Which construction companies in Godalming do AI assistants actually recommend?

We put the 14 questions a person in Godalming asks before choosing construction companie — cost, specialism, who to use, how to check them — to Claude, 5 times each, 70 answers in all, and recorded every firm the answers named. 29 firms in Godalming were checked against those answers. 2 of them were named at least once. The rest were not recommended in a single answer.

The league table

Firms are ranked by the number of answers that named them, then by how many different questions. The assistants do not give identical answers twice, so a difference of one or two mentions is noise; being named on questions a rival is absent from is not.

The questions we asked

1. Do I need a full renovation contract or can I hire tradespeople ad hoc for a kitchen extension in Godalming?
2. What's the average cost per square metre for a house extension near Godalming?
3. How do I check if a small building firm near Godalming is actually accredited and insured?
4. Is it cheaper to use an independent builder in Godalming or go through a project management company?
5. We're buying a period cottage near Farncombe that needs structural work - who do local people trust for surveys and repairs?
6. Where can I find genuine reviews for independent construction firms around Godalming rather than big national chains?
7. What questions should I ask before signing a contract with a local builder?
8. Local sole-trader builder vs a small construction company near Busbridge - which is better for a loft conversion?
9. Roughly how much does it cost to get a driveway relaid by an independent contractor near Milford, Surrey?
10. I'm planning a garden room build and want someone within a 15 mile radius of Godalming who isn't a national franchise - any suggestions?
11. How reliable are small independent construction firms along the Godalming to Haslemere route for meeting deadlines?
12. Which independent construction company should I use for a two-storey extension near Witley?
13. Which is better value near Godalming - a design-and-build firm or hiring an architect and builder separately?
14. My neighbour in Shalford recommended a local builder but I want to compare at least two more independent firms first - how do I find them?

How this was measured

• Date: 1 October 2026. This is one day, not a trend; the index is re-measured monthly.
• Sample: 14 questions × 1 assistant × 5 runs = 70 answers. 29 firms checked.
• Assistants used: Claude (Anthropic’s Sonnet model, through its API, with web search). Answers from these programming interfaces can differ from what the consumer apps show.
• Counting: a firm is counted when its name appears in an answer. Names are picked out of the answer text automatically, then matched to the firm list.
• Limits: the assistants vary between runs, so small gaps are noise. Firms that were not named may still be recommended by an assistant or a question we did not ask. National chains are left off the list.