{
 "study": "Which Austin trades companies does AI name?",
 "engine": "Perplexity (API, web search on by default)",
 "dates": "2026-11-03 (main run); 2026-11-05 (repeat run)",
 "metro": "Austin, Texas",
 "trades": [
  "plumbing",
  "roofing",
  "HVAC",
  "electrical"
 ],
 "questions_per_trade": 5,
 "asks_per_question": 8,
 "answers": 160,
 "companies_checked": 40,
 "selection": "Owner-level Austin trades contacts (one per firm) from a commercial B2B database; remodelers, window, solar and commercial firms excluded. Not a random sample. No company is named.",
 "never_named": 33,
 "never_named_of": 40,
 "answers_naming_any_checked_company": 44,
 "answers_naming_any_checked_company_of": 160,
 "by_trade": {
  "plumbing": {
   "companies": 5,
   "never_named": 5,
   "answers": 40,
   "answers_naming_checked_company": 0
  },
  "roofing": {
   "companies": 19,
   "never_named": 17,
   "answers": 40,
   "answers_naming_checked_company": 12
  },
  "hvac": {
   "companies": 12,
   "never_named": 8,
   "answers": 40,
   "answers_naming_checked_company": 16
  },
  "electrical": {
   "companies": 4,
   "never_named": 3,
   "answers": 40,
   "answers_naming_checked_company": 16
  }
 },
 "by_question_type": {
  "who_is_the_best": {
   "answers": 32,
   "naming_any_company": 32,
   "naming_checked_company": 16
  },
  "emergency_who_to_call": {
   "answers": 32,
   "naming_any_company": 32,
   "naming_checked_company": 4
  },
  "cost": {
   "answers": 32,
   "naming_any_company": 0,
   "naming_checked_company": 0,
   "giving_dollar_figures": 32
  },
  "most_trusted": {
   "answers": 32,
   "naming_any_company": 32,
   "naming_checked_company": 24
  },
  "what_to_look_for_when_hiring": {
   "answers": 32,
   "naming_any_company": 0,
   "naming_checked_company": 0
  }
 },
 "companies_named_at_least_once": 7,
 "named_company_answer_counts_of_40": [
  1,
  4,
  5,
  6,
  8,
  16,
  16
 ],
 "cited_not_named": {
  "run_2026-11-03": {
   "checked_companies_whose_site_was_a_listed_source": 3,
   "cited_and_never_named": 1,
   "cited_in_8_asks_named_in_only_some": 2,
   "note": "Matched by domain name similarity, so a minimum."
  },
  "run_2026-11-05": {
   "checked_companies_whose_site_was_a_listed_source": 5,
   "cited_and_never_named": 3,
   "cited_in_8_asks_named_in_only_some": 1,
   "cited_and_named_every_time": 1
  }
 },
 "repeat_run_2026-11-05": {
  "never_named": 34,
  "never_named_of": 40,
  "answers_naming_checked_company": {
   "plumbing": 0,
   "roofing": 6,
   "hvac": 17,
   "electrical": 11,
   "all": 34
  }
 },
 "source_list_identical_across_8_asks_questions_of_20_(2026-11-03)": 18,
 "method_notes": "A company counts as named when its name appears in the answer text (exact name, name without city suffix, & equals and, or all distinctive words). Near misses were read by hand. Whether an answer names any company was checked by script plus a scan for bolded business names and phone numbers."
}