MODEOFirst business each engine named
| Service | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Google AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | Jaguar Heating & Air | Jaguar Heating & Air | Jaguar Heating & Air |
| Roofing | Sacramento Roofing Inc | NRG Pros Roofing | Roof Improve |
| Solar installer | Five Star Solar | Next Solar | Five Star Solar |
| ADU builder | ADU Builders California | Imkat Homes | A+ Construction & Remodeling |
| Kitchen remodeling | GVD Renovations & Remodeling | Kitchen Mart | GVD Renovations |
| Plumber | 5 Star Plumbing | 5 Star Plumbing | Millennium Plumbing Specialist |
| Med spa | Angell Medical Spa | Ideal Plastic Surgery | Destination Aesthetics Medical Spa |
All three engines agreed on 1 of 7 services. Two of the three agreed on 3 more (solar, kitchen remodeling, plumbing). On 3 of 7, the three engines named three different businesses first.
A week later, on October 21, Modeo re-ran roofing and plumbing. ChatGPT named the same first picks. Google AI Mode kept Roof Improve for roofing and changed its plumbing pick from Millennium Plumbing Specialist to 5 Star Plumbing.
Sources the engines cited
| Engine | Sources cited in these answers |
|---|---|
| Perplexity | Yelp (4 of 7 answers), Angi, Thumbtack, ConsumerAffairs, EnergySage, Reddit, a clinic directory, the contractor license number from the CSLB, and the businesses' own sites |
| Google AI Mode | Google review ratings and counts, ConsumerAffairs, EnergySage, Sacramento Magazine's reader awards |
| ChatGPT | Google listing ratings and review counts, ConsumerAffairs, EnergySage, VerifiedADU, a med spa review site |
Each engine leans on a different set of sources, which is why the first picks differ. A business can lead on one engine and be absent from another.
What a business can act on
- Check each engine separately. A result on ChatGPT says little about Perplexity or Google AI Mode.
- Fix the sources the engines cite for your service: your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Yelp and the directories in the table above, with the same name, address, phone and services everywhere.
- Answers that cited reviews quoted ratings and review counts. Ask every customer for a review that says what you did and how it turned out.
- For licensed trades, publish your license number. Perplexity cited CSLB license data for roofing.
Method
- Each query was typed as written, "best [service] in Sacramento", once per engine. Perplexity and Google AI Mode ran on October 13, 2026, ChatGPT on October 14, and the roofing and plumbing re-runs on October 21.
- Runs used a signed-in browser account, so answers can include some personalization. Answers also vary from run to run, so one run is a snapshot, not a ranking.
- The first pick is the first business the answer recommended. Google sponsored listings are excluded.
- None of the businesses named is a Modeo client.
Modeo's monthly retainer measurements run each question 3 times per engine and count a business only when it appears in at least 2 of 3 runs.