Phil RisherPhlash Consulting · No. 1 Digital Marketing Consulting Company For $1m-10m Home Service Businesses 🚀

They're building the advantage now. #shorts

17 Sept 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:17

In this short, Phil Risher explains that future customers—particularly the upcoming generation of homeowners—are already forming their search habits years before they need services like HVAC or roofing. While Baby Boomers still rely on Google for local searches, Gen Z uses social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Reddit) and AI tools such as ChatGPT. Risher argues that contractors who only exist on Google will be invisible to these future homeowners. Therefore, businesses should start now by creating useful, expertise‑focused content on the platforms Gen Z frequents, building a social media presence that AI algorithms can learn from. By earning attention years before a prospect actually needs a service, contractors can dominate the next generation of homeowners.

Chapters

Your future customers are already choosing how they're going to find you years before they even need you. And here's the reality. Boomers still go to Google when they need something local. Gen Z doesn't. They're using social media. They're asking AI. They are searching differently. And sure, most Gen Z aren't looking for HVAC contractors or roofers right now because they don't own homes yet. But that's exactly the point. When they do own a home, they don't suddenly just randomly go to Google like their parents did. They're going to use the search habits that they've been building for the last decade. Think about it. A 24-year-old right now is on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, asking ChatGPT everything. 5 years from now, the same person is a homeowner. Their AC goes out. Do you think they say, well, I own a house now. It's time to start searching like my parents? No. They ask ChatGPT the same way they ask it about everything else. And if your company only exists on Google, you're invisible to them. That's why you don't wait until the shift is obvious to start preparing. You build the advantage right now. Start creating useful content on the platforms that your future customers are already using. Build your presence on social media. Create enough real information about your business and expertise that the AI platforms understand who you are and when to recommend you. The contractors who dominate the next generation of homeowners won't start marketing to them when they buy a house. They'll start earning their attention years before they do.