Quick Answer:
In the last 90 days, our AI audit system scanned 104+ businesses in the Houston metro: 55 HVAC contractors, 29 roofing contractors, and 20 dental practices. Data is aggregated — no names, no URLs, no identifying data from the audited businesses. Key findings: 100% of HVAC contractors with complete audits had local SEO + AI visibility (AEO) gaps. 93% of roofing contractors lacked insurance-claim coverage. 100% of dental practices had a conversion-layer opportunity between traffic and booked appointment.
Key Takeaways:
- 104+ businesses audited in the Houston metro over the last 90 days (HVAC, roofing, dental).
- Fully anonymized data: no business names, no URLs, no identifying data. Industry aggregates only.
- HVAC (n=55): average score 68/C. 100% of fully-audited had gaps in local SEO + AEO. Top 3 gaps: email marketing, call tracking, secondary profiles (Foursquare, Bing, Apple).
- Roofing (n=29): average score 69.5/C. Universal pattern: missing insurance-claim coverage content + 1-step conversion flow (should be 2-step) + low review velocity.
- Dental (n=20): average score 73/C. Universal pattern: weak conversion layer between traffic and appointments, uncovered high-intent search terms, underused trust signals.
- Upcoming verticals: plumbers, restaurants, medical — more data available after Q3 2026 as the pipeline rotates through those categories.
Methodology
These findings come from the MerchandisePROS outreach audit pipeline. The system scans each business via public site, Google Business Profile, AI engine presence (ChatGPT/Claude/Perplexity), structured schema, and response speed. Each audit produces a 0-100 score and severity-ranked findings list. Data below is aggregated — never individual. No names. No URLs. No identifiers. Just sample size + % of sample exhibiting each gap.
Why These 3 Verticals First
The outreach pipeline rotates through categories by city per rule #55. In the last 90 days the primary focus was HVAC, roofing, and dental in Cypress + Houston metro. Upcoming categories (plumbing, restaurants, medical) will be covered when the pipeline rotates to those verticals — estimated Q3 2026.
Cross-Cutting Finding: 3 of 3 Verticals Have an AI Visibility Gap
The most consistent finding across all 3 verticals: almost none of the 104+ audited businesses appear consistently in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot responses for commercial queries in their niche ("HVAC near Cypress", "dentist in Cypress", etc.). Three common causes: (1) incomplete or absent schema.org, (2) no llms.txt to guide AI crawlers, (3) incomplete Trust Stack (the 5 signals). Detail: Trust Stack — 5 Signals AI Search Uses.
Drill Down by Industry
Each vertical has its own article with industry-specific data, frequency-ranked top findings, and the "highest-impact play" for that vertical:
- HVAC findings (n=55) — local SEO + analytics + secondary profiles
- Roofing findings (n=29) — insurance-claim coverage + 2-step flow + reviews
- Dental findings (n=20) — conversion layer + high-intent search + trust signals
"We do not publish individual customer case studies. We publish what we see in aggregate auditing 100+ businesses — that is more honest and more useful for the reader."
— Diego Medina F, Founder of MerchandisePROS
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these findings include names of audited businesses?
No. Zero names. Zero URLs. Zero identifiers. Industry aggregates only. Each audited business entered our outreach pipeline via public listings (Google Maps, directories), was never a client, and never gave promotional consent — so we never publish anything that could identify them.
Why only 3 verticals?
These are the 3 with enough data in the last 90 days to produce honest aggregates (n >= 20). Other verticals we serve (plumbing, restaurants, medical, attorneys, etc.) have smaller samples — we will publish them when n >= 20.
What level of analysis do the audits do?
8 dimensions evaluated in 60 seconds by 18+ AI agents: web performance, Google rankings, local SEO, Google Business Profile, online reviews, competitive analysis, lead-gen + conversion, and AI engine visibility (AEO). Detail: 8 Dimensions of the AI Audit.
Do these findings apply to my specific business?
Probably, but the only way to know is a personalized audit of your business. Aggregates show industry-level patterns; your business may be above or below the average. Request the free audit.
When will you add the next 3 verticals?
As the outreach pipeline rotates (plumbing, restaurants, medical in Q3 2026). The article updates when we have n >= 20 per vertical.