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How do solar installers get recommended by AI assistants?

Updated · 8 min read · By the SearchCrow team

AI assistants recommend solar installers whose credentials and offer they can check: MCS certification, membership of a consumer code such as RECC or HIES, a complete Google Business Profile, and genuine reviews. Solar is a researched, high-value purchase, so customers ask an assistant many questions before they ask for a name. Installers whose websites answer those questions clearly, with dated facts, give the assistant something to cite and a reason to recommend them.

Key takeaways

  • Solar buyers research for weeks: cost, batteries, export payments, VAT. Each of those questions deserves a clear page on your site.
  • Name your MCS certification and consumer code, and link to the listings where customers can check them.
  • Explain the Smart Export Guarantee and the 0% VAT rate accurately, with dates, and never promise an export rate.
  • Write a page for owners of existing systems (repairs, battery retrofits, inverter faults). Many installers ignore them.
  • Recheck what assistants say about you every month using the same questions.

What do customers ask AI when they're looking for a solar installer?

Most questions are about whether solar is worth it, then cost, then who to trust. The prompts below are illustrative examples of the kinds of questions customers ask, not measured search volumes.

IntentExample prompts (illustrative)
Urgent"My solar inverter is showing a fault code and the panels have stopped generating, who can fix it near Exeter?" / "My installer went out of business, who services someone else's solar system?"
Comparison"Is it worth adding a battery to my existing solar panels?" / "Best-rated solar installers in Leeds for a 4kW system with battery"
Local"MCS certified solar installer in Norwich" / "Solar panel installer near Harrogate who does flat roofs"
Price"How much does a solar and battery system cost for a three-bed semi?" / "Is there VAT on solar panels in the UK?"
Trust"How do I check a solar installer is MCS certified?" / "What protection do I get if I pay a solar company a deposit?"

Solar is different from most trades because the decision is financial before it is practical. Customers want payback explained, and export payments, VAT and battery sizing all have factual answers. Assistants explain those using sources that state the rules clearly. If your pages explain them well and show you install in that area, you give the assistant a reason to name you.

The second pattern is the orphaned system: a household with panels whose original installer can't be reached. Those owners ask for repairs, inverter replacements and battery retrofits, and few installers write for them.

Where does AI get its answers about solar installers?

From your website and Google Business Profile, from the certification and consumer code directories, from government and regulator pages, and from review platforms. Here is what exists and how it works.

Google Business Profile. Google says AI responses can include information about local businesses and that a Business Profile helps you appear in them (Google Search Central, 2026). Local ranking depends on relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed prominence (Google Business Profile Help, 2026).

MCS. MCS describes itself as "the UK's quality mark for small-scale renewable energy technologies". It certifies installers and products for technologies including solar panels and battery storage, and runs a public Find an Installer search (MCS, 2026).

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Launched on 1 January 2020, the SEG requires some electricity suppliers to pay small-scale generators, including solar PV, for electricity exported to the grid. Suppliers set the rate and contract terms, and the rate must always be above zero. Installations must be in Great Britain (Ofgem, 2026). For solar, MCS tells consumers eligibility depends on the system being "installed by an MCS certified installer using certified products" (MCS, 2026).

Consumer codes: RECC and HIES. Trading Standards' Business Companion guidance says businesses carrying out MCS installations must register with one of two Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) approved codes, HIES or RECC (Business Companion, 2026). MCS has been redeveloping its scheme, so confirm the current consumer code requirement on MCS's own site.

  • RECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code) is CTSI-approved (RECC, 2026). It says members offer a workmanship warranty of at least two years and access to an independent dispute resolution service at no cost to the consumer, and it runs a Find a member search (RECC, 2026).
  • HIES says all its accredited installers operate under a CTSI-approved consumer code, and it lists deposit and stage payment protection, insurance-backed guarantees and dispute resolution among its homeowner services (HIES, 2026).

VAT. Installing solar panels in residential accommodation in Great Britain is zero-rated from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027. Electrical storage batteries were added from 1 February 2024. From 1 April 2027 the rate reverts to 5% (GOV.UK, 2026). Expect customers to ask about this as the deadline approaches.

TrustMark and Which? Trusted Traders. RECC and HIES let their members become TrustMark registered (Business Companion, 2026). TrustMark calls itself "the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme" and tells consumers to check a firm is registered for the specific trade they need (TrustMark, 2026). Which? Trusted Traders checks credit and references and carries out a trading standards assessment (Which?, 2026).

US equivalents. NABCEP runs board certifications for solar professionals, including PV Installation Professional, and publishes directories of certified professionals and accredited companies (NABCEP, 2026). Licensing is set at state level, so check your state's requirements too.

AI crawlers. Sites that block OAI-SearchBot "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers" (OpenAI, 2026). PerplexityBot surfaces and links sites in Perplexity's results (Perplexity, 2026), and Anthropic uses Claude-SearchBot (Anthropic, 2026).

  1. Tidy your Google Business Profile. Use your real trading name only; Google doesn't allow extra keywords or locations in the name (Google Business Profile Help, 2026). Set a service area that matches where you actually install, hide your address if customers don't visit, and list services separately: solar PV, battery storage, battery retrofits, inverter replacement, bird proofing, system health checks.
  2. Make your credentials checkable. On your website, name your MCS certification number and certification body, your consumer code (RECC or HIES) and any TrustMark registration, and link to each public listing. Then say what it means for the customer in plain English: the warranty, how deposits are protected and who to contact in a dispute.
  3. Write one page per buying question. At minimum: cost (with typical ranges by system size and the assumptions stated), batteries (when they make sense and when they don't), export payments under the SEG, VAT, and how long installation takes from survey to switch-on. Put a "last updated" date on each.
  4. Explain the SEG without quoting rates. Say that suppliers set their own tariffs, that rates must be above zero, and that the customer chooses their supplier. Link to Ofgem. This answers the question accurately and stays true when rates change.
  5. Write a page for existing system owners. Fault-finding, inverter swaps, adding a battery to an older system, and whether you'll work on systems another company installed. This catches the repair and retrofit questions most competitors leave unanswered.
  6. Add LocalBusiness structured data. Schema.org has no solar-specific type; use HomeAndConstructionBusiness, or Electrician if that genuinely describes you, since both are listed types (Schema.org). Google asks for the most specific type and allows an array (Google Search Central, 2026). Structured data isn't required for AI features (Google Search Central, 2026), but it keeps your basic facts consistent.
  7. Ask every customer for a review, at the same point. Asking after the system has been running a few weeks lets customers mention real generation, not just a tidy install. Google prohibits incentives and selectively soliciting positive reviews (Google, 2026), and UK law has banned fake and concealed incentivised reviews since 6 April 2025 (CMS, 2025).

Finally, check that robots.txt and any security plugin allow OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot and Googlebot, and that your prices and credentials aren't only in images or PDF brochures.

Mistakes that keep solar installers out of AI answers

  • Payback claims with no assumptions. A figure without the system size, usage pattern and tariff behind it is hard for anyone to trust, including an assistant comparing sources.
  • Quoting export rates as if they're fixed. SEG tariffs are set by suppliers and change. A page with old rates is less useful than one that explains how the scheme works.
  • Logos without numbers. An MCS or RECC badge with no certificate number or link can't be verified.
  • Ignoring the VAT deadline. The zero rate ends on 31 March 2027. A page that doesn't say so will soon be out of date.
  • Hard-sell landing pages instead of answers. A page built only to capture a lead rarely explains anything an assistant can cite.
  • Mismatched names. A different trading name on your MCS listing, consumer code entry, Google profile and website makes it harder to match them up.

How to check whether AI recommends your solar business

  1. List 10 realistic questions across urgent, comparison, local, price and trust intents, each with your town or county.
  2. Ask them in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Claude, and search them on Google to see AI Overviews. Use a private window.
  3. Note whether you're named, who's named instead and which sources are cited. In solar, watch for comparison sites and national installers appearing ahead of local firms.
  4. Check Google Search Console: AI Overviews and AI Mode traffic is counted in the Performance report under the Web search type (Google Search Central, 2026).
  5. Fix the page or listing behind the most common gap, then repeat next month.

SearchCrow automates this. It asks the major assistants the questions your customers ask, shows whether you're recommended and who appears instead, and gives you a prioritised list of fixes.

FAQ

Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my solar installation company? Usually because it can't find enough specific, consistent facts about you. Assistants use your website, Google Business Profile, certification directories and review sites. If your site doesn't name your MCS certification, your consumer code, the areas you cover, the panel and battery brands you fit, and what aftercare you offer, a competitor who states those things is easier to recommend.

Does MCS certification help a solar installer appear in AI answers? No AI platform has said certification is a ranking factor. But MCS says Smart Export Guarantee eligibility depends on the system being installed by an MCS certified installer using certified products, so customers ask about it. Naming your certification and linking to your listing in MCS's Find an Installer search gives an assistant a fact it can check and repeat.

Should solar installers publish prices? Publish how you price and typical ranges for common system sizes, with the assumptions stated: roof type, panel count, inverter, battery size and scaffolding. Price questions are among the most common things people ask about solar. A clear, dated pricing page is easier for an assistant to use than "call for a quote", and it filters out enquiries you can't serve.

Should my website quote Smart Export Guarantee rates? Explain how the scheme works rather than promising a rate. Under the Smart Export Guarantee, electricity suppliers set their own export tariffs, which must always be above zero, and they change. Link to Ofgem and tell customers to compare current tariffs. Out-of-date rate claims make your page less reliable than one that explains the mechanism.

How quickly can a solar installer start appearing in AI answers? There's no published timescale, and each assistant refreshes its sources differently. Website, profile and review changes have to be crawled before they can appear. Fix your Google Business Profile and certification details this week, publish your battery and pricing pages, ask recent customers for reviews, then recheck the same questions monthly.

Sources

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