Home-service review patterns: do more or newer Google reviews go with being named by ChatGPT?
Often, but not in every trade. Among businesses at the top of Google Maps, the ones ChatGPT named when asked who to call had a median of 295 Google reviews and 15 new ones in 90 days, against 57 and 4 for the ones it didn't name. Star ratings didn't separate them. In remodeling, roofing and water damage restoration, the two groups' recent review counts were close (1.5 vs 1, 7 vs 5, 2 vs 3 new in 90 days). These are associations from one snapshot, not causes.
By Youssef Hodaigui, Mindflow Marketing · Reviews collected October 2026
Source: Mindflow research, Google review data, October 2026, from the saved files as collected, before the rulings that later adjusted listings in 23 metros.
- 1
A homeowner has a job to do
roof repair near me - 2
They look in three places
Google resultsThe mapAn AI answer - 3
They check before they call
Reviews, photos of real work and a page that answers their question.
- 4
They request an estimate
Your form or phone number, working on their phone.
Not an actual ranking, listing or result.
| Maps top three, named by ChatGPT | Maps top three, not named | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses with review data | 306 | 739 |
| Median Google reviews | 295 | 57 |
| Median new reviews, last 90 days | 15 | 4 |
| Had a review in the last 30 days | 242 of 306 | 427 of 739 |
Which reviews did we count?
For every business in the study with a Google listing, we saved its review total and its newest 100 reviews (date and star rating only), in October 2026. "New in 90 days" counts back from the day we collected that business. Where all 100 of a business's newest reviews fell inside 90 days, its true count is higher than we can see, so the count is a floor: 52 of the named and 19 of the not-named businesses above. Medians, not averages, because a few businesses with thousands of reviews would skew an average.
How big is the gap in review totals?
Large totals were common among the businesses ChatGPT named, but many Maps leaders with large totals weren't named. Of the named, 224 of 306 had 100 or more reviews; of those not named, 251 of 739 did. Volume is part of the pattern, not the whole of it.
| Google reviews | Named by ChatGPT (of 306) | Not named (of 739) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 or more | 224 | 251 |
| 250 or more | 163 | 116 |
| 1,000 or more | 75 | 28 |
Do recency or star ratings differ more between the groups?
Recency. The newest review of a named Maps leader was a median 3 days old, against 18 days for those not named. Low ratings were rare in both groups: 1 to 3 stars on 1,117 of the 26,117 newest rated reviews of named businesses and 1,481 of 41,976 for those not named. Maps leaders in both groups had high ratings (median 4.9 named, 5.0 not named), so stars didn't tell them apart. Even established profiles go quiet: 25 of the 475 Maps leaders with 100 or more reviews had no new review in 90 days.
Does it differ by trade?
A lot. Median new reviews in 90 days ranged from 1 in remodeling to 22 or more in HVAC, pest control and plumbing. So a fair review target depends on the trade: a remodeler with about 40 reviews sits at its trade's median, while an HVAC company with 40 sits far below its own. Trades are listed alphabetically, each linked to its full results.
| Trade | Businesses with reviews | Median total | Median new in 90 days | Days since newest review (median) | Maps leaders named: total / new in 90 days | Not named: total / new in 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 590 | 116.5 | 6 | 10 | 213.5 / 12 (42) | 29.5 / 2.5 (86) |
| Garage door | 495 | 199 | 11 | 6 | 279 / 33 (39) | 74 / 5 (92) |
| HVAC | 589 | 746 | 39 | 1 | 838 / 52 (37) | 94 / 6 (95) |
| Pest control | 565 | 457 | 22 | 2 | 808 / 55.5 (42) | 47.5 / 4 (84) |
| Plumbing | 572 | 520 | 29 | 2 | 1,355 / 48 (47) | 150.5 / 9.5 (84) |
| Remodeling | 593 | 38 | 1 | 59 | 54.5 / 1.5 (22) | 42 / 1 (110) |
| Roofing | 586 | 146.5 | 6 | 9 | 199 / 7 (37) | 70 / 5 (99) |
| Water damage | 531 | 87 | 5 | 14 | 48.5 / 2 (40) | 29 / 3 (89) |
Group sizes in brackets. In remodeling, roofing and water damage restoration, the named and not-named groups had close recent review counts. In water damage restoration the not-named were slightly ahead: 3 new reviews against 2, and a newest review 19 days old against 31. Source: Mindflow research, Google review data, October 2026, saved-file basis as above.
Does ChatGPT cite Google reviews directly?
Rarely. When a homeowner asked ChatGPT about a named contractor, Google was linked in 160 of 11,982 answers. The BBB was cited in 10,582 and government or licensing sites in 10,288. What role reviews play in being named, this data can't show. See what ChatGPT checks before recommending a contractor.
What does this mean for a contractor's review program?
Aim for a steady pace that fits your trade, not a one-time push, and ask every customer. Google's review policy forbids incentives and asking only happy customers, and the FTC's rule on consumer reviews (16 CFR 465) bans incentives tied to positive reviews and suppressing negative ones. Our review program works this way: requests go out from your own system, which we help you set up. No review count guarantees a place on the map or in an AI answer.
What can't this study tell you?
- Not random.We chose the 50 metros; they don't represent every US market.
- One snapshot.Collected in October 2026; sites, reviews and searches change.
- Association, not cause.No figure here shows why a business was or wasn't named.
- No names.We report totals only and don't identify any business.
- Saved files.Figures come from the saved files as collected, before the rulings that later adjusted listings in 23 metros. "Named" uses the saved flags, so these groups don't match the final counts on the study page exactly.
- Newest 100 only.The 90-day count is a floor for very busy profiles.
- Detroit.In trades where any Detroit Maps leader was in Windsor, Ontario, Detroit's Maps leaders are left out of the review figures.
Source for every figure on this page: Mindflow research, Google review data for the Home-Service Visibility Study, 8 trades in 50 US metros, collected October 2026. Overall: 4,526 businesses with dated reviews, median 172 reviews and 8 new in 90 days. ChatGPT means the OpenAI API with web search, asked which companies a homeowner should call.
Can you use or cite this data?
Yes. Download review medians by trade and group as a CSV with no business names or identifiers. You can reuse it with credit and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).
Suggested citation: Mindflow Marketing, "Home-service review patterns (October 2026)," mindflowmarketing.com/research/home-service-review-patterns/, reviews collected October 2026.
Spotted an error? Email youssef@mindflowmarketing.com. Our editorial standards explain how we correct pages.
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