The most visible AI automation and consulting agencies, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked in English, worldwide · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

Leader

Accenture

11Heralded Score, range 5–34

Most cited source

youtube.com

22citations

From Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Markovate

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Overviews, not on Google AI Mode, Gemini and ChatGPT

Brands

Search is not measured for this board yet, so it ranks on AI answers.

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
– Silverline GB Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% None First reading
– Simplomation Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 2% None First reading
– Simplus US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% None First reading
– Sketch Development Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% None First reading
– Small Biz AI Consulting Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% None First reading
– Sōvyn Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% None First reading
– SPR US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 2% None First reading
– Spruce Legacy Partners US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 2% None First reading
– STX Next PL Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– SUMMIT Business Automation US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% None First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI gives each brand’s score and rank from the engines’ answers; Search is not measured for this board yet. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 youtube.com Social 18.3% 1 of 4 22 Not read
2 reddit.com Community 23.3% 3 of 4 14 Not read
3 linkedin.com Social 6.7% 1 of 4 5 Not read
4 nist.gov Regulator 3.3% 1 of 4 4 Not read
5 openai.com Vendor site 1.7% 1 of 4 5 Not read
6 taskip.net Vendor site 5.0% 3 of 4 2 1
7 ayautomate.com Consultancy 5.0% 2 of 4 2 5
8 binaryflow.co Vendor site 5.0% 3 of 4 1 Not read
9 brothersautomate.com Vendor site 5.0% 2 of 4 1 Not read
10 cruxdigits.nl Consultancy 5.0% 2 of 4 1 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best ai automation agencies English Altamira HRM, Flow Digital, GrayCyan, HatchWorks AI, LuMay AI, Master of Code Global, NineTwoThree AI Studio and Valere, tied
ai consulting company for small businesses English Learn AI for Biz, Maineframe.AI, Simplomation, Spruce Legacy Partners and The Endurance Group, tied
how to choose an ai development partner English No brand recommended
how much does an ai automation agency cost English No brand recommended
ai agency vs in-house ai team English No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

ChatGPT

No brand named in at least three answers.

Method

Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.

For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured