How does an AI assistant decide which plumber or HVAC company to recommend? In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Michael Barber talks with Dmitrii Kustov, Marketing Director, Founder at Regex SEO, an agency focused on HVAC and home services.
Dmitrii started out as a PHP developer, and he still treats marketing as a math problem: know the result you need, then reverse engineer the formula. He explains why packaged agency plans fail business owners, and why home service companies now need to show up across local service ads, the map pack, PPC and AI overviews instead of relying on organic results alone.
On AI search, Dmitrii breaks down two kinds of queries. Lists of top local plumbers lean on map pack reviews and ratings. More specific questions lean on what he calls internet consensus, meaning what people say about you on Reddit, Quora, review sites and forums. He shares a simple test: ask ChatGPT what your business is known for while excluding your own website.
You’ll also hear why a clear brand promise, such as specializing in one equipment brand, can make the same ad budget work much harder. He closes with practical advice for this week: track leads, jobs and revenue by channel and campaign, because most owners he talks to can’t see what their marketing actually brings in.
Takeaways:
- Packaged agency plans ignore what each business actually needs.
- Hire people who raise the team's average, not just fill seats.
- Home service brands need visibility across ads, map pack and AI overviews.
- "Top local plumber" AI answers lean heavily on reviews and ratings.
- Specific AI questions rely on internet consensus from Reddit, Quora and reviews.
- Ask ChatGPT what you're known for, excluding your own website.
- Generic claims like "certified and highly trained" make you blend in.
- A narrow brand promise filters wrong leads and stretches ad budget.
- AI answers already absorb most research-style, informational search traffic.
- Track leads, jobs and revenue per channel before changing strategy.