GEO vs. SEO: What Home Service Businesses Should Measure

From A Chat with Chat, episode 1, recorded September 18, 2026. Aaron Husak and ChatGPT discuss what AI search changes for home service businesses, and which marketing fundamentals still matter. Watch episode 1 and read the transcript.

If a homeowner asks an AI tool to recommend an HVAC company, your business can become part of their shortlist before they visit your website. That creates a measurement question: how do you find out whether you appeared, what the answer said about you, and whether the person eventually contacted your company?

In our first episode, we explored generative engine optimization, or GEO, through that practical lens. The goal is to understand customer discovery and improve the information available about your business. An AI mention alone does not establish that your marketing produced a lead or a job booked.

GEO and SEO share a foundation

SEO helps people discover useful pages through search. GEO work also examines how a business appears in generated answers: whether it is mentioned, recommended, cited, and described accurately. These are related goals, with substantial overlap in the work behind them.

A contractor still needs clear service pages, accurate coverage information, accessible content, and evidence of actual experience. A heat-pump repair page should explain the problems the company handles and where it works. Original project photos and verified qualifications give a reader more to evaluate than a broad claim about being the best.

Google explicitly says its established SEO practices apply to its AI search features. There is no special AI schema required. That is useful context when evaluating a proposal that presents GEO as an entirely separate technical system. Read Google's AI features guidance.

Keep consumer research in its proper context

The episode examined BrightLocal's finding that 45% of surveyed consumers had used AI for local business recommendations during the previous year. That covers local businesses broadly. It does not mean 45% hired a contractor through AI, or that AI became their primary discovery channel.

BrightLocal also describes consumers checking reviews and sources after receiving AI recommendations. The implication is that discovery and verification can happen in different places. A homeowner might encounter your name in an AI answer, examine your Google profile, read reviews, and then call from your website. Read BrightLocal's research and methodology.

That sequence matters when assigning credit. A website visit attributed to Google does not necessarily tell you where the person first heard about the company. Conversely, a survey about AI adoption does not establish that AI is bringing jobs to your business today.

Ask customers what they actually searched

One of Aaron's practical recommendations was to go beyond asking how a caller found the business. When someone says ChatGPT or another AI tool recommended you, ask which tool they used and what question they entered. If they are willing, request a screenshot of the answer.

That gives you actual buyer language to test. A question about an urgent AC repair can produce a different shortlist than a question about choosing a replacement system. Record the answer date and the location named in the question, alongside the customer's description of what happened next.

Ask permission before saving a screenshot. Remove names, addresses, account details, and unrelated conversation. Keep only the question and recommendation needed for your review, and do not put a customer's private chat into another AI tool.

Build a repeatable visibility record

Choose a small set of relevant customer questions. Repeat them under documented conditions, and keep the original responses so comparisons are possible. Track whether the business appeared, whether its website was linked, which competitors appeared, and whether the answer accurately described its services.

• A mention means the business name appeared.
• A recommendation means the answer suggested the business as an option.
• A citation means a source was linked or identified.
• An inquiry and a job booked require separate evidence.

The immediate work is to correct unclear business information, strengthen useful service content, and investigate the sources behind recurring recommendations. No agency can guarantee inclusion in a generated answer.

What to do with this episode

Start by asking your team to capture the actual questions customers use. Then review whether your website and business profiles answer those needs accurately. This creates a more useful starting point than chasing one favorable screenshot.

Explore A Chat with Chat or continue with our episode 2 Gemini test. To discuss your own discovery and inquiry tracking, contact Sequoia GEO.