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Ask an assistant to book a trade.

79.1% of AI answers to local booking questions were a dead end. Copp Oak asked ChatGPT and Gemini 2,880 questions across 20 Southeast metros and 12 home-service trades. Of 5,788 answers, 4,578 gave the customer no way to book. Gemini was a dead end 92.2% of the time.

Check my market How the study was run
79.1%OF ANSWERS · NO WAY TO BOOKVERSION 1.0 · OCTOBER 28, 2026
Original research · Copp OakVersion 1.0 · October 28, 2026

Answers analyzed

5,788

Metros × trades

20 × 12

Fieldwork

October 5 – October 28, 2026

Version

v1.0

01 / Findings

What we found.

Each figure is computed from all 5,788 ChatGPT and Gemini answers in the dataset, completed October 28, 2026.

01

79.1%

of answers were a dead end: no booking path. 4,578 of 5,788.

02

4 of 5,788

answers named an operator’s own scheduling system as the way to book (Housecall Pro twice, Jobber twice).

03

10.3%

of questions got the same #1 business from both assistants. 289 of 2,804.

Dead-end rate by assistantBy platform
  • ChatGPT66.0% dead end, 1,909 of 2,892 answers
  • Gemini92.2% dead end, 2,669 of 2,896 answers
Dead-end rate by metroBy metro area
  • Memphis, TN91.3% dead end, 263 of 288 answers
  • Greensboro, NC89.6% dead end, 258 of 288 answers
  • Charlottesville, VA87.7% dead end, 263 of 300 answers
  • Augusta, GA87.5% dead end, 252 of 288 answers
  • Savannah, GA86.5% dead end, 249 of 288 answers
  • Columbia, SC86.1% dead end, 248 of 288 answers
  • Greenville, SC84.7% dead end, 244 of 288 answers
  • Roanoke, VA84.4% dead end, 243 of 288 answers
  • Nashville, TN83.7% dead end, 241 of 288 answers
  • Wilmington, NC83.3% dead end, 240 of 288 answers
  • Charlotte, NC80.8% dead end, 236 of 292 answers
  • Atlanta, GA76.0% dead end, 219 of 288 answers
  • Raleigh-Durham, NC75.7% dead end, 218 of 288 answers
  • Northern Virginia70.8% dead end, 204 of 288 answers
  • Chattanooga, TN70.5% dead end, 203 of 288 answers
  • Knoxville, TN70.1% dead end, 202 of 288 answers
  • Charleston, SC69.8% dead end, 201 of 288 answers
  • Myrtle Beach, SC69.1% dead end, 199 of 288 answers
  • Richmond, VA67.3% dead end, 202 of 300 answers
  • Virginia Beach, VA67.0% dead end, 193 of 288 answers
Dead-end rate by tradeBy trade
  • HVAC84.6% dead end, 416 of 492 answers
  • Roofing82.5% dead end, 396 of 480 answers
  • Electrical82.3% dead end, 395 of 480 answers
  • Garage doors80.8% dead end, 388 of 480 answers
  • Tree service80.7% dead end, 388 of 481 answers
  • Generators80.3% dead end, 395 of 492 answers
  • Plumbing79.6% dead end, 382 of 480 answers
  • Pest control79.0% dead end, 379 of 480 answers
  • Septic77.5% dead end, 372 of 480 answers
  • Pool service77.2% dead end, 373 of 483 answers
  • Appliance repair74.2% dead end, 356 of 480 answers
  • Landscaping70.4% dead end, 338 of 480 answers

Dead end: the answer offered no way to book, neither a booking step in the answer nor a named booking service.

02 / Common mistakes

What operators get wrong.

01Treating being named as being booked

79.1% of answers left the customer with no way to book. A mention in an answer is not a job on your calendar.

02Assuming every assistant behaves alike

Gemini answers were a dead end 92.2% of the time. ChatGPT answers, 66.0%.

03Chasing one assistant’s #1 spot

ChatGPT and Gemini named the same #1 business for only 10.3% of questions. Ranking first on one says little about the other.

04Counting on your scheduling software to carry the booking

An operator’s own scheduling system came up as the way to book in 4 of 5,788 answers.

03 / Methodology

How the study was run.

Measured, dated and reproducible. Every question type is published below.

Results are aggregated. No business is named negatively.

Copp Oak builds Canopy. We say so here, and you can check the data yourself.

The 12 question types, as asked for HVAC in Savannah, GA

  1. What's the best HVAC company in Savannah, GA?
  2. Can you book a HVAC company to come to my house in Savannah, GA this week?
  3. I'm comparing HVAC companys in Savannah, GA — who are the top options and why?
  4. I need emergency AC repair in Savannah, GA — who should I call right now?
  5. Who's the fastest reliable HVAC company in Savannah, GA for a same-week appointment?
  6. Find me a HVAC company in Savannah, GA and book the appointment for me.
  7. How much should AC repair cost in Savannah, GA, and who do you recommend?
  8. Recommend a HVAC company in Savannah, GA with great reviews.
  9. Which HVAC company in Savannah, GA do people rate highest?
  10. Who offers a good maintenance plan for homeowners in Savannah, GA? I'm looking at HVAC companys.
  11. my AC stopped cooling — who in Savannah, GA should I call, and can they come this week?
  12. What's a fair, honest HVAC company in Savannah, GA that won't upsell me?
01

Questions

A fixed bank of 2,880 questions: the same 12 question types for every metro and trade, written the way customers ask. Each question was asked of both assistants.

02

Assistants

ChatGPT and Gemini, in signed-in browser sessions on their consumer apps, using the model each app offered by default (most often ChatGPT Instant and Gemini Flash). The model shown is recorded with every answer.

03

Markets and trades

20 Southeast metro areas (Charlottesville, VA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC; Richmond, VA; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; Greenville, SC; Virginia Beach, VA; Northern Virginia; Roanoke, VA; Knoxville, TN; Chattanooga, TN; Memphis, TN; Greensboro, NC; Wilmington, NC; Savannah, GA; Augusta, GA; Columbia, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC) and 12 trades (HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, garage doors, pest control, tree service, appliance repair, septic, generators, landscaping, pool service).

04

Coding

Each answer was recorded with the businesses it named, in order, and whether it gave a booking path: a way to book from the answer, or a named booking service. An answer with neither is a dead end. #1 picks are compared by exact business name.

05

Limits

Assistants change often. These results describe what we saw from October 5 – October 28, 2026, nothing more. A few questions were captured twice; every captured answer is counted. 144 manual Google Search captures (5,932 rows recorded in all) are held out of these figures.

04 / The data

Download it. Check our work.

Download the data (CSV)

One row per metro and trade: answers, booking-path answers and dead-end rate. 240 rows.

Cite this

Copp Oak Advisors (2026). “Named, Not Booked: What ChatGPT and Gemini Actually Do When Homeowners Ask for a Local Service Company — 5,788 Paired Answers Across 20 Southeast US Metros (October 2026).” Version 1.0. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23745742

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