How we measure who ChatGPT recommends

These rankings aren't opinions, votes, or paid placements. They are a record of what ChatGPT actually answers when we ask it — the same way a real homeowner would — who to hire.

The steps, in plain language

1. 1

   We ask the questions real homeowners ask.

   In each market we ask ChatGPT for a solar company 4 different ways per service — everyday phrasings like "Who is the best solar company near me?", "I want to put solar panels on my house — who should I hire?", and "Who should I call to clean my solar panels?". We ask separately about two kinds of work: putting panels on a roof, and cleaning panels that are already up. No trick prompts, no leading questions. Across 30 markets and both services, that came to 204 checks for this edition.

2. 2

   We record every company it names.

   Each answer gets logged exactly as given. We then match every recommendation against the 1,043 solar companies in our dataset. Each business ChatGPT names is credited to exactly one company — and when we can't tell for certain which local company it meant, no one gets the credit. No company is ever double-counted.

3. 3

   Frequency sets the rank.

   A company recommended in 3 of 4 checks ranks above one recommended in 1. One mention is never treated as a rank on its own — asking the same question several ways is what makes the result dependable. Ties are shown as ties.

4. 4

   We publish the top of the list — and only the top.

   Each market page shows the companies ChatGPT actually recommended, most-recommended first, service by service. We never publish a bottom list and never name who didn't make it. A company that isn't listed simply didn't come up in that edition's answers.

5. 5

   National brands are left out on purpose.

   Our dataset is independent, local solar companies. The big national installers and dealer networks are filtered out before we measure, because a homeowner looking for a local company to stand behind the work in five years is not choosing between them and a national sales operation. The lists are a scoreboard for local companies.

6. 6

   We only cover solar-primed markets.

   We benchmark the markets where home solar actually pays off for a homeowner — strong sun, high power bills, or state rules that pay fairly for the power your panels send back to the grid. That is why you will find Phoenix, Newark, and Pittsburgh here and not every U.S. city.

7. 7

   We re-run it quarterly.

   The same benchmark, the same way, every quarter. Companies that improve their AI visibility can appear in the next edition — and the run date is printed on every page. This edition: July 2026.

This edition

What this is — and what it isn't

Being on this list means ChatGPT recommended that company when we asked, in that edition, in that market. It is a measurement of AI visibility — not a judgment of the quality of anyone's work, and not a claim that unlisted companies are worse at what they do. AI answers also change over time, which is exactly why we re-measure quarterly and date every edition.