The most visible employer of record services in Europe, October 2026

October 2026 · 105 questions asked from 7 countries · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 420 answers read

Leader

Deel

56Heralded Score, range 51–61

Most cited source

europa.eu

112citations

From Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

Boundless

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Mode, not on Gemini, Google AI Overviews 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 Velocity Global US New entry 1 , range 1–3 1#11
1
  • : score 1 · #11
1% 0% First reading
12 Playroll ZA New entry 1 , range 1–3 1#12
1
  • : score 1 · #12
1% 0% First reading
– Omnipresent GB Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Skuad SG Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% 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 europa.eu Regulator 9.0% 2 of 4 43 Not read
2 youtube.com Social 9.8% 3 of 4 32 Not read
3 reddit.com Community 7.4% 4 of 4 22 9
4 remotepass.com Vendor site 6.9% 4 of 4 9 4
5 peoplemanagingpeople.com Media 6.4% 3 of 4 17 6
6 teamed.global Vendor site 7.1% 3 of 4 15 7
7 workmotion.com Vendor site 6.7% 4 of 4 11 10
8 gov.uk Regulator 3.3% 1 of 4 12 Not read
9 linkedin.com Social 5.2% 2 of 4 19 Not read
10 dupple.com Media 4.3% 3 of 4 2 8

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Employer of Record o contratar autónomos para equipos remotos Spanish No brand recommended
Alternativas a abrir una filial para contratar en el extranjero Spanish No brand recommended
Alternativas a pagar a empleados internacionales como autónomos Spanish Papaya Global
Dirijo una empresa de software de 30 personas y quiero contratar a dos ingenieros en otro país. ¿Qué servicio debería utilizar? Spanish Deel
Dirijo Recursos Humanos en una empresa con empleados remotos en varios países y necesito contratos y nóminas que cumplan la normativa. Spanish No brand recommended
best employer of record services for startups English Deel and Remote, tied
hire employees abroad without a local entity English Deel, Oyster and Remote, tied
how to hire remote employees in another country English Remote
how to run international payroll for remote employees English Deel and Papaya Global, tied
employer of record vs contractor for remote hires English No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

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