Answer Engine Optimization: What HVAC Contractors Need to Know About AI Search

The Search Game Has Shifted

When a homeowner asks Alexa “who can fix my furnace tonight?” at 11 PM, they’re not scrolling through ten search results. They’re getting one answer. The question is whether that answer is you.

For two decades, SEO meant fighting for position on a list. Now there’s a parallel universe where AI systems synthesize answers from sources they trust and deliver a single recommendation. This is Answer Engine Optimization, and it’s changing how customers find HVAC contractors.

The Numbers: What’s Actually Happening

Let’s cut through the hype with verified data.

AI adoption is accelerating fast. ChatGPT now has over 800 million weekly active users, quadrupling from earlier estimates.³ In the US, 34% of adults have used ChatGPT, double the share from 2023.⁴ This isn’t early adopters anymore. This is your customer base.

Google is changing too. AI Overviews now appear in roughly 16% of all desktop searches.⁵ That number jumps to 40% for local business queries.⁶ When someone searches “HVAC repair cost” or “best heat pump brands,” AI is increasingly the first thing they see.

The zero-click reality. Nearly 60% of Google searches now end without clicking any result.⁷ Users get answers directly from AI summaries, featured snippets, or knowledge panels. For simple questions, one answer is enough.

But here’s the important context: Pure “near me” searches still trigger the traditional Local Pack 93% of the time.⁸ AI Overviews dominate research queries, not transactional ones. When someone searches “HVAC repair near me,” Google still shows the map with three businesses. When they search “how much does AC repair cost,” that’s when AI takes over.

🎧 Listen: The Lead Gen Crisis for Contractors to Rebuild Trust & Get Vetted High-Quality Clients – Nick Fergis — How contractors are rebuilding trust in a digital-first world.

Why This Matters More for HVAC

Emergency HVAC queries are perfect for voice search. “My AC stopped working” is more natural to speak than type, especially when you’re uncomfortable and stressed. Voice assistants prioritize immediate, local solutions.

Consider how your customers actually behave. It’s 2 AM, the furnace is dead, kids are shivering. Nobody’s carefully typing keywords into a laptop. They’re asking their phone for help. And that phone is increasingly powered by AI that decides which contractor to recommend.

The high-value research queries matter too. Someone searching “best heat pump for cold climates” or “ductless vs central air cost comparison” is planning a $10,000+ purchase. AI Overviews appear in 97% of these hybrid informational-local queries.⁸ If you’re not part of that AI answer, you’re invisible during the research phase of major purchases.

This connects directly to why reputation marketing matters. Your online reputation isn’t just about star ratings anymore. It’s about whether AI systems trust you enough to recommend you.

What Actually Works

The good news: AEO builds on what you’re already doing with SEO. You’re not starting over.

Optimize your Google Business Profile. Complete every field: services, service areas, hours, attributes. Add Q&A with actual customer questions. Keep reviews flowing. Google’s AI pulls heavily from GBP data, so treat it like the most important page on your website.

🎧 Listen: The Google Profile Secrets You Need to to Boost Rankings and Trust with Kimberly and Peter.

Add structured data to your website. Schema markup tells AI exactly what you do and where. LocalBusiness schema with your name, address, phone, hours, and service area. Service schema for each offering. FAQ schema with common questions and direct answers. This isn’t optional anymore if you want AI to understand your business.

Create FAQ content that matches voice queries. Think about how customers speak, not type:

• “How much does AC repair cost in [city]?”
• “Who fixes furnaces on weekends near me?”
• “Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?”

Write clear, direct answers (40-60 words) that AI can easily extract and quote. Pages with valid FAQ schema are 36% more likely to appear in AI summaries.⁹

Build citations on platforms AI trusts. Yelp, Angi, BBB, industry associations. AI verifies business information across multiple sources. Consistency is critical. Your name, address, and phone must match everywhere.

Don’t forget Bing. ChatGPT uses Bing for real-time local lookups. Most HVAC contractors ignore Bing Places entirely. That’s a missed opportunity when 87.4% of AI referral traffic comes from ChatGPT.¹

What to Ignore (For Now)

Don’t fall for expensive “AI optimization” services. The fundamentals matter most. Strong local SEO still drives the majority of HVAC leads. Current AI traffic is around 1% of total website traffic.

However, here’s why that 1% matters: visitors from AI sources convert at 4-23x the rate of traditional organic traffic.¹ When someone clicks through from an AI recommendation, they’ve already been pre-qualified. They’re ready to buy.

Prioritize in this order:

1. Google Business Profile excellence
2. Review management (volume, recency, responses)
3. Basic schema markup on your website
4. FAQ content matching voice queries
5. Citation consistency across platforms

This is similar to standing out from competition in any market. The fundamentals done consistently beat gimmicks every time.

The Bottom Line

AEO is making sure your SEO work actually gets you recommended when customers ask AI for help.

The contractors who build answer-ready foundations now won’t scramble when AI search hits critical mass. Gartner predicts search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 due to AI agents.¹⁰ That’s a projection, not a certainty. But it signals where things are heading.

Start simple: audit your Google Business Profile completeness. Check if your website has basic schema markup. Write five FAQ answers matching how customers actually talk. These aren’t major investments, but they position you for a shifting landscape.

When a homeowner asks their phone for HVAC help at midnight, be the business that comes up. Not position three on a list nobody scrolls. The answer.

If you’re considering starting your own HVAC business, building these foundations from day one gives you an edge over established competitors who haven’t adapted yet.