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Does ChatGPT Recommend Plumbers? How AI Tools Pick a Plumber, and How to Check

Short answer

Yes, it can. When someone asks ChatGPT for a plumber in their town, it often searches the web and names a few businesses. But the list changes from one ask to the next, and from town to town. No one can promise that your business will be named.

How ChatGPT picks plumbers to name

ChatGPT does not keep a secret list of "best plumbers." For questions like this, it usually searches the web first. OpenAI says ChatGPT turns your question into search queries and uses a general location from your internet address. OpenAI's own example: "good restaurants near me" can become "top restaurants San Francisco" (OpenAI Help).

So the plumbers it names come from what that search finds: your website, directories, review sites and local news. OpenAI also says placement "is not guaranteed" (OpenAI Help).

Why the answer changes each time

Researchers at the University of Toronto tested this in October 2026 (Chen and Koudas, arXiv). "Best plumber near me" was one of their example questions. They sent near-me questions to ChatGPT through its programming interface, with web search on. Two identical requests shared only 23% of the businesses named. When the city changed, the lists shared 4%.

They used the API, not the app, so your results may differ. Still, one answer is a snapshot, and every town has its own list.

What about Gemini, Perplexity and Grok?

What a plumbing business can do

These steps will not force any AI tool to name you. They make your business easier to find and easier to trust.

  1. Let AI search tools read your site. OpenAI says sites should allow its crawler, OAI-SearchBot, to appear in ChatGPT search (OpenAI docs). Perplexity says the same for PerplexityBot (Perplexity docs). Ask your web person to check your robots.txt file.
  2. Set your service area on Google. Google names plumbers as an example of a service-area business. If you don't serve customers at your address, Google says to hide it and list up to 20 towns or postal codes you cover (Google Business Profile Help).
  3. Be clear about emergency and after-hours work. If you take night or weekend calls, show it in your Google hours, and set special hours for holidays (Google). Google's services list lets plumbers add jobs like "Repair toilet" (Google).
  4. Keep your Google Business Profile complete. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and how well known you are, and reviews and links count. You cannot pay for a better spot (Google Business Profile Help).
  5. Do the basics of good SEO. Google says you don't need new AI text files or special markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode (Google Search Central).
  6. Put plain facts on your site. Write your towns, hours, emergency number and main jobs in normal text. A tool cannot repeat what it cannot find.
  7. Show your registration, and get listed where people check. The Toronto study found ChatGPT cites sources that name the city, so local directories matter (Chen and Koudas).
    • Ireland: home gas work must be done by a Registered Gas Installer (CRU). The public can search the RGI register.
    • UK: home gas work needs a Gas Safe registered engineer (HSE). CIPHE lists members in the UK and Ireland.
    • US: some states have a public license lookup, such as Texas and California. PHCC has a member directory.
    • Put your registration or license number on your site.
  8. Earn real reviews. In the US, the FTC bans fake reviews and paying for positive ones (FTC). Google bans discounts or freebies for reviews (Google). Just ask happy customers after the job.

How to check by hand

You can do this for free in about 20 minutes:

  1. Open a private browser window, or sign out.
  2. Ask the way a customer would: "Who is a good plumber in [your town]?" Don't type your business name.
  3. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok the same question.
  4. Write down every plumber each one names, and the sources it links.
  5. Ask again on another day. One answer is not a trend.

If you cover several towns, test each town on its own.

Check in one step

The TippedByAI free check asks ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity and Gemini a real question a customer would ask, and shows whether each one said your name. Claude is coming soon. It is one snapshot, it costs nothing, and you don't need a card.

Are you tipped by AI? Run the free check.

FAQ

Can I pay ChatGPT to recommend my plumbing business?

We know of no way to pay for a spot in ChatGPT's answers. Google says you can't pay for a better local ranking (Google).

Do I need a special "AI file" on my site?

Not for Google's AI features, according to Google (Google Search Central).

Does TippedByAI check Claude?

Not yet. Claude is coming soon.

Sources

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