Who AI names when you ask for an agency in the UK, the US and Australia
Twelve buying questions, three markets, 44 answers, 27 September 2026. The engines named 78 companies for the UK, 76 for the US and 70 for Australia. 19 of the 179 sources ChatGPT cited were "best agencies" lists written by an agency that ranks itself. Reidify publishes this index and was named in none of the 44 answers.
By Rish Sadh, founderUpdated
The finding, before the tables
The engines read the market's own marketing. 78% of ChatGPT's sources were agencies' own pages, and 19 of 24 "best agencies" lists it cited were published by an agency on its own list. And the answers barely overlap: in each market most companies were named once, and only 19 for the UK, 10 for the US and 11 for Australia came up in more than one answer.
| Market | Companies named | Self-ranking lists among ChatGPT sources |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 78 (19 named more than once) | 8 of 67 |
| United States | 76 (10 named more than once) | 6 of 52 |
| Australia | 70 (11 named more than once) | 5 of 60 |
Three markets, one set of questions
The same twelve questions about AEO agencies, AI-ready web design studios and Shopify agencies, with only the market and the city changed. 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.
- United Kingdom: 78 companies named
- United States: 76 companies named
- Australia: 70 companies named
What was measured, and what could not be
- ChatGPT, logged out: 36 of 36 questions answered.
- Google AI Mode and AI Overviews: A UK pilot: prompts 1 to 4 only. Google showed its "unusual traffic" page to the run's IP twice, and the run stopped rather than try to get past it.
- Perplexity: Not run. Needs a sign-in, and a signed-in account carries history that steers answers.
- Gemini: Not run. Needs a Google sign-in.
- Microsoft Copilot: Not run. Ignores a question passed in the address and shows a sign-in page.
An index that reports only the engines it could reach says so. Perplexity and Gemini are left out, not run on a signed-in account, because a signed-in account carries history that steers the answer.
Reidify scored zero, and that is the point
Reidify publishes this index and was named in none of the 44 answers. It sits in each market table in its alphabetical place. The India round, published in August, found the same.
The data and how to cite it
Every answer is in the scoring sheet (CSV). Corrections to reidify.design@gmail.com. Every company named will be told after publication, one at a time, and invited to correct its entry.
Reidify. "International AEO Visibility Index, run intl-01." 27 September 2026. reidify.design/research/aeo-visibility-index
Common questions
Which agencies does AI recommend for AEO, AI-ready web design and Shopify in the UK, the US and Australia?
Asked 44 buying questions on 27 September 2026, the engines named 78 companies for the UK, 76 for the US and 70 for Australia. Each market has its own page with the full alphabetical list.
Where do AI engines get their agency recommendations?
Mostly from the agencies themselves. Of 179 sources ChatGPT cited, 139 were agencies' own pages and 19 were "best agencies" lists published by an agency that puts itself on the list.
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 44 answers.
Run the same questions about your own business. The answer is more useful than anyone's claim about it.