{"id":"hvac-why-ai-passes-2026-09","frozen_at":"2026-09-29","round":"2026-09","answers":657,"markets":82,"picks":1968,"rejections":4093,"rejections_coded":4085,"method":"Every September 2026 Picks Index answer about HVAC from Grok Bot, Meta Muse and Instinct. Each assistant named the contractors it picked and the ones it considered and passed on, with a reason. The reasons for passing were coded into categories by a model reading the assistant's own words; one rejection can carry several reasons.","reasons":[{"reason":"Fewer or weaker reviews than the pick","key":"reviews","share":0.284},{"reason":"Based in the next town, not the one asked about","key":"not_local","share":0.261},{"reason":"Details the assistant could not find or confirm","key":"not_checked","share":0.249},{"reason":"No license it could verify","key":"license","share":0.209},{"reason":"No same-day or this-week promise","key":"availability","share":0.167},{"reason":"No published price or diagnostic fee","key":"no_price","share":0.152},{"reason":"A BBB problem: not accredited, no rating or complaints","key":"bbb","share":0.14},{"reason":"A thin, generic or broken website","key":"thin_info","share":0.121},{"reason":"Did not clearly offer the exact service","key":"wrong_service","share":0.075},{"reason":"A directory or lead-gen site, not a contractor","key":"not_a_provider","share":0.058},{"reason":"A franchise or national chain","key":"chain","share":0.031}],"by_assistant":{"Grok Bot":{"rejections":2777,"answers":297,"top":[{"reason":"Details the assistant could not find or confirm","key":"not_checked","share":0.342},{"reason":"Based in the next town, not the one asked about","key":"not_local","share":0.313},{"reason":"Fewer or weaker reviews than the pick","key":"reviews","share":0.289},{"reason":"No license it could verify","key":"license","share":0.275}]},"Meta Muse":{"rejections":610,"answers":126,"top":[{"reason":"Fewer or weaker reviews than the pick","key":"reviews","share":0.454},{"reason":"Did not clearly offer the exact service","key":"wrong_service","share":0.208},{"reason":"Based in the next town, not the one asked about","key":"not_local","share":0.159},{"reason":"A thin, generic or broken website","key":"thin_info","share":0.128}]},"Instinct":{"rejections":695,"answers":233,"top":[{"reason":"No published price or diagnostic fee","key":"no_price","share":0.462},{"reason":"No same-day or this-week promise","key":"availability","share":0.275},{"reason":"Based in the next town, not the one asked about","key":"not_local","share":0.145},{"reason":"Fewer or weaker reviews than the pick","key":"reviews","share":0.114}]}},"examples":{"reviews":[{"assistant":"Meta Muse","city":"Sugar Land, TX","why_not":"357 reviews and a loyal customer since a 2014 install, but fewer install-focused recent reviews than the picks."},{"assistant":"Meta Muse","city":"Denton, TX","why_not":"Lewisville-based with 24/7 availability but few verified reviews and a smaller team."}],"not_local":[{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"New York, NY","why_not":"Search hits for Inwood pointed to Long Island (Nassau County), not Manhattan Inwood."},{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"San Diego, CA","why_not":"It is a Utah County company with no San Diego street presence."}],"not_checked":[{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"Atlanta, GA","why_not":"I saw only its Chamblee page in search results and didn't check its address, license, or reputation."},{"assistant":"Meta Muse","city":"Roanoke, TX","why_not":"25+ years and family-owned in Roanoke per its press release, but no independently verifiable reviews or hours found this session."}],"license":[{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"San Diego, CA","why_not":"It has a San Diego address and claims 24/7 same-day AC, but no contractor license number appeared on the pages I opened."},{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"San Diego, CA","why_not":"It has strong review scores and a long family history claim, but the homepage shows no license number, address, or specific warranty terms."}],"availability":[{"assistant":"Instinct","city":"Dallas, TX","why_not":"It posts a clear $89 weekday diagnostic and detailed repair process, but the diagnostic is not waived and its page does not promise an immediate appointment."},{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"Miami, FL","why_not":"Its same-day guarantee only covers calls before noon, which has already passed today."}],"no_price":[{"assistant":"Instinct","city":"Washington, DC","why_not":"24/7 cooling repair advertised but no published prices or certifications visible."},{"assistant":"Instinct","city":"Austin, TX","why_not":"It offers free written estimates and warranty registration across Greater Austin, but posts no installed price range on the checked page."}],"bbb":[{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"Houston, TX","why_not":"BBB rates it C, it is not accredited, and it has 52 complaints in 3 years with a note that it failed to fix the cause of a pattern of complaints."},{"assistant":"Grok Bot","city":"San Antonio, TX","why_not":"It posts clear install pricing and its license is verified, but it is not BBB-accredited."}]},"reviews":{"picks_citing":650,"picks_median":700,"rejects_citing":757,"rejects_median":238,"picks_rating_median":4.9,"rejects_rating_median":4.9},"price_in_pick_reason":0.231,"brand_share_of_picks":0.023,"cost":{"all":{"answers":70,"low":6000,"high":12000},"Grok Bot":{"answers":50,"low":6500,"high":12000},"Meta Muse":{"answers":19,"low":4400,"high":9000}},"all_three_agree":{"questions":35,"share":0.171},"grok_cites_bbb":0.889,"google_profile_cited":0.002}