If a homeowner in Manchester types “who’s a reliable electrician for a full rewire near me?” into ChatGPT, they’ll typically get back three names, each with a line explaining why it was chosen. If your business isn’t one of those three, you won’t be in the discussion at all.
That’s quite a shift for trades who’ve spent years working their way up Google’s local results. Luckily there is significant overlap between traditional SEO and AI SEO, although there are some additional techniques you need to consider in order to show up in AI search consistently.
This post covers how AI tools appear to choose which UK tradespeople to recommend, and what you can do to become one of them.
Why Getting Named by AI Matters
AI search has moved well beyond early adopters. Ofcom’s Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes 2026 report found that 54% of UK adults now use AI tools, up from 31% the year before, and three quarters of online adults read AI-generated summaries in search results at least sometimes.
Those summaries also seem to reduce how often people click through to websites. Pew Research Center’s analysis of real Google browsing data found users clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits where an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% where there wasn’t one, so ranking well is becoming less valuable on its own if AI has already answered the question above you.
Declining organic traffic due to ‘zero-click searches‘ is a trend we are seeing more and more of in our SEO work at Search Hog, despite improving business figures.
Is There Still Room to Get Recommended?
The encouraging part is that the shortlist in most local markets is probably still open. A US benchmark of ChatGPT recommendations found that the majority of contractors in every trade measured weren’t being named at all. The figures won’t transfer directly to the UK, but they suggest trades who act now may find it far easier to claim a spot than they would in a year’s time.
How Do AI Tools Choose Which Tradespeople to Name?
AI tools don’t rank businesses the way Google’s traditional results do. They typically build answers from information they can cross-check across several sources, and for trades there’s an extra layer, since an AI recommending an electrician is effectively vouching for someone who’ll be working inside a stranger’s home. If an AI tool can’t verify who you are and that you’re qualified, it’s unlikely to risk putting your name forward.
Your Accreditations Are Doing More Work Than You Think
This is where UK trades have an advantage that most of the advice online overlooks. Registers such as Gas Safe, NICEIC, NAPIT, TrustMark and FENSA give AI tools independent confirmation that you’re qualified, while trade platforms like Checkatrade, TrustATrader, MyBuilder and Rated People add third-party reviews on top.
Why Does Consistency Matter So Much?
Where this usually goes wrong is consistency rather than coverage. A heating engineer whose Gas Safe entry still shows an old trading name, or whose Checkatrade profile lists a different mobile number from the website, is giving AI conflicting signals about whether these are even the same business. It’s worth going through every register and platform you appear on, matching your business name, address and phone number exactly, and linking to your register entries from your own site so the connection is made for you.
Getting Your Listings and Reviews in Order
Your Google Business Profile is likely to feed Google’s AI Overviews more directly than anything else you control. In most cases the quick wins are choosing the most specific primary category available, listing every service you offer, setting realistic service areas and adding photos of real jobs rather than stock images.
If you work from home, our guide to getting a home-based business listed on Google Maps covers how to set up a service-area profile properly.
Do You Need a Bing Places Listing?
Bing Places tends to get ignored, although ChatGPT’s search features have historically drawn on Bing’s index, so an unclaimed or outdated listing there could be quietly costing you mentions. Claiming it usually takes around twenty minutes.
What Makes a Review Useful to AI?
Reviews matter, but detail probably counts for more than you’d expect. A review saying “great service” gives AI very little to work with, whereas “replaced our combi boiler in Stockport, tidy and finished in a day” ties your business to a specific job, location and standard of work.
When you ask customers for reviews, it’s reasonable to suggest they mention what you did and where, and replying to each review adds further context in your own words.
Answering the Questions Customers Ask Before They Call
Emergency jobs still tend to go through Google Maps, since nobody with water coming through the ceiling wants a conversation with a chatbot. Considered jobs are different, and people researching a heat pump, loft conversion or full rewire will often ask AI what it costs, how long it takes and whether it needs building control sign-off long before they ask for a recommendation.
What Pages Should Your Website Have?
Pages that answer those questions clearly give AI something to quote, which typically means a dedicated page for each main service, area pages with genuine local detail rather than swapped town names, and FAQs covering rough price ranges, timescales and regulations such as Part P.
Adding LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ schema helps AI tools read that information accurately. Our guides to SEO for tradesmen and SEO for builders and construction companies cover the on-site basics.
Do Mentions on Other Websites Help?
It usually helps to be talked about away from your own website. A feature in the local paper, a case study on a supplier’s site or a member listing with your trade association won’t make a difference on its own, but together they help build the picture of an established, trusted local business that AI tools appear to favour.
| Task | What to do | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Check your trade registers | Make sure your Gas Safe, NICEIC, NAPIT, TrustMark or FENSA entries show your current trading name, address and phone number | Quick win |
| Match details on trade platforms | Update Checkatrade, TrustATrader, MyBuilder and Rated People so every detail matches your website exactly | Quick win |
| Link to your accreditations | Link from your website to your register entries so AI can connect them to your business | Quick win |
| Claim Bing Places | Claim or update your listing, since ChatGPT’s search features have historically drawn on Bing | Quick win |
| Tidy your Google Business Profile | Choose the most specific primary category, list every service, set realistic service areas and add photos of real jobs | One-off setup |
| Build a page for each service | Give every main job, such as rewires or boiler installs, its own page explaining what’s involved | One-off setup |
| Create genuine area pages | Cover the towns you work in with real local detail rather than swapped place names | One-off setup |
| Answer common questions | Add FAQs covering rough prices, timescales and regulations such as Part P or building control | One-off setup |
| Add schema markup | Use LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ schema so AI can read your details accurately | One-off setup |
| Ask for detailed reviews | Encourage customers to mention the job and area, and reply to every review | Ongoing |
| Get mentioned elsewhere | Look for local press coverage, supplier case studies and trade association listings | Ongoing |
| Test what AI says about you | Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google the same customer questions each month and note who gets named | Ongoing |
How Do You Know If It’s Working?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google a handful of questions your customers would realistically ask, such as “best roofer in Birmingham” or “who can fit a heat pump near Bristol”, and note who gets named each time. Results often vary by location and session, so it’s more useful to track patterns over a few weeks than to react to a single answer, and repeating the same prompts monthly will show whether your changes are having an effect.
At Search Hog, we use dedicated AI search tools which can identify what queries your site is showing for and give exact figures on how many clicks (and enquiries) these generate.
Want Help Getting Recommended by AI?
If you’d like to know where your business currently stands, we can run an AI visibility audit showing which tools mention you, which don’t, and what’s most likely holding you back. Take a look at our AI SEO consultant and local SEO pages, or get in touch for a chat about your trade and area.
