The most visible employer of record services, October 2026

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

Leader

Deel

59Heralded Score, range 47–72

Most cited source

irs.gov

20citations

From ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

Rippling

2/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Gemini and Google AI Overviews, not on Google AI Mode 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
11 Boundless IE New entry 5 , range 2–27 5#11
5
  • : score 5 · #11
7% 0% None First reading
– Gusto US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
3% 2% None First reading
– Hire with Columbus Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% First reading
– HireGlobal Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% First reading
– Justworks US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 2% None First reading
– Omnipresent GB Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– Playroll ZA Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– Remote People Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 2% First reading
– Skuad SG Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Te teamed Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 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
11 paylocity.com Vendor site 5.0% 2 of 4 1 Not read
12 quora.com Community 5.0% 1 of 4 3 Not read
13 wise.com Vendor site 5.0% 3 of 4 2 Not read
14 wisemonk.io Vendor site 5.0% 1 of 4 2 Not read
15 adtsolution.com Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 2 Not read
16 airswift.com Consultancy 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read
17 arc.dev Directory 3.3% 2 of 4 1 4
18 beon.tech Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 1 Not read
19 cosmos.global Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 1 Not read
20 cxcglobal.com Consultancy 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
What are the best employer of record services for hiring abroad? English Deel
Hiring employees in another country without a local entity English No brand recommended
How can a startup legally hire a developer in another country? English No brand recommended
How do I pay and provide benefits to employees abroad? English No brand recommended
Employer of record vs. setting up a local entity for international hiring English No brand recommended
Employer of record vs. hiring contractors for remote teams English No brand recommended
Alternatives to opening a subsidiary to hire abroad English No brand recommended
Alternatives to paying international employees as freelancers English Papaya Global
I run a 30-person software company and want to hire two engineers in another country. What service should I use? English Deel and Remote, tied
I lead HR at a company with remote staff in several countries and need compliant contracts and payroll. English Deel, Oyster and Remote, tied

Each engine's top three

Google AI Mode

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