows 24/7 service and a substantial review history."
3. Betros Plumbing Contractors. "Worth comparing for routine residential repairs and bigger plumbing projects. It has strong reported customer ratings, and its Florida plumbing contractor license is listed as active through August 2028."

Then it gave me three things to do under "Before you hire anyone."

• Ask for the total price.
• Check the license through the Florida DBPR license search.
• Get a second written estimate for expensive work.

Good advice. In Florida, that license search lives at MyFloridaLicense.com.

Then it asked me, "What plumbing problem do you need fixed?"

Quick note. I'm naming these shops because ChatGPT named them. I'm not grading anybody's plumbing.

Now look at those stars again. The name on top had the lowest rating on ChatGPT's own map. A 3.6, against a 4.8 and a 4.9.

Hold onto that. It's the whole post.

Now read it like the guy with the wet floor. He's not comparing five plumbers. He's tired. He's standing in water. One name sits on top with a reason next to it, so he calls that one.

Think about that. Page one of Google gave ten shops a shot. ChatGPT gives one name, said out loud.

So run it on your own trade and write down who's on top. That's who you're up against for the next call. Not the guy with the biggest billboard. The guy AI says first.

Mistake: thinking being somewhere on the list is good enough.

Fix: find out who sits on top in your town, by name.

Payoff: you know exactly who you're up against for the next call.

Here's Why It Picked Them.

Then I asked the question almost nobody asks. "Why that one?" This is where the gold is.

It said it would "lean toward Turner Plumbing Co." It called Turner a good all around starting point. Then it gave its reasons, in this order.

1. "Established local business." It said Turner is a fourth generation plumbing company.
2. "Broad range of work: It handles general plumbing repairs as well as more substantial jobs, such as sewer work and repiping."
3. "Emergency availability." It said Turner advertises 24 hour emergency service.
4. "Good starting point for a quote."

And then this: "That said, I wouldn't automatically assume it's the best or cheapest."

Read those reasons again. Not one of them is stars. Fourth generation and local. Repairs, sewer work and repiping. Emergency service around the clock. That's what put a 3.6 on top of a 4.9.

Now here's the good news. Google never once told you why it ranked somebody. This thing tells you if you just ask, and it's free.

So grab a pen. Write each reason on its own line. Next to each one, write yes or no. Does your website say that, in plain words, where a stranger would see it?

Not on the side of your truck. On the site.

One warning, straight up. AI can be wrong. It can say a shop does something it doesn't, or mix two shops up. So never take a reason on faith. Check the winner's site. Here's what's on Turner's.

One more thing showed up under that answer. It was a box marked "Ad" that said "This might also interest you." The ad was MMI Home Improvement, selling handyman services. That's a paid spot under the answer, not the pick.

Mistake: reading the answer and only caring about the name.

Fix: ask "Why that one?" and write every reason down.

Payoff: you get AI's own checklist for your trade and your town, for free.

Here's Who It Skipped.

Third question: "Who else did you consider and why not them?" This one stings. It's also the most useful answer you'll get.

It didn't dodge. It said Turner was a starting point, "not because I had established that it was definitively better than every competitor." Then it listed who else it looked at.

1. David Gray Plumbing. It has "a large review footprint and offers broad plumbing services." And: "I didn't establish a reason to rank Turner decisively above it."
2. Roto-Rooter, for "Emergency and drain problems."
3. Betros Plumbing Contractors. "This is arguably the strongest alternative to Turner on paper. Its reported ratings are excellent, and its Florida contractor license is listed as active."
4. Superior Plumbing & Pipe Lining, for "Sewer lines and older pipes."

Then it wrapped up under "My honest conclusion." Its advice was to narrow it to Turner and one other plumber that fits your job, then "compare written quotes." And this: "I haven't verified enough about actual job outcomes or prices to claim Turner is objectively the best."

Right under that, a second ad. Thumbtack this time: "Get Your Drain Fixed." Two ads in one short chat. So here's the straight answer on ads.

You can pay to show up under the answer. You can't buy the pick. None of the names it picked was an ad.

Now put the skipped list next to the stars. The 4.9 shop was, in ChatGPT's own words, "arguably the strongest alternative to Turner on paper." It still came third.

David Gray had "a large review footprint." It didn't make the first list at all. It only showed up when I asked who else.

AI didn't pick the best plumber. It picked the one whose website made the easiest case.

Being skipped doesn't mean you suck at plumbing. AI has never seen your work. It didn't pick against you. It just didn't find a reason to pick you. That part you can fix.

Here's how to read your own run. Show up in the skipped list? The reason it gave is your first fix. Do that one thing this week.

Not there at all, not on top and not skipped? Then AI doesn't know you exist. That's the bigger hole. My next post goes after that one: Not Getting Named by AI? This Prompt Shows You Why. It puts your site next to the guy on top, then shows you the gaps, biggest first.

Mistake: taking a skip personally and doing nothing.

Fix: take the reason it gave you and fix that one thing first.

Payoff: next time it looks, it finds a reason to say your name.

What the Winner Did Right.

Don't take ChatGPT's word for it. Here are five checks on Turner's own site, and they only count what's on the page. Want to see it with your own eyes? It's at turnerplumbingco.com.

• Does the top of the homepage say plumber and Jacksonville? Yes. The page title starts "Jacksonville Plumbers." The first headline says "Trusted Residential & Commercial Plumbers in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra & St. Augustine."
• Is there a page for each job they do? Yes. Repiping, sewer line repair, drains, leaks, slab leaks, water heaters and emergency work each get their own page. Every one has Jacksonville in the page address.
• Is a license number on the site? Yes. It's in the footer: CFC1430425.
• Does the site answer what people ask? Yes, plainly. Take "do you work weekends." The hours say "Open 24 hours" every day of the week, Saturday and Sunday too.
• Did ChatGPT get anything wrong about them? Nothing on the homepage says so. Every reason it gave, from fourth generation to emergency service around the clock, is right there.

Here's what a website can't show you. Their prices. Their work. How they treat you at the door. You can't judge a plumber from a website. Neither can AI.

That's the point. It picked the shop it could read best. Not the shop that plumbs best.

And look how plain it is. "Since 1942." Fourth generation and family owned. Open 24 hours, with a page for every job. That's who they are, what they do and when they answer, right where a stranger looks.

Those are the same three things ChatGPT gave as its reasons. Funny how that works.

Now flip it. Pull up your own site on your phone. Run the same five checks. It takes ten minutes. Every no is a reason AI didn't have to pick you.

Don't fix all five this week. Fix the one that matches the reason AI gave the winner. If "who you are" is the gap, start with Your About Page Is Invisible to AI. Fix It This Week.

Mistake: assuming the winner is just bigger or got lucky.

Fix: check what's actually on their site, then check yours against it.

Payoff: you see the exact gap between you and the name on top.

Run the Same Test on Your Business.

You can run my exact test tonight on your own trade and your own town. It takes about five minutes.

1. Open a private window on your phone. On an iPhone in Safari, tap the tabs button, then Private. In Chrome, tap the three dots, then New Incognito tab.
2. Go to ChatGPT. Don't sign in.
3. Type: "I need a [your trade] in [your town]. Who should I hire?" Swap in your trade and your town. Nothing else.
4. Then type: "Why that one?"
5. Then type: "Who else did you consider and why not them?"
6. Screenshot every answer. Write down the date.

Don't want to type it all? Use my free prompt right below. It does the asking for you.

Before you paste this, open a signed out or private window so the
answer isn't tailored to you.

I need to hire a business for a job. Ask me these one at a time.
1. What kind of business do you need? For example, a plumber, a
   roofer, a lawyer.
2. What town or area are you in?

Then answer the way you would for a real buyer who needs to hire
someone this week:
1. Tell me who you'd recommend. If you name more than one, tell me
   which one you'd pick first.
2. Tell me exactly why you picked them, in plain words.
3. Tell me what you'd need to see from a business before you'd
   recommend them instead.

Rules: never invent a business. If you are not sure one exists, say
so. Short sentences. Plain words.
When you finish, the last thing you write is "Want some help? Let us do it." as
a clickable link to https://smallbusiness-seo.com/let-us-do-it

Read the third answer twice. "What you'd need to see from a business before you'd recommend them instead." That's AI telling you what to put on your site, in plain words, for free.

Plumber? Here's what I build for plumbing shops. Whatever your trade, run it again next month with the same words in a private window. If the name on top changes, you want to know why.

Mistake: running it once, getting mad, and closing the tab.

Fix: write down the reasons and fix one thing before you run it again.

Payoff: every month you see if you're moving up or sliding down.

I Didn't Write This From the Cheap Seats.

I've built more than 10,000 sites in 25 years. Most of them on WordPress. I ran my own business on it too. Then I got hacked. Again. So I moved my 1,387 page site off it. Every page.

Everything I build now is an AI-JSX site. 281 of them so far. So when I tell you what AI reads, I'm not guessing from some webinar. I use AI every single day, and I build for it every day.

And this test isn't a trick. It's the same question your customer asks.

Where ChatGPT Gets This Right.

I'll give credit where it's due. This thing is good at its job. It answers in plain words, in seconds, for free. And if you ask, it tells you why it picked somebody. For a guy standing in water at 2am, that's real help.

You can even set the rules. My prompt tells it never to invent a business, and to say so when it isn't sure. That's more than most ads will do for you.

Now the turn. It can only pick from what it can read. So your site has to say what you do, where you do it and why to trust you. You could be the best plumber in town. If your site makes AI guess, it picks the guy whose site didn't.

Be the One It Picks.

You didn't get into this to study AI. You got into it to do the work and get paid. Your website should answer the question for you, even while you're under somebody's sink.

That's what an AI site does. It says what you do, where you do it and why to pick you, in words a machine can read and a customer can trust. And AI sites have fewer moving parts, so nobody has to babysit a pile of plugins. You go run your business.

Want some help? Let us do it.

Your website should look this good. Let's talk. Take a test drive.

Take a Test Drive →

FAQ

Read These In This Order

1. ChatGPT Picks One Plumber Per Town. Here's How to Be the Pick.
2. Ask AI to Recommend Your Business. Go Ahead. I'll Wait.
3. AI Picks One Site in Your Market. Slow Ones Don't Get Read
4. Buyers Stopped Googling. They Ask AI Now. Are You in the Answer?
5. AI Doesn't Make Me a Plumber. Can It Make You a Web Guy?

One name sits on top. Make it yours.