Ask ChatGPT for a painter in a Texas city and it tends to give the same top name every time. Ask it for a general contractor and the answers jump around. Trades differ a lot in how settled ChatGPT's picks are.
This guide shows a trade-by-trade comparison from our November 2026 Texas data, offers cautious explanations, and explains what to do depending on where your trade falls. It is one AI tool, one day, Texas only. Small samples and observational data mean these are patterns, not rules.
How we measured it
We read the public snapshots behind our Who AI Recommends pages: 390 markets (a trade in a Texas city) and 2,238 ChatGPT answers. Each market got three customer-style questions asked twice (six answers). Four numbers:
- #1 share: how often the market's most-named business appears in the answers.
- All six: share of markets where the #1 business was named in every answer.
- Majority picks: average number of businesses named in more than half the answers.
- No steady pick: share of markets where no business was named in at least five of six answers.
The table
Trades with at least 17 six-answer markets, ranked from most to least settled by #1 share:
| Trade | #1 share | #1 in all six | Majority picks | No steady pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Painting contractor | 96.4% | 82.6% | 3.3 | 4.3% |
| Pest control | 95.1% | 82.4% | 3.8 | 11.8% |
| Garage door repair | 94.9% | 73.9% | 3.2 | 4.3% |
| Electrician | 91.2% | 52.9% | 3.3 | 5.9% |
| Foundation repair | 90.6% | 47.8% | 2.8 | 4.3% |
| Window installation | 90.6% | 56.5% | 2.7 | 13.0% |
| House cleaning | 90.2% | 58.8% | 2.7 | 17.6% |
| Flooring | 88.4% | 52.2% | 2.7 | 17.4% |
| Roofing | 88.4% | 60.9% | 2.8 | 26.1% |
| Landscaper | 85.3% | 47.1% | 2.8 | 23.5% |
| HVAC | 84.1% | 34.8% | 2.4 | 26.1% |
| Plumber | 82.6% | 26.1% | 2.6 | 26.1% |
| Pool builder | 81.2% | 34.8% | 1.7 | 43.5% |
| Gutter company | 79.7% | 21.7% | 2.0 | 39.1% |
| General contractor | 70.3% | 13.0% | 1.5 | 47.8% |
Smaller samples (7 markets each, mostly in the larger Texas cities): fence 95.2%, tree service 85.7%, moving 88.1%, remodeling contractor 78.6%, concrete contractor 73.8% for #1 share.
What stands out
- Specialist, well-defined jobs are the steadiest: painting, pest control and garage doors. A homeowner knows what they're asking for.
- Broad, project-based trades are the least steady: general contractors, gutters and pool builders. The word "general contractor" covers many kinds of work, and the best choice depends on the project.
- Roofing, HVAC and plumbing sit in the middle to low end. About one in four of their markets had no steady pick.
- Pool builders, general contractors and gutter companies often had no business named in even five of six answers (44%, 48% and 39% of their markets).
Possible reasons (not proven)
- Clarity of the request. A question with one clear meaning gets a steadier answer.
- How many strong competitors there are. Trades with many similar firms spread the picks.
- Franchise and regional brands. In a few trades (house cleaning, painting, windows), the favorite in several markets was a brand that appears in more than one city. A brand with a broad footprint on the sites AI reads may be named steadily.
- Where the information lives. Painting and pest control pages cited a mix of ranking sites and marketplaces; foundation repair leaned on Reddit and BBB. Sources differ by trade.
- Sample size and noise. A trade with 17 markets can swing.
Which sites each group leaned on
Share of markets citing each site, from our data:
| Trade | Top sites cited |
|---|---|
| Roofing | Angi 83%, ContractorsRanked 65%, BestProsInTown 52%, Birdeye 52%, Expertise.com 43%, BBB 39% |
| HVAC | ContractorsRanked 87%, Angi 61%, BestProsInTown 61%, Reddit 52% |
| Plumbing | ContractorsRanked 83%, Angi 83%, BestProsInTown 65%, Expertise.com 52%, Birdeye 52% |
| Foundation repair | Reddit 96%, Angi 83%, ContractorsRanked 78%, BBB 57% |
| General contractors | Angi 87%, BuildZoom 78%, Houzz 70%, ContractorsRanked 70% |
| House cleaning | Angi 91%, Birdeye 83%, Thumbtack 65% |
What to do
If your trade is steady (painting, pest control, garage doors, electrical): a clear favorite often exists. Compare yourself with that business source by source: listings, reviews, website, credentials. Closing gaps there is the usual route to joining the group that gets named. No step is guaranteed.
If your trade is mixed (roofing, HVAC, plumbing, flooring, landscaping): expect rotation. Measure with several runs, and work on getting named more often rather than always. See why ChatGPT gives different answers.
If your trade is fragmented (general contracting, gutters, pool building): specificity helps. A page and profile that say exactly what kinds of projects you do, where, and with what credentials give AI tools more to match. See service pages and FAQs.
For everyone:
- Check your own market: the five-minute test.
- Claim the right directories for your trade: the directories ChatGPT reads.
- Keep reviews fresh: how many reviews and how recent.
- Read your trade's guide: roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, general contracting.
Limits
One AI engine, one day, Texas only, 17 to 23 markets per trade, top 12 businesses and top 10 sites stored per market. City mix differs a little between trades. Correlation isn't cause. Size and franchising may explain some of the differences.
FAQ
Does "settled" mean easy to break into? No. A steady favorite can be hard to displace. A fragmented field can be easier to enter but harder to hold.
Should I choose my trade by this? No. It's about how ChatGPT answers, not how good the business is.
Will it change? Probably. AI tools change, and so do the sources they read.
See where your trade stands in your city. Run a free scan at localpickai.com. You'll see whether ChatGPT names you, who it names instead, which websites it read, and what to fix first. Free, no signup, about a minute.
