Who AI names when you ask for an agency in Australia
Twelve buying questions about AEO, AI-ready web design and Shopify, asked on 27 September 2026. 70 companies were named. 5 of the 60 sources ChatGPT cited were "best agencies" lists written by an agency that puts itself on the list. Reidify publishes this index and was named in none of the 12 answers.
By Rish Sadh, founderUpdated
The finding, before the table
ChatGPT barely repeats itself. Of 70 companies named across 12 answers, only 11 came up in more than one. And ChatGPT reads the market's own marketing: 83% of its sources were agencies' own pages, and all 5 "best agencies" lists it cited were published by an agency that puts itself on the list.
What was asked, and how
Twelve questions, each with a slot for a vendor, so none of them is a definition question. Only the market and the city change between the three markets, so Australia can be compared with the UK and the US.
- Which agencies in Australia do answer engine optimisation?
- I run a small business in Sydney and want ChatGPT to recommend us. Who should I hire?
- How much does an AEO agency cost in Australia, and which ones are worth talking to?
- Which companies in Australia help brands get cited in Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, apart from the big SEO agencies?
- Recommend a web design studio in Australia that builds websites AI search engines can read.
- Which web design agencies in Sydney design for AI search as well as for people?
- For a new company website in Australia, should I hire a traditional web agency or an AI-first design studio? Name a few of each.
- I'm a founder in Melbourne rebuilding our website. Which studios make sites that show up in ChatGPT answers?
- Who are the best Shopify design agencies in Australia?
- Recommend a Shopify agency in Australia that can make my store show up in AI shopping answers.
- I sell skincare on Shopify in Australia. Which agencies should I talk to about a store redesign?
- Should I hire a Shopify agency or use a theme and a freelancer? If an agency, which would you shortlist in Australia?
Every prompt opened a fresh conversation in a fresh browser with no cookies: ChatGPT logged out, Google signed out. No company name was typed at any point. No follow-ups. Asked from India with the market named in the question. The word Reidify was never typed. ChatGPT localises by IP, so this is what the engines say when asked about Australia from India, not a guarantee of what a buyer in Sydney sees.
ChatGPT answered all 12 questions. Google showed this run's IP its "unusual traffic" page before the Australia questions were reached, and the run stopped Google rather than try to get past it. So Australia is measured on ChatGPT alone. Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot all need a sign-in and were not run.
| Company | Named by (answers) | Answers naming it |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| 61WEB | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Absolutely Ai | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| AEObility | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| AI Format | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Alinga | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Blue Mountains Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| BOHN Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Bryt Designs | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Chromatix Web Design | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Cited AI | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Clearwater Agency | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| ClickedOn | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| Cluo | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Cogniva Studio | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Connected Media Group | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Createur | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Designpluz | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| DigiTotal | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Eoan Technologies | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| FableWave Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Flux | ChatGPT (3) | 3 of 12 |
| GetQuickSites | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| In Marketing We Trust | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Insider Media Group | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Intelligent Resourcing | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| iWeb Power | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Kongfuseo | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Latent Analytics | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| Launch Lab | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Luminary | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| Matter Design | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| MindArc | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Moustache Republic | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Myoho Marketing | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| One Orange Cow | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| ONETOO | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| Optimising | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Orkkid | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Overdose. | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Paperstack | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Prism3 | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Prosper Digital | ChatGPT (3) | 3 of 12 |
| Red Herring Digital | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| Reidify | None | 0 of 12 |
| Rocket Agency | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Search Rescue | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| SEO for Small Business Australia | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| SIAGB | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| SkyScale | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Source Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| SouthSwell AI Studio | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Stamp Code | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Stone Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| StudioHawk | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Swanky | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Swift Productions | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Tangible | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| TDS Australia | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Tend Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| The Hope Factory | ChatGPT (2) | 2 of 12 |
| The Working Party | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Theme Press | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Uprise Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| UR Digital | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Vivek Codes | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Webfrog Studios | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| WebGlobals | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Webnetic Digital Solutions | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| Wolf IQ | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
| xCreative | ChatGPT (1) | 1 of 12 |
What the engines read to decide
ChatGPT cited 60 sources across its 12 answers for Australia, from 49 different websites. By type:
- An agency's own page: 50 (83%)
- A "best agencies" list whose publisher is on it: 5 (8%)
- Directory: 5 (8%)
The lists whose publisher is on its own list came from intelligentresourcing.co, orkkid.com, prosperdigital.com.au. Each was opened and read, and all 3 put the publisher at number one.
Most of what the engines read is small. Of the 49 websites cited for Australia on any surface, 37 are outside the Tranco top million, the research ranking of the most-visited million sites.
Where the named companies are based
Each company's headquarters was checked against an address on its own website. 40 of 70 could be verified that way; the rest are recorded as unverified rather than guessed. 2 of the 40 verified companies are based outside Australia: FableWave Digital (PK), Prism3 (PK).
Reidify scored zero, and that is the point
Reidify publishes this index. Across 12 answers for Australia it was named zero times, and it sits in the table in its alphabetical place with the same columns as everyone else.
A list written by a participant is only worth reading if the participant reports its own result honestly. The alternative is a source this run found ChatGPT citing 5 times for Australia: the "best agencies" list whose author puts itself on it.
What this does not measure
It does not measure quality, and appearing here is not an endorsement. It is one run on one day. Engines regenerate their wording on every ask, so the screenshots are the evidence and a re-run will not reproduce a sentence word for word. A company absent today may appear next quarter.
It cannot see the whole market. Only companies an engine chose to name are here, which is the point of the measurement rather than a gap in it.
Corrections, the data and how to cite it
If your company is listed and something here is wrong, write to reidify.design@gmail.com. The rule for inclusion is that an engine named you unprompted under this method. Inclusion is not paid for and cannot be. Every company named here will be told after publication, one at a time, and invited to correct its entry.
Every answer is in the scoring sheet (CSV), one row per answer, with the companies, the cited domains and their source type.
Reidify. "AEO Visibility Index, Australia, run intl-01." 27 September 2026. reidify.design/research/aeo-visibility-index-australia
Common questions
Which agencies do AI engines recommend for AEO, AI-ready web design and Shopify in Australia?
Asked 12 buying questions on 27 September 2026, the engines named 70 companies. 11 were named in more than one answer, and the rest appeared once. The full alphabetical list, with which engine named each one, is on this page and in the CSV.
What sources do the engines cite when they recommend an agency?
ChatGPT cited 60 sources across 12 answers. 50 were agencies' own pages and 5 were "best agencies" lists, of which 5 were published by an agency that puts itself on its own list.
Is being on this list an endorsement?
No. It records that an AI engine named a company on a particular day. It is not a review, a verification of quality or a recommendation, and nobody paid to appear.
Why does Reidify appear with a score of zero?
Because that is what it scored. Reidify publishes this index and was named in none of the 12 answers for Australia. A list published by a participant is only worth reading if the participant reports its own result, including when the result is bad.
Was Google measured?
No. Google showed its "unusual traffic" page to the run's IP before the Australia prompts were reached, and the run stopped Google rather than try to get past it. Australia results here are ChatGPT only.
Run the same questions about your own business. The answer is more useful than anyone's claim about it.