Your next customer may never scroll a results page. They'll ask an AI assistant for a plumber, and whatever it says becomes your reputation. These five services help you see what that answer looks like.
Why AI search audits matter for trade businesses
Homeowners used to open Google, skim the map pack, and call the first name they recognized. That behavior is shifting. More people now type a question into ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google's AI answers and trust whatever comes back. For a plumber or roofer, that means visibility is no longer just about a Google Business Profile. It's about whether AI tools can read your site, understand what you do, and confirm where you do it.
Most independent trade businesses have never checked this. Their listings are inconsistent, their service pages are vague, and their photos are heavy enough to stall a phone. An audit surfaces those gaps in plain language. The five services below all do some version of that work, from instant automated scans to hand-written notes delivered by email.
How we compared these services
We looked at the same factors across all five. First, service scope: does the audit cover listings, mobile usability, service clarity, and AI answers, or just one slice? Second, pricing clarity: is the offer genuinely free, gated behind a call, or a lead-in to a paid plan? Third, local fit: does the provider understand independent trade and home-service businesses specifically, or treat them as one industry among many?
We also weighed delivery format. Some send a written report you can read on your own time. Others push toward a scheduled walkthrough call. And we considered how actionable the output is, meaning whether you get specific fixes in priority order or a generic score. Each provider stood out on different factors, and the notes below explain where.
Here's a quick look at how the five compare on format, cost, and who each one suits. Read the deep dives for the detail behind each entry.
| Provider | Best For |
|---|---|
| Found Clearly | Trade businesses that want research-backed local SEO depth |
| Cairn Labs | Free written notes | Independent trades that want free, no-call written notes |
| DP1 | Businesses that want a multi-platform AI audit plus a call |
| Contractor SEO | Contractors who want an instant self-serve scan |
| Mindflow Marketing | Home-service firms wanting a report plus short walkthrough |
The five services in detail
#1 Found Clearly
A screenshot of the Found Clearly website.
Found Clearly runs a local SEO audit built specifically for home-service companies, covering Google Business Profile, listings, reviews, and service pages. The audit explains whether Google can crawl and index your pages, whether your titles and headings make each page's job clear, and whether your name, phone, hours, and service area match everywhere. It also flags technical issues holding the site back. The company publishes original research on how AI assistants pick contractors, which gives the audit a stronger evidence base than most. You can see the audit offering on their local SEO audit page and browse the broader research library for context.
#2 Cairn Labs | Free written notes
A screenshot of the Cairn Labs | Free written notes website.
Cairn Labs sends free written notes on what AI search answers and Google show for your business, plus what they'd fix first. No call required. You send an email address and a short message about your business and the area you serve, and the notes come back by email. The report covers listings consistency, how your site works on a phone including tap-to-call, whether your services and towns are clear to AI tools, what AI answers say when someone asks for your service nearby, and phone load speed. It closes with a short list of fixes in plain words. The whole thing is aimed at independent plumbers, HVAC techs, electricians, and roofers anywhere in the US. You can request notes through the main site or email the team directly.
#3 DP1
A screenshot of the DP1 website.
DP1 offers a free AI visibility audit that checks how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google, and other AI platforms describe your business. The deliverable is a report plus a walkthrough call within about five business days. DP1 is a full-service agency, so the audit sits alongside AI search optimization, answer engine optimization, local SEO, grid rank tracking, and Google Business Profile work. That breadth means the audit can lead somewhere if you want implementation help. The tradeoff is that the process asks for a phone number and pushes toward a scheduled call. You can request the audit on their free AI visibility audit page.
#4 Contractor SEO
A screenshot of the Contractor SEO website.
Contractor SEO built an instant AI visibility audit tool that scans your site in about 30 seconds with no signup to run. It checks 30-plus signals across technical SEO, on-page SEO, local SEO, and AI search readiness, then scores your site out of 100 with category breakdowns. The tool is a fast way to get a first read before committing to anything. The company serves contractors nationwide with plumber, HVAC, electrician, and roofer SEO services, so the surrounding context is trade-specific. Full results sit behind an unlock step. You can run the scan on their AI visibility audit tool page.
#5 Mindflow Marketing
A screenshot of the Mindflow Marketing website.
Mindflow Marketing offers a free AI visibility review for home-service businesses. You fill in a short form, and they email a written report with a link to book a 20-minute walkthrough. The review sits inside a broader framework covering local SEO and Google Maps, Google Business Profile ownership, AI search optimization, reviews and reputation, and conversion improvements. Mindflow works with plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical, fencing, landscaping, and pest control companies, plus remodelers and construction firms. They also publish research on whether ChatGPT names the contractors at the top of Google Maps. You can request the review on their free AI visibility review page.
How to pick the right audit for your business
Start with what you can actually commit to. If you will not get on a call, filter out anything that requires one. Cairn Labs delivers notes by email with no call, which removes the biggest friction point for busy owners.
Next, decide whether you want a score or a plan. An instant scan gives you a number in 30 seconds, which is useful for a quick pulse check but thin on specifics. A written report that names the fixes in priority order is more work to read and more useful to act on.
Then look at scope. If your problem is listings and reviews, a local SEO audit covers it. If your worry is what AI assistants say when someone asks for your service nearby, make sure the audit actually queries those tools rather than just checking technical signals.
Finally, ask what happens after. Some providers treat the audit as the start of a paid engagement. Others hand you the notes and let you keep them. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you're walking into before you fill out the form.
A simple workflow to act on your notes
Once your notes land, don't let them sit. Block one hour and work through them in order.
First, fix listings. Make your business name, address, phone, and hours match across your website and Google profile. This is the cheapest win and it feeds every other channel.
Second, add a tap-to-call number to your contact page and check it on your own phone. If you can't call yourself in two taps, customers can't either.
Third, give each service its own page and state the towns you cover in plain text. AI tools need that spelled out.
Fourth, compress your photos so the page loads fast on a phone. Large images are the most common speed killer for trade sites.
Fifth, re-run the AI query in a month. Ask the same assistant the same question about your service near you and see whether the answer changed. Keep a simple log of what you fixed and when.
The bottom line
AI search is not a future problem. It's happening in your market right now, and most trade businesses have no idea what the answer says about them. The good news is that the fixes are usually boring: consistent listings, a clear service page, a working phone link, and faster photos.
Any of these five services will show you where you stand. Pick based on how you like to work. If you want free notes in your inbox with no call, Cairn Labs is built for exactly that. If you want research depth, Found Clearly goes further. If you want a fast score, Contractor SEO delivers in seconds. Whichever you choose, request the audit this week and fix the first item on the list. That's the whole game.