What Happens When Someone Asks AI to Find a Plumber Near Hitchin

Right, so someone in Stevenage has a leak

Their kitchen tap's spraying water everywhere. They pull out their phone and ask their AI assistant, "Find me a plumber near Hitchin."

What actually happens next?

Most local business owners I talk to still think people are typing into Google and clicking through a list of blue links. Maybe scrolling past a few ads, landing on a website, reading it, then calling.

That's not really how it works anymore. Not in 2026.

The AI doesn't send them to Google. It just... answers. Gives them a name. Maybe two names if they're lucky. Sometimes a phone number right there in the response. The person never sees your website. Never reads your carefully written "Why Choose Us" page. Never looks at your reviews section or your before/after photos.

The AI decided. And if you're not in that answer, you basically don't exist.

What the AI actually does (it's weirder than you think)

When someone asks ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity or whatever they're using to find a local plumber, the AI goes looking for information. But it's not searching the way Google does.

It's reading. Scanning content across the web, looking for signals about who's credible, who's local, who's actually any good at what they do.

Here's what it's checking:

• Is your business name mentioned in multiple places that aren't just directories?
• Do people actually talk about the work you do, or is it all generic "we provide quality plumbing services" nonsense?
• Are there real details about your coverage area? Like, do you say you cover Letchworth and Baldock, or just "Hertfordshire"?
• Is there evidence you know what you're talking about? Blog posts, guides, answers to actual questions people have?

It's not looking at your meta description. It doesn't care about your keyword density. Those are Google things, and Google's importance is dropping faster than you'd think.

The AI is trying to figure out: if I recommend this business to someone, will they actually be helpful?

And look, most plumbers' websites don't give it much to work with.

The bit where I tell you about a thing that happened last month

Had a call with a plumber in Royston. Been in business 20 years. Brilliant at what he does. His phone's gone quiet over the last six months and he couldn't work out why.

We asked ChatGPT to find a plumber near Royston. It gave us three names. He wasn't one of them.

We asked Claude. Different three names. Still not him.

Perplexity? Same story.

His website's fine. Loads quickly, looks professional enough, has his number at the top. He's got a Google Business Profile with decent reviews. He's doing the things everyone told him to do five years ago.

But when the AI systems went looking for a plumber, they couldn't figure out what made him different or why they should recommend him. His website says he does "all aspects of plumbing and heating" and he's "fully qualified and insured."

Well, yeah. So is everyone else.

There's nothing there that helps an AI understand he specialises in ancient heating systems in period properties. That he's the person you call when you've got a listed building in Barkway and the surveyor's found something weird. That he actually understands lime plaster and where you can't just drill through walls.

All that knowledge, all that experience... invisible to AI.

This is the AEO bit (sorry, but it matters)

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation. It's basically making sure that when someone asks an AI a question, your business shows up in the answer.

It's not the same as SEO. Different rules.

With SEO, you're trying to rank a page for keywords. You build links, you optimise titles, you do technical stuff to make Google's crawler happy.

With AEO, you're trying to make AI systems understand what you do, who you help, and why you're the right answer to someone's question.

That means: - Writing content that actually explains things, not just keywords stuffed into service pages - Being specific about locations and problems you solve - Giving the AI context it can use to make a recommendation - Showing up in places AI systems trust (not just directory spam)

When someone asks "find a plumber who can fix a leaking combi boiler in Hitchin," the AI needs to know you exist, that you cover Hitchin, and that you know your way around combi boilers.

If your website just says "plumbing services in Hertfordshire" and lists every possible service you might do... the AI's got nothing to grab onto.

The websites that actually get recommended

I've spent an embarrassing amount of time asking AI systems to find local businesses. Plumbers, electricians, solicitors, accountants. All sorts.

The ones that come up most often have a few things in common.

They write like they talk to customers. There's a page about blocked drains that explains what actually causes them and what the fix looks like. There's a blog post about whether you need a new boiler or just a repair, and it's not trying to sell you either one, it's just... helpful.

They mention specific places. Not just "we cover North Hertfordshire" but "we're based in Baldock and regularly work in Letchworth, Hitchin, and the villages around Ashwell."

They've got their name and what they do mentioned on other sites. Local news, community sites, business directories that aren't just spam farms. The AI sees them referenced in multiple places and thinks, "OK, this is a real business that people know about."

And here's the thing that surprised me: they're often not the businesses with the most Google reviews or the fanciest websites. They're just the ones the AI can actually understand.

What this means if you're sat there with a quiet phone

If your leads have dropped off and you can't figure out why, it might be this.

People aren't Googling "plumber near me" and clicking through to your site anymore. They're asking their AI assistant, and the AI's not recommending you.

Your SEO might be fine. Your Google ranking might even be decent. But if someone never gets to Google because ChatGPT already gave them an answer... doesn't matter.

I'm not saying SEO's dead. It's not. But it's one channel, and it's shrinking.

AI search is growing bloody fast. Perplexity's up to something like 100 million searches a day. ChatGPT's search feature is getting used more every week. Google's own AI overviews are pushing regular results further down the page.

The people who are asking AI for recommendations aren't going to then go do a Google search as well. They got an answer. They're calling that number.

So what do you actually do about it

First, check if you've got a problem. Ask a few different AI systems to find a business like yours in your area. See if you come up. Ask it different ways. "Find a plumber near Hitchin." "I need someone to fix a leaking radiator in Letchworth." "Best emergency plumber in Baldock."

If you're not showing up... you've got work to do.

You need content that helps AI systems understand what you do and who you help. Not blog posts about "the importance of annual boiler servicing." Actual useful stuff. The questions people ask you on the phone. The problems you solve. The areas you cover and why you know them well.

You need your business mentioned in places beyond your own website. Local community sites, business features, partnerships with other local businesses. Things that show you're embedded in the area, not just another directory listing.

And you need to be specific. About locations, about services, about the types of customers you help. "We specialise in Victorian terrace properties in Hitchin town centre" is infinitely more useful to an AI than "all types of properties across Hertfordshire."

This is what we do with AEO. We help local businesses show up when people ask AI systems for recommendations. It's not magic. It's just understanding how these systems make decisions and giving them what they need.

If you're in North Hertfordshire and this is landing with you, we should probably talk. We're working with about 15 local businesses at the moment on exactly this problem. Some of them are already seeing their phones pick back up.

Or if you want to read more about how this works in North Herts specifically, there's a proper breakdown of AEO in North Hertfordshire here.

Either way, worth checking where you actually show up when someone asks AI to find you. Might explain a lot.