EliteAEO AI Visibility Index, September 2026
The EliteAEO AI Visibility Index shows which AEO agencies and which sources ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews name when a buyer asks for an agency. We asked 30 fixed buying questions 3 times on each engine on September 28, 2026 and coded all 358 answers; every share below shows the number of answers behind it.
Corrected September 29, 2026: the list figures now count only cited pages confirmed as lists of agencies when opened. The first version of this page counted every page whose address looked like a list: 236 answers citing a list article and 173 citing one published by an agency in the dataset.
Key findings from the AI Visibility Index
The key findings from the AI Visibility Index are below, each with the number of answers it covers.
- "Best agencies" lists shape the answers. 226 of 358 AI answers (63%) cite at least one "best agencies" list article, and 167 (47%) cite a list published by an agency that is itself in the EliteAEO dataset. The most-cited list publisher, First Page Sage, is cited in 89 answers.
- One provider is named far more than any other. First Page Sage is named in 103 of 358 answers (29%); the next, Omniscient Digital, in 34. In all, 148 providers from the dataset are named at least once, and 325 of 358 answers name at least one.
- The engines rarely agree. Of 426 pairings of a query with a provider named for it, 254 (60%) come from a single engine and 23 (5%) from all four. Between any two engines, the providers named for the same query overlap by 18% to 24% on average.
- Some engines repeat themselves, others do not. Asked the same question three times, Perplexity named the most consistent set of providers (an average overlap of 65% between runs) and Google AI Overviews the least consistent (33%).
- Directories and press releases play a smaller part. 90 of 358 answers (25%) cite a directory, marketplace or Google business listing, led by designrush.com (33), clutch.co (26) and agencies.semrush.com (19). 51 (14%) cite a press release or a syndicated copy of one.
Which AEO agencies AI names most
The AEO agencies AI names most often across all 358 answers are listed below. A provider counts as named when its name or domain appears in the answer text; the columns on the right show how many of each engine's answers named it.
| # | Provider | Answers naming it | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | Google AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Page Sage | 103 (29%) | 26 | 38 | 23 | 16 |
| 2 | Omniscient Digital | 34 (9%) | 11 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| 3 | AEO Engine | 30 (8%) | 12 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | Cardinal Digital Marketing | 29 (8%) | 3 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 5 | iPullRank | 27 (8%) | 8 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| 6 | Searchbloom | 27 (8%) | 3 | 14 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Onely | 26 (7%) | 3 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | Thrive Internet Marketing Agency | 25 (7%) | 0 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| 9 | WebFX | 24 (7%) | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | InterCore Technologies | 24 (7%) | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | iLawyer Marketing | 24 (7%) | 1 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| 12 | Scorpion | 23 (6%) | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 13 | LawRank | 22 (6%) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| 14 | Hook Agency | 20 (6%) | 5 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 15 | RYNO Strategic Solutions | 20 (6%) | 1 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 16 | Siege Media | 19 (5%) | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Rankings.io | 19 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| 18 | Algomizer | 18 (5%) | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| 19 | NoGood | 17 (5%) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 20 | RizeUp Media | 17 (5%) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
Being named by AI engines is not an input to the EliteAEO Score. The rankings use evidence the providers publish, not how often an engine repeats their name.
Which sources AI cites for AEO agency recommendations
The sources AI cites for AEO agency recommendations fall into the types below. 357 of 358 answers cite at least one source, with 3478 citations in all; each URL is typed once, in the order the method section describes.
| Source type | Answers citing it | Share of citations |
|---|---|---|
| Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset | 263 (73%) | 718 (21%) |
| "Best agencies" list articles | 226 (63%) | 938 (27%) |
| Directories, marketplaces and Google business listings | 90 (25%) | 243 (7%) |
| Press releases and syndicated releases | 51 (14%) | 149 (4%) |
| Social and video | 90 (25%) | 151 (4%) |
| Forums | 24 (7%) | 31 (1%) |
| Other websites | 298 (83%) | 1248 (36%) |
| Most-cited domain | Answers citing it | Main source type |
|---|---|---|
| firstpagesage.com | 89 | "Best agencies" list articles (First Page Sage) |
| linkedin.com | 62 | Social and video |
| webtonic.io | 46 | "Best agencies" list articles (Web Tonic) |
| thriveagency.com | 44 | "Best agencies" list articles (Thrive Internet Marketing Agency) |
| searchbloom.com | 39 | "Best agencies" list articles (Searchbloom) |
| onely.com | 35 | Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset (Onely) |
| designrush.com | 33 | Directories, marketplaces and Google business listings |
| aeoengine.ai | 26 | Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset (AEO Engine) |
| clutch.co | 26 | Directories, marketplaces and Google business listings |
| intercore.net | 23 | Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset (InterCore Technologies) |
| webfx.com | 23 | "Best agencies" list articles (WebFX) |
| hvacwebmasters.com | 22 | Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset (HVAC Webmasters) |
| reddit.com | 22 | Forums |
| rizeupmedia.com | 21 | Provider websites in the EliteAEO dataset (RizeUp Media) |
| builtrightdigital.com | 21 | "Best agencies" list articles |
Who publishes the "best agencies" lists AI cites
The "best agencies" lists AI cites come mostly from agencies. 167 of 358 answers cite a list published by an agency in the EliteAEO dataset, and the table shows the most-cited list publishers and whether each one is an agency we profile.
| List publisher | Answers citing its lists | Agency in the dataset |
|---|---|---|
| firstpagesage.com | 89 | Yes: First Page Sage |
| webtonic.io | 40 | Yes: Web Tonic |
| thriveagency.com | 38 | Yes: Thrive Internet Marketing Agency |
| searchbloom.com | 30 | Yes: Searchbloom |
| builtrightdigital.com | 18 | No |
| yesoptimist.com | 18 | No |
| silverbackstrategies.com | 17 | No |
| webfx.com | 15 | Yes: WebFX |
How often the AI engines agree
How often the AI engines agree is measured per query: for each of the 30 queries we took every provider named by any engine in any run and counted how many engines named it.
| Named by | Query and provider pairings |
|---|---|
| One engine only | 254 (60%) |
| 2 engines | 103 (24%) |
| 3 engines | 46 (11%) |
| All four engines | 23 (5%) |
| Engine pair | Average overlap | Queries |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT and Perplexity | 22% | 30 |
| ChatGPT and Gemini | 18% | 30 |
| ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews | 19% | 30 |
| Perplexity and Gemini | 20% | 30 |
| Perplexity and Google AI Overviews | 19% | 30 |
| Gemini and Google AI Overviews | 24% | 29 |
How stable AI answers are from run to run
How stable AI answers are from run to run shows how much an engine's list of providers changes when the same question is asked again the same day. Average overlap compares each pair of runs of a query; the last column counts providers named in all three runs out of those named in any run.
| Engine | Average overlap between runs | Named in every run |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 38% | 40 of 206 |
| Perplexity | 65% | 67 of 135 |
| Gemini | 55% | 63 of 148 |
| Google AI Overviews | 33% | 28 of 201 |
AI Visibility Index results by vertical
AI Visibility Index results by vertical show the providers named most often for each industry and how many of the top 10 in the matching EliteAEO national ranking were named at least once. The top 10 column is recounted against the national ranking as it stands each time the site is rebuilt.
| Vertical | Answers | Named most often | EliteAEO top 10 named |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental | 71 | Algomizer (18), First Page Sage (16), Identity Dental Marketing (15) | 4 of 10 |
| Legal | 71 | InterCore Technologies (24), iLawyer Marketing (24), First Page Sage (22) | 5 of 10 |
| Healthcare | 72 | First Page Sage (28), Cardinal Digital Marketing (24), PatientGain (15) | 3 of 10 |
| SaaS | 72 | Omniscient Digital (34), iPullRank (24), Siege Media (16) | 10 of 10 |
| Home services | 72 | First Page Sage (21), Scorpion (21), Hook Agency (20) | 5 of 10 |
Where EliteAEO appears in the answers
EliteAEO appears in the answers far less than the providers it ranks: it was named in 5 of 358 answers and cited in 8, in Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. In Google's organic results it ranked in the top 20 for 8 of 90 searches, for the queries "dentists AEO agency near me Denver", "law firms AEO agency near me Denver" and "medical practices AEO agency near me Denver". We report our own numbers with the same method as everyone else's.
| Engine | Answers | EliteAEO named | EliteAEO cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| Perplexity | 90 | 0 | 3 |
| Gemini | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| Google AI Overviews | 88 | 5 | 5 |
Conflicts of interest in the AI Visibility Index
Conflicts of interest in the AI Visibility Index are disclosed here. Primary Position, the search agency run by David Quaid, EliteAEO's editor and head of research, was named in 10 of 358 answers: 8 to "AI SEO agency for SaaS companies in New York" and 2 to "AI SEO agency for law firms in New York". It is not in the EliteAEO dataset, it is not ranked, and it is not in the provider table above, which covers dataset providers only.
How the AI Visibility Index was collected
The AI Visibility Index was collected on September 28, 2026 from 30 fixed queries, each asked 3 times on each engine. The same queries are used for every edition so results can be compared over time; the panel is described on the methodology page and is never an input to provider scores.
| Engine | Answers | How it was collected |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 90 | ChatGPT with web search, collected through the DataForSEO ChatGPT scraper, United States, English |
| Perplexity | 90 | Perplexity Sonar model through the DataForSEO Perplexity endpoint, United States, English |
| Gemini | 90 | Gemini, collected through the DataForSEO Gemini scraper, United States, English |
| Google AI Overviews | 88 | Google desktop results for the United States in English, with the AI Overview and the top 20 organic results |
Definitions
- An answer is one engine's response to one query in one run. Google counts only when it showed an AI Overview.
- Named: the provider's name, a common short form or its domain appears in the answer text. Cited: a source link points to the provider's own site.
- Source types are assigned per URL in this order: press release, directory or listing, forum, social or video, "best agencies" list article, provider website, other.
- A "best agencies" list article is a page whose address marks it as a ranking or list of agencies, firms or companies and that lists agencies when opened. We opened all 258 such pages cited in this edition on September 29, 2026; the 19 that did not list agencies (a provider's own service page, a list of software tools, one agency announcing itself) count as provider or other pages.
Limits
- AI answers change from run to run and day to day; the index is a dated sample, not a permanent measure of any provider's visibility.
- Queries are in US English and cover five of the six EliteAEO verticals; Local Business is not yet in the panel.
- Only providers in the EliteAEO dataset are matched by name, so agencies outside it are counted as sources but not as named providers.
The 30 queries in the panel
The 30 queries in the panel are listed below with their vertical and type.
| Query | Vertical | Type |
|---|---|---|
| best AEO agency for dentists | Dental | National |
| best AI SEO agency for dental practices | Dental | National |
| who does answer engine optimization for dentists | Dental | National |
| AI SEO agency for dentists in New York | Dental | Metro |
| dentists AEO agency near me Denver | Dental | Metro |
| ranking of AI SEO agencies for dentists | Dental | Directory-style |
| best AEO agency for law firms | Legal | National |
| best AI SEO agency for lawyers | Legal | National |
| who does answer engine optimization for law firms | Legal | National |
| AI SEO agency for law firms in New York | Legal | Metro |
| law firms AEO agency near me Denver | Legal | Metro |
| ranking of AI SEO agencies for law firms | Legal | Directory-style |
| best AEO agency for medical practices | Healthcare | National |
| best AI SEO agency for healthcare | Healthcare | National |
| who does answer engine optimization for medical practices | Healthcare | National |
| AI SEO agency for medical practices in New York | Healthcare | Metro |
| medical practices AEO agency near me Denver | Healthcare | Metro |
| ranking of AI SEO agencies for medical practices | Healthcare | Directory-style |
| best AEO agency for SaaS companies | SaaS | National |
| best AI SEO agency for B2B software | SaaS | National |
| who does answer engine optimization for SaaS companies | SaaS | National |
| AI SEO agency for SaaS companies in New York | SaaS | Metro |
| SaaS companies AEO agency near me Denver | SaaS | Metro |
| ranking of AI SEO agencies for SaaS companies | SaaS | Directory-style |
| best AEO agency for HVAC companies | Home Services | National |
| best AI SEO agency for home service companies | Home Services | National |
| who does answer engine optimization for HVAC companies | Home Services | National |
| AI SEO agency for HVAC companies in New York | Home Services | Metro |
| HVAC companies AEO agency near me Denver | Home Services | Metro |
| ranking of AI SEO agencies for HVAC companies | Home Services | Directory-style |
Download the index data
Download the index data: the answer-level file (CSV) has one row per answer with the engine, query, run, providers named and domains cited, and the summary file (JSON) has every table on this page. Both are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to EliteAEO.
How to cite
Quote any share with the number of answers behind it. Questions about the data go to hello@eliteaeo.ai.