AI search can be another place where a homeowner encounters a contractor. It is worth checking, but a missing mention in one answer does not prove that you lost a customer.
Treat the answers as evidence to record, not a sales forecast.
Keep the question and the answer together
Write down the service, town, exact question, product used and date. Save the answer and the sources it links to. Record whether your business is named, whether your website is cited and whether the details are accurate. Those are different observations.
Repeat a small set of relevant questions consistently. If you change the wording, location or product, note that change before comparing the result with last week.
Check the ordinary website foundations
Google says its existing search practices apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode. It does not require special AI files or special structured data, and meeting its requirements does not guarantee inclusion. See Google’s guidance on AI features. That guidance concerns Google’s products; it is not a guarantee about other assistants.
Make your services, service area and contact details clear. Give project photos useful written context. Check that the pages you want found are accessible and that business information is consistent.
Investigate the sources, not just the mention
If an answer gives an old phone number, inspect the source it cites. Correct the original record where you can. If it names a competitor, look at the information being used rather than assuming a particular tactic caused the recommendation.
Keep website improvements tied to information a customer can use. Do not publish invented project details or unsupported claims simply to sound authoritative.
Report observations honestly
A useful report can say which questions were checked, which answers mentioned the business and what changed in the underlying information. It should also say when nothing changed.
A mention does not establish a visit, inquiry or sale. Record those outcomes separately. Nobody can promise that an AI product will consistently recommend a particular contractor.