How we measure who AI recommends
These rankings aren't opinions, votes, or paid placements. They are a record of what AI actually answered when we asked it — the same way a real homeowner would — who should put impact windows on their home.
Measured, never sold.
Money cannot buy a place on this list. No window company paid to appear on it, and no window company can pay to appear on it. We do sell advertising: a sponsored block is labeled “Sponsored”, sits outside the ranked list, and never changes a measured ranking. If that ever stops being true, this site has no reason to exist.
The five steps, in plain language
- 1
We ask the questions real homeowners ask.
In each metro we asked leading AI assistants for an impact window company 4 different ways — everyday phrasings like "Who is the best impact window company in my city?", "I want hurricane windows installed on my house. Who should I hire?", and "What is the most recommended impact window installer near me?". No trick prompts, no leading questions. Across 16 coastal metros, that came to 64 checks for this edition.
- 2
We record every company it names.
Each answer gets logged exactly as given. Each business AI names is credited to exactly one company — and when we can't tell for certain which local company it meant, no one gets the credit. No company is ever double-counted.
- 3
We publish the count, not a number one.
We tested this. Running the identical questions on the identical list a second time, the same day, changed which company came out on top in more than a third of markets — and in most markets the top spot was already shared by two to five of them. What did NOT move was the count: a company named in most checks was named in most checks again. So the page shows how many of the 4 checks named each company. Companies with the same count are shown together, alphabetically. The Google star ratings and review counts shown next to each company are context from Google — they play no part in it.
- 4
Named once doesn't make the list.
Companies named in exactly one check reappeared less than half the time when we re-ran the same questions. That is a coin flip, not a recommendation, so we keep the data and don't publish the name. Two mentions came back 86% of the time; four came back every time. Each metro page shows only the companies AI named more than once. We never publish a bottom list and never name who didn't make it.
- 5
We re-run it quarterly.
The same benchmark, the same way, every quarter. Companies that improve their AI visibility can appear in the next edition — and the run date is printed on every page. This edition: July 2026.
This edition
| Measured | July 2026 |
| Coverage | 16 coastal metros across FL, TX, LA, AL, SC, NC, VA |
| Question phrasings per metro | 4 |
| Total AI checks | 64 |
| Tracked window companies in the dataset | 184 |
| Tracked companies AI ever recommended | 29 (16%) |
What this is — and what it isn't
Being on this list means AI recommended that company when we asked, in this edition, in that metro. It is a measurement of AI visibility — not a judgment of the quality of anyone's installs, and not a claim that unlisted companies are worse at what they do. AI answers also change over time, which is exactly why we re-measure quarterly and date every edition.
Common questions
How did you measure which impact window companies AI recommends?
We asked leading AI assistants the questions real homeowners ask — like "Who is the best impact window company in my city?" and "I want hurricane windows installed on my house. Who should I hire?" — 4 different ways in each of 16 coastal metros, and recorded every company it recommended. A company is listed only if more than one check named it, and we publish how many checks named it rather than a place in a ranking — ask again and the top name often changes, but the count holds. That came to 64 checks for this edition, compared against the 184 coastal window companies in our tracked dataset. Each business AI names is credited to exactly one company — when we can't tell for certain which local company it meant, no one gets the credit.
Can a window company pay to be on this list?
No. This list is measured, never sold. A company appears on it only if AI actually recommended it when we asked. Money cannot buy a place on this list. Sponsored blocks are labeled advertising and sit outside the ranked list.
What are impact windows, and why do people ask about them?
Impact windows — often called hurricane windows — use laminated glass and reinforced frames built to stand up to windborne debris, so a storm doesn't turn a broken window into a destroyed home. They're one of the biggest storm-protection upgrades a coastal homeowner can make, and many insurers offer wind-mitigation discounts for impact-rated windows — Florida insurers are required to offer those credits — so it's worth asking your insurer what qualifies.
What does it mean if a company is NOT on this list?
It means that when we asked leading AI assistants for an impact window company in that company's metro, that company never came up. That says nothing about the quality of their installs — only that homeowners who ask AI for a recommendation are being sent somewhere else.
How often is this updated?
We re-run the same benchmark quarterly with the same methodology, so companies that improve their AI visibility can appear in the next update. This edition was measured in July 2026.
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