Forum Discussion

julie's avatar
julie
Jobber Community Team
1 month ago

New Google Search Features: Online Estimates Filter and “Have AI Check Prices” — what does this mean for service pros?

Google has recently started rolling out new pricing-related features in local home service search, and they could impact how service businesses get discovered.

Two early changes we’re seeing:

“Online estimates” filter

Google is beginning to surface an Online estimates filter in some home service searches. Early signs suggest businesses that provide clear, machine-readable pricing or instant estimates may be favored over generic contact forms.



“Have AI check prices”  or “Ask AI for Pricing” feature

Google is also testing an AI feature that gathers pricing on a homeowner’s behalf by using AI to call businesses and collect price quotes. 

Video of how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illIa8LSfY0

These features are still new and evolving, but they raise big questions about pricing transparency, estimates, and local search visibility.

We’re curious:
  • Have you noticed either of these features in your area yet?

  • Do you currently show pricing or estimate ranges online?

  • Do changes like this make you rethink how you approach pricing and Google visibility?

Would love to hear what service pros are seeing so far 👇

 

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14 Replies

  • kasyallen's avatar
    kasyallen
    Contributor 4
    1 month ago

    Ohhh, this is interesting. 👀

    In Q4 of 2025, we made a very intentional move to put our pricing fon our website... full transparency for clients and a clear way to stand out from competitors.

    Spoiler: it worked. 😎

    That decision came straight from hearing Marcus Sheridan speak at The HUGE Convention last year. His message was simple and slightly uncomfortable (the best kind): If pricing matters to customers (and it does), stop hiding it.

    Because let’s be honest…

    We all check pricing and reviews before committing. We want to know what we’re getting into before we sign, schedule, or swipe a card. So why wouldn’t we put that info where it belongs, right up front, to build trust and convert faster?

    I did a few searches to see if it would come up, including our business name and "near me" searches. I didn't see "Have AI Get Prices" but we did come up for the "Online Prices" feature.🔥

    • julie's avatar
      julie
      Jobber Community Team
      1 month ago

      Love this example. Thanks for sharing it, Kasy!

      This is a great example of how pricing transparency can improve both trust and discoverability. Showing up for “Online Prices” is especially interesting from a search perspective.

      Did you have any hesitation before making pricing public? Or was the decision pretty clear?

      • kasyallen's avatar
        kasyallen
        Contributor 4
        1 month ago

        Oh, we hesitated. A lot.

        Our pricing flexes based on availability, as it should, and we were hesitant to put our “secret sauce” out there for competitors to see. Being that transparent felt vulnerable. But we also knew this wasn’t permanent. If it didn’t work, we could always take it down.

        So we went for it.

        Our pricing has been live since October 2025, and honestly? It’s done exactly what we hoped. It filters out the price shoppers and makes room for the clients who actually value how we work. And those are our people.

  • judithvirag's avatar
    judithvirag
    Builder 1
    1 month ago

    Very interesting. I just tested this and our company does show up for online estimates but there is no "Have AI get prices". In Google Chrome I do have AI Mode which I tried. 

     

    • julie's avatar
      julie
      Jobber Community Team
      1 month ago

      Oo that's helpful to know and it tracks with what we're seeing so far. The two features aren't tied to the same rollout. 
      Looks like they're being tested separately, and visibility can vary by location, service type, and account. 
      The "Have AI get prices" feature may currently be U.S. only or restricted to certain service categories 🤔 Curious to hear from a U.S.-based business owner as well!

  • JJOUBR3's avatar
    JJOUBR3
    Contributor 2
    27 days ago

    I'm still trying to figure this out. As a HVAC owner how can i give a upfront price on a changeout without seeing the property? Prices are based off the difficulty of the job. 

    • julie's avatar
      julie
      Jobber Community Team
      27 days ago

      You are definitely not alone in feeling this way. For a lot of trades, an exact upfront price without seeing the job isn't realistic. What we’re seeing so far isn’t that Google expects a single locked-in number, but more some signal of pricing intent.

      A few approaches service pros are experimenting with:

      • Starting price or range for common jobs (e.g. “Most installs fall between X–Y depending on scope”)
      • Diagnostic or assessment fees clearly stated, with final pricing confirmed on-site
      • Online estimates for simpler, standardized jobs, while keeping complex work quote-only

      The key seems to be clarity over precision. Basically, helping customers understand how pricing works before they call, so you don't have to guess the final $#.

      These features are still very early, and we're watching closely, especially for trades where job complexity varies a lot. But good calling this out, it's exactly the kind of real-world nuance Google often fails to consider

    • ThatHandymanVan's avatar
      ThatHandymanVan
      Contributor 4
      23 days ago

      Something that I have started doing is having a base fee, and then communicable markups as needed. These can be explained up front to the customer. Generally, as I like to under promise and over deliver, I will estimate high, and then bring the final invoice down. This makes people super excited. Unfortunately, Google is going to make us show Click Bait Pricing.

  • coach's avatar
    coach
    Contributor 2
    22 days ago

    https://community.getjobber.com/users/thathandymanvan/14512

  • coach's avatar
    coach
    Contributor 2
    22 days ago

    Great discussion here. I’m with Pool Scholars in Nashville, Tennessee. We focus on high-end LSI-based water chemistry and wellness asset preservation. Regarding the "Online Estimates" filter: We leaned into this early. After a decade in this industry, I realized the old-school mentality of hiding prices is archaic. It’s a sales-centric tactic designed to trap a lead. Today’s climate is customer-centric, and if you want to play in the luxury market, you have to build a relationship based on transparency from the first second. We use our online pricing to open the conversation so we can ADVISE and CONSULT, not sell. By listing "Starting At" ranges for our Clinical Biofilm Flushes and Estate Maintenance, we handle the elephant in the room—Price—immediately. This move alone shifted our leads from "cheap above-ground cleans" to $600 specialized sauna restorations with high-margin wood-sealing add-ons.  To thathandymanvanpoint about "Click-Bait": Your ethics and values as a leader don't have to be compromised by a starting price. Advertising has to start somewhere. We explain to the client that while we start at a base rate, we offer a "custom fit" for their specific needs and budget. Here is the nugget: You can’t be a consultant until you’ve made a friend, and you can't make a friend while you're hiding information. If your QAR (Question-Answer-Response) flow is right, the client will tell you exactly what they want. Price is ultimately the only objection in life—so get the budget on the table up front. It filters out the noise and lets you focus on the people who actually value your expertise. If you act like an advisor, they stop treating you like a commodity.

  • ChrisGagnon's avatar
    ChrisGagnon
    Contributor 2
    21 days ago

    We’ve noticed some of the bigger HVAC companies (particularly PE backed companies) launching pricing or “instant estimates” online so we tried our hand at something similar.

    The moment we posted about “transparent online pricing” on social media we received significant pushback; everyone thought it was bait and switch pricing or a lowball price we’d eventually change. We also read a lot of comments about how you cannot provide HVAC quotes online.

    Has anybody else experienced this? If you’ve found success with online estimates, how have you positioned it so customers know it’s a starting range versus a set-in-stone price?

  • NinjaScoopz's avatar
    NinjaScoopz
    Contributor 2
    21 days ago

    I feel as though the majority of folks are a self serving breed these days so we have always listed our pricing online. We want to build transparency, and also mitigate any back and forth where possible. I was very happy to see our company show up as number one on the list when searching for online quotes for poop scooping!

     

  • HUGEHandyman's avatar
    HUGEHandyman
    Jobber Ambassador
    15 days ago

    I listened to a talk with Marcus Sheridan and it inspired me to use a price estimator on the website. It's super reasonable and easy to use. Priceguide.ai - you can use zapier to link it to your jobber requests automatically.