The most visible HR and payroll tools 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

Gusto

34Heralded Score, range 31–37

Most cited source

youtube.com

100citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Factorial

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

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
– Papervee FI Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Paypro US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% None First reading
– PHOCUS Cloud Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– pontaj.eu RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Pontaj.ro RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– PontajAngajati RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– PontajAngajati.ro RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– REGES Online Pro RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Remote People Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– RemotePass AE Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 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 ordio.com Vendor site 2.1% 4 of 4 12 7
12 service-public.gouv.fr Regulator 1.4% 1 of 4 10 1
13 forbes.com Media 3.1% 3 of 4 2 8
14 talenthr.io Vendor site 3.1% 3 of 4 3 Not read
15 elster.de Regulator 1.0% 1 of 4 5 Not read
16 linkedin.com Social 2.6% 2 of 4 8 Not read
17 peoplemanagingpeople.com Media 2.1% 3 of 4 11 Not read
18 smallbusiness.co.uk Media 2.6% 3 of 4 3 Not read
19 zapier.com Vendor site 2.6% 3 of 4 1 9
20 facebook.com Social 1.9% 1 of 4 9 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Manual personnel management vs. HR software for midsize companies English No brand recommended
What are some alternatives to using spreadsheets to track employees? English BambooHR, Breathe, HiBob, Personio and Sage HR, tied
What are some alternatives to calculating payroll manually for a small business? English No brand recommended
I own a business with 10 employees. How can I manage payroll and time off? English Breathe, BrightPay, Employment Hero and Xero Payroll, tied
I lead an HR team and need time tracking for 200 employees. What are my options? English Personio and Sage HR, tied
best hr and payroll software for small businesses English Employment Hero, Sage HR and Xero Payroll, tied
pay employees and manage hr for small businesses English Breathe and Xero Payroll, tied
how can a small business pay employees and manage hr English Access Group, Deel, Gusto and PeopleHR, tied
how to run payroll and keep employee records up to date English No brand recommended
payroll software vs hr software for small businesses English Breathe, Employment Hero and Gusto, tied

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