When Homeowners Ask AI Who To Hire, Does Your Name Come Up?
Try This Right Now (Takes 60 Seconds)
Open ChatGPT on your phone and ask:
“Who should I hire for a $80,000 kitchen remodel in [Your City]? I want someone with proven experience.”
Look at the 3 names AI recommended.
Is yours one of them?
If Not, Here’s What Just Happened
While you were reading this page:
- A homeowner in your market asked AI who to hire
- AI recommended 3 contractors
- You weren’t one of them
- That homeowner will call those 3 contractors
- Not you
You just lost a $100K-$225K project.
And it happens 8-12 times per month in your market.
That’s $200K-$1M annually in lost projects going to contractors whose work isn’t as good as yours.
Not because they’re better. Because AI can see them and can’t see you.
The Madison WI Builder Who Lost $380K Projects For 18 Months
The situation:
- 15-year custom home builder
- Excellent reputation, 50+ five-star reviews
- Spending $4,200/month on marketing
The problem:
- Lead quality declining
- Losing $200K+ projects to newer builders
- Couldn’t figure out why
What we found in the AI Visibility Audit:
Test #1: Asked ChatGPT “Who should I hire for historic home renovation in Sun Prairie?”
- Result: 3 competitors recommended, client not mentioned
Test #2: Checked robots.txt file
- Result: SEO company was blocking ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity from reading the site
- Translation: $2,500/month “SEO retainer” was making them invisible to AI
Test #3: Scanned business listings
- Result: Business name appeared 7 different ways, 3 different addresses, AI couldn’t figure out who they were
90 days after fixing AI visibility:
- Closed $380K historic renovation (client: “ChatGPT recommended you”)
- Closed $520K custom build (client: “Gemini said you were the best for this”)
- Lead quality transformed from 60% tire-kickers to 80% serious buyers
- Canceled $2,500/month Ghost SEO that was blocking AI
ROI: $4,500 audit investment → $900K in closed projects within 6 months
The Problem Most Contractors Don’t Know They Have
You’re spending $3K-$10K monthly on marketing:
- SEO retainer
- Google Ads
- Social media management
- Website updates
Your agency sends reports showing traffic is up, impressions are growing, engagement is strong.
But when a qualified homeowner asks ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity for a contractor recommendation:
You’re invisible.
Why This Is Happening
AI doesn’t read your business the way humans do.
When you look at your website, you see:
- 20 years of quality work
- Beautiful project photos
- Five-star reviews
- Detailed service descriptions
When AI looks, it sees:
- Scattered business information (7 different name variations across directories)
- Blocked crawlers (your SEO company is hiding you from AI)
- Generic descriptions (“We do quality work”)
- Photos with no context AI can read
- Zero answers to questions homeowners ask
Result: AI recommends contractors with clean data instead.
Your 20 years of craftsmanship? Invisible to AI.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you just give me a report or do you do the work? I do the work. I am an auditor who performs the “repair.” While I don’t run your daily social media, I fix the foundational code and data that allows AI to see and recommend you.
Will this help me if I’m already doing Radio or TV ads? Yes. Legacy media creates “Brand Awareness,” but homeowners use AI to “verify” that awareness. If they hear your ad and the AI can’t vouch for you, you are flushing your ad spend.
Do I need a new website for this? No. I work within WordPress to add the “AI Translation Layer” and clean up your external data footprint.
What if my marketing person says they already do this? Ask them to show you your “Entity Consistency Score”and your “JSON-LD Schema Coverage.” If they look confused, they are likely practicing “Ghost SEO.”
Fix What’s Missing. Get the Truth.
The contractors who move in 2026 will dominate AI recommendations for years. The contractors who wait will fight for scraps.
We fix the problem. You get:
Digital Entity Cleanup:
- One authoritative business name everywhere
- Consistent address/phone across 50+ directories
- Unified service descriptions
- Clean data AI can recognize
AI Access Restoration:
- Remove crawler blocks
- Implement structured data (the language AI reads)
- Make your 20 years of experience visible
- Enable AI to verify your authority
Visual Proof Organization:
- Select best 100-150 project photos
- Write AI-readable descriptions with context
- Organize searchable system
- Make your work referenceable
Answer Library:
- Create 20-25 detailed FAQ answers
- Questions homeowners actually ask AI
- Written in your voice (not generic)
- Structured for AI extraction
Timeline: 8-10 weeks from diagnostic to full implementation
What you own: Everything. No ongoing fees.
Two Paths (Both Lead To The Same Place: More Premium Projects)
Path 1: Just Fix AI Visibility
Timeline: 8-10 weeks
Best for: Contractors who think their marketing is mostly working, just need AI presence
What happens: We fix AI visibility, you start appearing in recommendations within 90 days
Hidden benefit: During Week 1 diagnostic, we usually discover your SEO company is doing nothing, blocking AI, or both
Then you decide: Keep paying them $2K-$3K/month now that you know what they’re doing, or cancel
Path 2: Fix AI Visibility + Find All Marketing Waste
Timeline: 10-12 weeks
Best for: Contractors spending $3K+/month on marketing but losing bids to cheaper competitors
What happens: We fix AI visibility PLUS audit every marketing dollar you’re spending
What we find (consistently):
- Ghost SEO: $24K-$36K annual waste
- Lead-gen multi-sell: $8K-$15K annual waste
- Proprietary platform lock-in
- Black box reporting hiding poor performance
- Blocked crawlers sabotaging results
Total waste identified: $35K-$90K annually
ROI: $35K-$90K annually
85% of contractors choose Path 2 once they see the diagnostic results from Week 1.
Why? Because once you SEE the waste, you can’t unsee it.
What Actually Happens In The Next 90 Days
If You Do Nothing:
This month:
- 8-12 homeowners ask AI who to hire in your market
- AI recommends 3 competitors for each query
- You lose 24-36 recommendation opportunities
- Estimated lost project value: $200K-$600K
Next month:
- Competitors close 2-4 of those AI-recommended projects
- Their authority strengthens
- AI recommends them more frequently
- You fall further behind
Month 3:
- You’re competing against established “AI-recommended authorities”
- The early-mover advantage is gone
- You’re playing catch-up
If You Fix AI Visibility Now:
Month 1:
- Week 1: Diagnostic complete, invisibility documented
- Week 2-4: Entity cleanup + crawler access restored
- Week 5-8: Structured data + answer library implemented
Month 2:
- AI systems recognize your unified business entity
- You start appearing in some recommendations
- First “ChatGPT recommended you” lead calls
Month 3:
- Consistent AI recommendations for your specialty
- Lead quality improves (pre-qualified by AI)
- Fewer tire-kickers, more serious buyers
- Premium project flow increases
Month 6:
- You’re the established AI-recommended authority
- Competitors trying to catch up to YOU
- $200K-$500K in closed projects attributed to AI visibility
The Free 15-Minute Test (No Pitch, Just Proof)
We’ll show you:
- Live AI test results (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity queries)
- Which competitors AI recommends instead of you
- Quick diagnosis of why you’re invisible
- What fixing it costs and how long it takes
You’ll know:
- How invisible you actually are
- What it’s costing monthly
- Whether this matters for your market
- If it’s worth fixing
No pressure. No pitch. Just clarity.
Then you decide: Worth fixing or not?
Three Facts You Should Know
Fact 1: 40-55% of homeowners now use AI to research contractors before calling anyone
Fact 2: Less than 5% of contractors have optimized for AI visibility (massive early-mover advantage)
Fact 3: Every month you wait, competitors strengthen their AI position and the advantage shrinks
The contractors who move in 2026 will dominate AI recommendations for years.
The contractors who wait will fight for scraps in 2027-2028.
About Brenda Eckhardt
22 years documenting construction projects throughout Madison, Milwaukee, and Southern Wisconsin.
3-generation builder family background.
Nothing makes me happier than saving someone money.
I audit what you have, show you what’s broken, fix the invisibility, and hand you the roadmap.
No jargon. No ongoing retainers. You own everything.
Based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin