The directories AI actually cites for HVAC, ranked by how often

Most HVAC owners have a gut ranking of directories in their head. Yelp feels big. Angi feels like a tax. Expertise.com, if they have heard of it at all, feels like nothing. The 2026 citation data puts that gut ranking almost exactly backwards.

The ranked list for ChatGPT

These numbers come from a study published by Cheers in 2026. It recorded the sources cited across 9,434 ChatGPT answers to home-services questions in 100 US and Canadian metro areas, between 31 August and 20 September 2026.

Source	Share of ChatGPT answers
Ranked "best of" list pages, any publisher	64.2% of cited answers
Directories and best-of lists, all together	59.9%
Expertise.com	32.1%
Angi or HomeAdvisor	29.4%
HomeStars	16.0%
BBB	14.5%
Thumbtack	5.0%
Reddit	4.9%
Yelp	0.6%
A Google page	0.1%
An online booking page	0.0%

Source: Cheers, Where Does ChatGPT Get Its Information? Local Data 2026, 9,434 ChatGPT answers, 100 US and Canadian metros, 31 August to 20 September 2026.

Read the top line again. Two out of three ChatGPT answers that cite anything cite somebody else's ranking of your trade. Not your website. Not your profile. A list.

The same list on all four engines

Before you act on the table above, notice that it only describes ChatGPT. The other three assistants read a different pile.

Source	ChatGPT	Google AI Mode	Perplexity	Gemini
Directories and best-of lists	59.9%	9.2%	81.7%	37.8%
Expertise.com	32.1%	0.2%	30.9%	6.0%
Angi or HomeAdvisor	29.4%	9.3%	30.8%	13.4%
BBB	14.5%	1.7%	31.0%	8.4%
Yelp	0.6%	19.7%	13.9%	0.0%
Reddit	4.9%	9.1%	10.8%	1.2%
A Google page	0.1%	95.5%	1.1%	0.2%

Same study. Sample sizes: 9,434 ChatGPT, 9,435 Google AI Mode, 6,509 Perplexity, 4,141 Gemini answers that carried citations.

Across Perplexity answers with citations, 93.5% cited a directory, a review platform or a list. Perplexity is the engine that rewards simply being present in more honest places. Google AI Mode is the opposite: it mostly wants Google and your own site. The full comparison is in how the four AI assistants pick an HVAC company.

Why Yelp looks dead and is not

Yelp appeared in the text of 0.6% of ChatGPT answers. That is 52 answers out of 9,434. An owner reading only that number would close the Yelp tab forever. Three other facts say do not.

• In a five-day capture from 18 to 22 September 2026, 34% of the rated business cards on ChatGPT's map linked to a Yelp business page. The citation is invisible in the text and sitting right there in the interface.
• On 23 July 2026 Yelp and OpenAI announced a data partnership. Yelp licenses its ratings, reviews, photos and business information to OpenAI.
• Google AI Mode cited Yelp in 19.7% of answers, and Perplexity in 13.9%.

So Yelp is not a text citation engine. It is a data feed. We unpack what that changes in the Yelp and OpenAI deal. The practical rule: your Yelp page must be accurate and your rating must not be embarrassing, and you never solicit a Yelp review, because Yelp's own rules forbid it.

Angi is a bill and a citation at the same time

This is the part owners find annoying, and it is true anyway. Angi or HomeAdvisor was cited in 29.4% of ChatGPT answers, 30.8% of Perplexity answers and 13.4% of Gemini answers. The 5WPR Home Services and Improvement AI Visibility Index 2026 named Angi the most-cited brand for "find a contractor" and "hire a pro" questions.

Meanwhile Angi leads are the most expensive channel an HVAC company can buy. Measured cost per booked job in 2026 came out around $542, against roughly $250 for Thumbtack and $168 to $190 for Google Local Service Ads. We break the full math down in cost per booked HVAC job in 2026.

Those two facts do not cancel out. They separate.

Your Angi listing being accurate is free. Your Angi leads are not.

Claim the profile, make every fact on it true, keep the reviews answered, and decide the lead spend on its own numbers.

The best-of lists are the biggest prize

A best-of list is a page like "the 9 best HVAC companies in your city", published by a local paper, a regional blog, a trade site or a directory that builds its own rankings. Ranked-list pages were in 64.2% of ChatGPT answers that cited anything. No single named platform comes close to that share.

And here is the part nobody tells HVAC owners: most local best-of lists are maintained by a human being who will answer an email.

How to work them, in order:

1. Search your city plus your trade plus "best" and write down the pages that actually appear. Those are the pages the assistants are reading.
2. Check which ones you are on and which you are not.
3. For the ones you are on, check the facts. A wrong phone number on a cited list is worse than being absent.
4. For the ones you are missing from, find out how they pick. Many use review count, years in business, license status and response time, all of which you can prove.
5. Contact the publisher with the proof, not with a pitch.

This is slow, unglamorous work. It is also the single highest-share citation source measured in the study.

Claim, correct, pursue: three different jobs

"Get on the directories" sounds like one task. It is three, and they take different amounts of time.

Job	What it is	Effort
Claim	Take ownership of a listing that already exists, often created automatically years ago	Minutes each
Correct	Make name, address, phone, hours, services and service area identical everywhere	Hours, once, then watch it
Pursue	Get added to lists and roundups that do not have you yet	Ongoing, every month

Correcting matters more than owners expect, because the assistants are cross-checking. A company whose hours say one thing on Google, another on Yelp and a third on its own site gives an assistant a reason to pick the competitor whose story is consistent. And 96% of consumers say it is important for a local business to actively manage its online presence, with 33% calling it essential (BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior 2026).

The short list worth the effort

Accuracy on a short list beats presence on a long one. Based on the 2026 citation patterns, this is the set worth your time for a US HVAC company:

• Google Business Profile. Non-negotiable. Google AI Mode cites Google in 95.5% of answers, and Yext measured Google Business Profile at 28.5% of all local AI citations across 6.8 million citations.
• Expertise.com. The highest named-platform share in ChatGPT at 32.1%.
• Angi or HomeAdvisor. 29.4% in ChatGPT, 30.8% in Perplexity. Profile accuracy, lead spend optional.
• BBB. 31.0% in Perplexity, 14.5% in ChatGPT.
• Yelp. 19.7% in Google AI Mode, plus the OpenAI data partnership and the map cards.
• Bing Places and Apple Business Connect. Cheap, fast, and they feed assistants and phones that Google does not.
• Your state license lookup. A verifiable trust record that costs nothing to keep current.
• Your equipment brand's dealer locator. A high-trust page about you that you do not have to build.
• The local best-of lists in your metro. The 64.2% number. Pursue these every month.

What to do this week

1. Ask ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and Gemini who to call for AC repair in your city. Several times each, not once, because answers change run to run. Write down every source they show.
2. Open each source and check whether you are on it, and whether your facts are right.
3. Claim anything unclaimed.
4. Fix every mismatch in name, address, phone, hours and services.
5. Pick two best-of lists you are missing from and contact the publishers.

That is one afternoon and it is the highest-leverage afternoon available to an HVAC owner in 2026.

Questions owners ask

Which directory should an HVAC company claim first for AI visibility?

Google Business Profile first, because Google AI Mode cited Google's own pages in 95.5% of home-services answers and Yext measured Google Business Profile at 28.5% of all local AI citations. After that, Expertise.com and Angi or HomeAdvisor, which ChatGPT cited in 32.1% and 29.4% of answers.

Do I have to buy Angi leads to get cited by ChatGPT?

No. The citation comes from your listing page existing and being accurate, not from buying leads. You can keep a correct, claimed Angi profile without paying for shared leads. Angi leads cost HVAC contractors roughly $542 per booked job, the most expensive paid channel measured in 2026.

Is Yelp worth anything for AI visibility in 2026?

Yes, but not where you would look. Yelp was cited in the text of only 0.6% of ChatGPT home-services answers, yet 34% of the rated business cards on ChatGPT's map linked to a Yelp page in a September 2026 capture, and Google AI Mode cited Yelp in 19.7% of answers.

What is a best-of list and how do I get on one?

A best-of list is a ranked page like "the 10 best HVAC companies in your city", published by a local paper, a blog or a directory. Ranked-list pages appeared in 64.2% of ChatGPT answers that cited anything. You get on one by finding the lists that already rank for your city and contacting the publisher with verifiable facts.

How many directories does an HVAC company actually need?

Accuracy on a short list beats presence on a long one. Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, Angi or HomeAdvisor, BBB, Expertise.com, your state license lookup and your equipment brand's dealer locator cover almost every citation pattern measured in 2026.