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The most visible PR agencies, October 2026

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

Leader

5W

27Heralded Score, range 8–38

Most cited source

iese.edu

1citations

From Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Edelman

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
1 5W US New entry 27 , range 8–38 27#1
27
  • : score 27 · #1
 19% 5% None First reading
2 Bospar US New entry 21 , range 6–37 21#2
21
  • : score 21 · #2
 14% 7% None First reading
3 Treble CO New entry 19 , range 6–36 19#3
19
  • : score 19 · #3
 13% 7% None First reading
4 Walker Sands US New entry 18 , range 6–36 18#4
18
  • : score 18 · #4
 11% 8% None First reading
5 Treble PR New entry 16 , range 5–36 16#5
16
  • : score 16 · #5
 12% 7% None First reading
6 Beantown Media Ventures (BMV) US New entry 16 , range 5–36 16#6
16
  • : score 16 · #6
 10% 8% None First reading
7 PRLab NL New entry 12 , range 4–34 12#7
12
  • : score 12 · #7
 12% 5% None First reading
8 Weber Shandwick US New entry 10 , range 4–34 10#8
10
  • : score 10 · #8
 10% 5% None First reading
9 Edelman US New entry 9 , range 4–33 9#9
9
  • : score 9 · #9
 12% 2% None First reading
10 PressFriendly US New entry 9 , range 3–33 9#10
9
  • : score 9 · #10
 7% 7% 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 iese.edu Reference 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
2 waketech.edu Reference 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
pr agency vs in-house communications team English Bender Group PR and GingerMay, tied
What are the best PR agencies? English 5W, Brunswick Group, Burson, Edelman, Finn Partners, FleishmanHillard, Greentarget, Ketchum, Prosek Partners, Real Chemistry and Weber Shandwick, tied
I'm the founder of a startup and want coverage in business media. Which PR agency should we use? English Inkhouse
Best PR agencies for startups English Beantown Media Ventures (BMV) and Walker Sands, tied
PR agency for a growing company English Notably PR, PressFriendly, Walker Sands and Weber Shandwick, 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