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picked by agents

Picked by Agents index · AC and heating repair in Portland, OR

“My AC stopped cooling. Find me an HVAC company in Portland, OR that can come out today.”

We asked Instinct this exact question in September 2026. Below is who each one picked, who it shortlisted, and who it looked at and passed on, in its own words.

Instinct

Europe · Instinct over iMessage · asked 2026-10-13 01:12 UTC

  1. searched emergency AC repair Portland OR same day HVAC
  2. searched air conditioning repair Portland Oregon same-day service
  3. searched BBB searches: Efficiency Heating & Cooling, First Call Heating & Cooling, Jacobs Heating & Cooling, Specialty Heating Cooling, Conrad Heating and Cooling (Portland, OR)
  4. searched Oregon CCB lookups: 187834, First Call Heating, 1441, Specialty Heating
  5. read 21 pages
    • https://www.eheatcool.com/services/emergency
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/efficiency-heating-cooling-llc-1296-22436465/addressId/901794
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/efficiency-heating-cooling-llc-1296-22436465/addressId/901794/complaints
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/efficiency-heating-cooling-llc-1296-22436465/addressId/901794/customer-reviews
    • https://jacobsheating.com/emergency-hvac/
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/air-conditioning-contractor/jacobs-heating-air-conditioning-inc-1296-50003642
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/air-conditioning-contractor/jacobs-heating-air-conditioning-inc-1296-50003642/complaints
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/air-conditioning-contractor/jacobs-heating-air-conditioning-inc-1296-50003642/customer-reviews
    • https://www.specialtyheating.com/ac-company-portland/emergency-hvac-portland/
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/specialty-heating-cooling-llc-1296-71000175
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/specialty-heating-cooling-llc-1296-71000175/complaints
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/portland/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/specialty-heating-cooling-llc-1296-71000175/customer-reviews
    • https://www.firstcallheat.com/cooling/emergency-ac-repair/
    • https://www.bbb.org/us/or/oregon-city/profile/heating-and-air-conditioning/first-call-heating-cooling-or-llc-1296-61003368/customer-reviews
    • https://rapidacrepairportlandor.com/
    • https://conradoregon.com/emergency-hvac-services/
    • https://www.centralairpdx.com/emergency-hvac-repair-portland/
    • https://dandfplumbing.com/emergency-ac-repair-portland-or/
    • https://oregonclimatetech.com/services/air-conditioning/ac-repair/
    • https://search.ccb.state.or.us/search/
    • https://www.oregon.gov/ccb/
Efficiency Heating & Cooling's page as the assistant saw it
Picked

Efficiency Heating & Cooling

eheatcool.com
“Page claims (its own) 24/7 emergency requests 'dispatched when a technician is available', office hours M-F 7-5, '$0 overtime charges' and same-day AC repair prioritized in heat waves; phone (503) 698-5588 matches BBB. The site's '4.9 stars (1,500+ Google reviews)' is unverified because Google served a bot check. Oregon CCB lookup (opened, no sign-in): license 187834, EFFICIENCY HEATING & COOLING LLC, status Active, 14913 SE Kellogg Ave, matching the CCB number on its site. BBB (opened profile, complaints, reviews): A+, accredited (since 8/12/2026, recent), 22 years in business, 0 complaints, 1 review at 5/5 (2024), so thin.”
Jacobs Heating & Air Conditioning's page as the assistant saw it
Shortlisted · choice 2

Jacobs Heating & Air Conditioning

jacobsheating.com
“Page claims (its own) 24-hour emergency service seven days a week with technicians on call, limited Saturday hours; phone 503-234-7331. Price on the page: '$175 service diagnostic fee ... waived when you book repair work' with 'Offer ends June 30' (no year, possibly stale). CCB lookup (opened): license 1441, JACOBS HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING INC, Active, 1421 SE Holgate Blvd, matching the 'OR CCB: 1441' on its site. BBB (opened): not accredited, 73 years in business, 1 complaint in 3 years and 0 in the last 12 months; the reviews page showed no readable reviews.”
Shortlisted · choice 3

Specialty Heating & Cooling

specialtyheating.com
“Page claims (its own) 'same-day and weekend appointments', 'for emergency calls, same-day arrival may be available' and a callback or dispatch confirmation after hours; phone (503) 946-6396; a '$25 off any repair' coupon expired 9/30/2026. CCB lookup (opened): SPECIALTY HEATING & COOLING LLC, license 224977, Active, 7233 SW Kable Ln, Portland, matched by name because the page shows no CCB number (another Active LLC with the same name is listed at a Bothell, WA address, license 236952), so moderate confidence. BBB (opened): A+, accredited since 12/31/1991, 41 years, 1 complaint in 3 years and 0 in the last 12 months (a 6/2025 service and refrigerant dispute, answered), 0 reviews. Weakest of the three on same-day certainty.”
Passed

First Call Heating & Cooling

firstcallheat.com
“Claims 24/7 same-day; CCB license 238967 Active (two older First Call licenses are surrendered or expired). BBB (opened): A+, accredited, 0 complaints, but reviews average 1/5 across 2, including a March 2026 1-star over a furnace diagnosis dispute with a business reply.”
Passed

Rapid AC Repair Portland OR

rapidacrepairportlandor.com
“Claims 'On-site in 1-3 hours', 'Trusted by 500+ Portland homeowners' and 24 hours, but the page text showed no street address, license number or company name; looks like a lead-generation page; not verified elsewhere.”

Every month we asked

How we ran this

We sent each assistant this question as its own message, the way a homeowner would ask it. It searched the web and read business sites on its own. Each answer shows which assistant and version answered and when. We asked it to recommend up to three companies, best first, and to name every other company it looked at and why it passed. Reasons are quoted as given. Screenshots show each page as it looked when we checked it in September 2026. We ask again every month and keep every answer. An answer marked self-reported came from an assistant a person connected to our network; we record the name it gave but have not verified which assistant it is.

Picked by Agents is not affiliated with xAI, Meta, Instinct or any business named here. Recommended means the assistant recommended it. Nothing was booked.

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