If you've been feeling like the rules of the game changed overnight, you're not imagining things. Google has been quietly (and not so quietly) reshaping how homeowners find HVAC contractors — and if you haven't adjusted your strategy yet, now is absolutely the time.

The good news? None of this is insurmountable. The contractors who understand what's happening and move fast are going to have a serious edge. Let's break it down.

LSAs Are More Volatile Than Ever

Local Services Ads (LSAs) have been a go-to lead source for HVAC companies over the past few years, and for good reason — they put your name at the very top of Google search results, above traditional PPC ads, above the map pack, above everything. But a couple of recent changes have made them a lot more unpredictable.

The "Get Competitive Quotes" feature is a big deal. When a homeowner searches for HVAC near me, they'll often see an option to request quotes from multiple businesses at once. Google selects up to four top-rated pros, sends all of them the same message, and the homeowner waits to see who responds. What used to be an exclusive lead is now a race.

This changes the dynamic significantly. Being ranked in the top three LSA spots no longer guarantees you're even in the conversation — Google selects who gets included based on their own criteria, and response speed is one of the biggest factors. If your team isn't set up to respond to messages in minutes, you're going to lose work to whoever is.

Response speed is now one of Google’s most important LSA ranking factors. This isn't just about winning the quote race — it directly affects where you show up in the first place. The contractors getting the most out of LSAs right now are the ones with tight processes around message response, whether that's a dedicated CSR, an after-hours answering service, or a well-tested automation workflow.

The "Google Guaranteed" badge you've known has also changed. Google has been evolving its trust badge structure across service categories, expanding the use of the “Google Verified” badge. As these changes roll out, reviews and responsiveness are becoming even more critical trust signals.

One more thing worth flagging: Google’s terms allow it to record and analyze call and message data for quality and performance purposes. While Google hasn’t disclosed how this data impacts rankings, it signals that transparency and consistency matter more than ever.

If your website just says "We're the best HVAC company in [city] — call us today," AI tools are going to skip right past it. But if your website genuinely answers the questions homeowners are asking — "How do I know if my HVAC system is failing?" or "What's the difference between a tune-up and a full inspection?" or "How long do heat pumps last?" — you become a source that AI recommends.

This is what the best SEO teams are calling “Omni SEO” right now: optimizing not just for traditional Google search, but for AI-powered answer engines as well. It’s a newer discipline, but it’s becoming critical fast. As Google expands its AI search tools, more users are staying on Google instead of clicking through to lead aggregator websites.

The practical takeaway: your website needs to answer real homeowner questions. Whether you handle marketing in-house or work with an outside company, focus on adding helpful FAQs, service breakdowns, and maintenance tips — not just sales copy.

What This Means for Your Day-to-Day Operations

All of these changes point to the same underlying truth: the basics matter more than ever.

Speed to lead, review volume, licensing and insurance being current, a well-trained CSR team, and a website that actually works for you — these aren't glamorous, but they're the foundation that everything else is built on.

A few quick action items worth putting on your list:

• Set a 90-day reminder to verify your LSA licensing and insurance is current. Getting suspended from LSAs because a document lapsed is entirely avoidable, and it's more common than you'd think.
• Audit how your marketing campaigns are tracked in your CRM. If you don't know your true cost per acquisition by lead source, you're flying blind. You need to know which marketing channels are actually producing profitable customers — not just leads.
• Check that messaging is enabled on your LSA profile. With the competitive quote feature now live, if you're not set up to receive and respond to messages quickly, you're at a structural disadvantage.

Talk to whoever manages your website or marketing and ask about AI search visibility. Specifically, are you showing up in tools like Gemini or Perplexity? If they’re unsure, it’s worth digging deeper.

The Bigger Picture

Google is getting smarter, homeowners are getting faster, and the HVAC contractors who are going to win in this environment are the ones who stay connected with their customers — not just at the moment of a service call, but year-round.

That's a theme showing up across the industry right now: the relationship between a contractor and a homeowner used to effectively end when the technician drove away. The companies building real, lasting customer loyalty are finding ways to stay present and valuable in between service visits — turning one-time customers into long-term relationships that generate referrals, renewals, and repeat business without having to spend another dollar on marketing to acquire them.

Tools like SmartAC are a great example of this shift in action — keeping contractors connected with homeowners through smart monitoring, so when something needs attention, the customer's first call is to you.

The landscape is changing fast. But for the contractors paying attention, that's a good thing.