AI marketing for tradies

Customers now ask AI who to hire. This guide covers what that changes for trade businesses, and what to do about it, trade by trade.

Ask an AI assistant "who's the best electrician near Parramatta?" or "which plumber near Penrith can come today?" and it will confidently name two or three businesses. The jobs behind those questions are real. The question this guide answers is how those few names get picked, and how to give the engines every reason to pick yours.

What is AI marketing for tradies?

AI marketing for tradies is the work of improving how often AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews, Claude and Perplexity recommend your trade business when someone asks for your trade in your area. The practice has a name, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Where classic SEO is about earning rankings in search results, GEO is about being named in AI answers.

Nothing about it is exotic. The engines read the live web, and they lean on the same signals a careful customer would: reviews, an active profile, consistent details, plain answers to real questions. AI marketing is the steady work of getting those signals in order, so they are easy to find and easy to quote.

Which AI engines decide who gets recommended?

Five surfaces do most of the recommending today: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews, Claude and Perplexity. Each one reads the live web when it answers a local question, and each answer names only a few businesses. Google Maps still matters too: the map pack feeds many of those answers.

Not sure where you stand? Wombid's free AI visibility check puts the questions a customer would ask to all five surfaces, plus your Google Maps positions, and emails you the report.

What do AI engines look for in a trade business?

When we audit trade businesses across Australia, the ones that get named share the same footprint:

• Google reviews: volume, recency and what the reviews actually say. This is the single strongest signal.
• A complete Google Business Profile: correct categories, services listed by name, real photos, regular activity.
• Consistent listings: the same business name, phone and area across directories like Yellow Pages, True Local, hipages and Localsearch.
• Website content that answers questions: a page that plainly answers "how much does a switchboard upgrade cost?" is a page an AI can quote.
• Being mentioned by others: local roundups, community pages, forums.

Where do I start for my trade?

The playbook is the same everywhere; the money questions are not. A sparkie gets asked about switchboard upgrades, a plumber about blocked drains, a builder about extensions. Start with the guide for your trade:

• AI marketing for electricians
• AI marketing for plumbers
• AI marketing for builders

For the fundamentals in order, read Get found in AI search: the tradie's guide. New trade editions land in the guide library as they ship: carpenters, landscapers, painters, roofers and more.

How much does AI marketing cost for a tradie?

You can find out where you stand for nothing: the AI Visibility Audit is free, no login, no card. When you want the work handled for you, Wombid's Starter plan is $129 per month for a monthly re-check and a ready-to-paste Fix Pack, and Growth is $399 per month for weekly checks, a done-for-you review engine and Australian directory listings at onboarding. Annual prepay is $1,290 and $3,990 a year, which is 12 months for the price of 10. Monthly plans are month to month with no lock-in; annual plans are prepaid for 12 months. Prices in AUD including GST.

Common questions

Keep going: Get found in AI search: the tradie's guide · electricians · plumbers · builders · free AI visibility check · watch the walkthrough · all guides