Named or cited
AI mentions vs citations for trade businesses
In one table
The difference
| Cited | Named | |
|---|---|---|
| What happened | Your page was used as a source | You were recommended by name |
| What the customer sees | A small link, often at the end | Your business name, sometimes your number |
| Typical question | How much does a new boiler cost? | Who fits boilers near me? |
| Does it bring a job? | Rarely on its own | It can, if you check out when they look you up |
Tested 22 October 2026
A real test: named when asked who to call, missing while researching
We asked the questions a customer of an established electric heating firm in Leeds might ask. ChatGPT (OpenAI web search) and Gemini (Google Search grounding), each question asked twice on each, no business name in the question.
| Customer question | Answers | Named |
|---|---|---|
| Electric radiator installers near Leeds LS7 | 4 | 4 (ChatGPT listed it first both times) |
| Are there any Which? Trusted Trader electric heating specialists in Leeds LS7? | 4 | 4 |
| 6 research questions, e.g. “Cost to replace old storage heaters with modern electric radiators in a flat in Chapeltown, Leeds LS7” | 24 | 0 |
| Then, in the same chat: “Who could do that for me near Leeds LS7?” (3 research questions) | 12 | 8 |
So the firm wins at the moment a customer asks who to call. While the customer is still working out what to buy, the answers don't mention it, though it had a page on almost every one of those six topics. Once the customer asked who could do the job, it was named in 8 of 12; the weakest was the conservatory question (named in 1 of 4). A customer who never asks that second question never hears its name.
Why it happens
What gets a business named
From our tests, answers that named a firm leaned on things the AI could check: a directory listing with reviews (here, Which? Trusted Traders), the firm's address in the area, and pages that say plainly what it does and where.
The research answers leaned on advice sites and product makers. To be named there, a page has to answer the customer's actual question with something only you know: your prices, your jobs, the homes you work on. A general guide that anyone could write gets cited at best.
How we test
One instruction changed the answer
In the same week, asking the same question with a cautious instruction (“if evidence is insufficient, say so”) named this firm in 0 of 3 answers. Without it: 3 of 5. Asked by hand in the ChatGPT app: 3 of 3.
So our free report asks the way a customer does, with no special instructions, and says plainly that answers vary. If a tool reports you as invisible, ask it how it asked.
Want to check yourself first? The search checklist for trades has the questions to ask and what to look for.
Written by Alex at Nelvant. Last updated 22 October 2026. Questions or corrections: alex@nelvant.com
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