The World Changed. Google Isn’t the Only Game Anymore.

A few years ago, if someone needed a new furnace, they typed “HVAC near me” into Google, looked at the top three results, and picked up the phone. You got found by having a decent website and a Google Business Profile.

That still works — but it’s no longer the only way people look for things. More and more homeowners, especially younger ones, are skipping Google entirely and asking an AI assistant instead. They’ll open ChatGPT or Google’s new AI search and ask something like: “My AC stopped blowing cold air. What’s wrong with it?”

Here’s where it gets interesting. That homeowner isn’t ready to call anyone yet. They’re going to diagnose first — ask the AI what’s wrong, try the easy fixes themselves (dirty filter, tripped breaker, frozen coil), and only pick up the phone after those don’t work. But the whole time, the AI is building context. It knows they have a Carrier unit that’s not cooling in a zip code you cover, and that they’ve already tried the basics. By the time they say “okay, I need a pro,” the AI doesn’t start over — it narrows its recommendation to businesses that have content, reviews, and online signals confirming they’ve solved that exact problem, in that neighborhood, and that real customers can vouch for them. That’s the moment 2 or 3 names come up. If yours isn’t one of them, that call goes to someone else.

SEO vs. AEO — What’s the Actual Difference?

You’ve probably heard of SEO. It stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s the process of making your website show up in Google’s search results — the list of blue links people click on. For HVAC companies, that’s meant things like having the words “HVAC repair in [city name]” on your website, collecting Google reviews, and keeping your Google Business Profile up to date.

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. Answer engines are tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overview, Perplexity, and Siri. These tools don’t show you a list of websites — they answer your question, and when it’s relevant, they name specific businesses they recommend.

The chart below shows the difference in how a customer’s search actually unfolds. With old-school SEO, they type a quick keyword and Google returns links. With AI search, they describe their situation — and the AI walks with them from the first symptom all the way to a specific recommendation.

The difference matters because they reward different things. Google ranks websites. AI tools pull from the whole internet — reviews, directory listings, articles, and social mentions — to decide which businesses sound most trustworthy and specific to this person’s exact problem. A company with 47 detailed reviews that mention real services and neighborhoods beats a company with a beautiful website every time.

A Word About Google LSAs

If you run Google ads for your HVAC business, you may have seen something called a Local Services Ad (LSA). These are the green-badge ads at the very top of Google — above the regular ads and above the map results. They say “Google Guaranteed” or “Google Screened.”

LSAs matter for AI search because Google uses the data behind them to understand what services you offer and whether you’re licensed and insured. If you’re running LSAs and your profile is filled out completely — including all the services you offer, the cities you serve, and your business hours — that data feeds into Google’s AI Overview recommendations.

What Is Schema? (And Why Does Everyone Keep Saying It?)

Schema is just a way of labeling information on your website so that Google and AI tools can read it easily. Think of it like a form. When you fill out a form with boxes for “Your Name,” “Your Address,” and “Your Phone Number,” the person reading it knows exactly what they’re looking at. Schema does the same thing for computers.

Without schema, Google has to guess. It reads your website text and figures out that you’re probably an HVAC company in Michigan, but it’s guessing based on context. With schema, you’re literally telling it: “This is an HVAC business. We serve these zip codes. We are open Monday through Friday. Our phone number is X.”

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Common Questions

• Why doesn’t my HVAC company show up when someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation?

  AI tools like ChatGPT don’t search the internet in real time. They learned from information already published about businesses. If your business info isn’t on the sites AI learned from — Yelp, Angi, Google Business Profile, and industry directories — it simply doesn’t know you exist. The fix is making sure you’re present on those platforms, not just your own website.

• Do I need to redo my whole website?

  No. The biggest wins come from things outside your website: claiming and filling out your Google Business Profile completely, getting listed in HVAC-specific directories, and making sure your reviews mention specific services and locations. Your website matters, but it’s not where most HVAC companies are losing ground right now.

• What’s the difference between SEO and AEO?

  SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is about getting your website to show up in Google’s list of blue links. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is about getting your business mentioned when someone asks an AI a question. AEO puts more weight on third-party mentions and how clearly your business answers specific problems for specific people in a specific area. Think of SEO as getting in the phone book; AEO is getting recommended by the neighborhood.