Every month, the Tenacious AI Visibility Index tracks which companies AI platforms recommend when buyers ask real commercial questions.
We ask the same questions, across the same industries, every month. The goal is not simply to identify who AI recommends today. The goal is to understand how recommendations change over time, which agencies are gaining visibility, which are losing ground, and how AI-generated shortlists are evolving.
For marketing agencies, this matters more than most sectors.
Many agencies are already helping clients improve visibility in AI search. The obvious question is whether AI can see and recommend those agencies themselves.
This July 2026 edition examines which marketing agencies appeared when ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity were asked ten buyer-focused questions covering B2B marketing, SEO, LinkedIn, content, demand generation and AI visibility.
The July data reveals a highly fragmented market with no single agency dominating every model.
Instead, different AI platforms favour different agency profiles.
ChatGPT heavily favoured growth-focused B2B agencies such as Gripped, Blend and The Marketing Practice.
Claude showed strong preference for agencies with established B2B credentials, including Bray Leino, Gripped and UltraGrowthMedia.
Gemini produced a very different set of recommendations, favouring larger digital agencies such as Jellyfish, Impression and Hallam.
Perplexity showed the greatest diversity, often citing specialist and niche providers rather than recurring market leaders.
The result is one of the most fragmented recommendation landscapes in the entire Tenacious AI Visibility Index.
Key findings from July include:
For agencies competing for visibility, recommendation diversity remains extremely high.
Several agencies strengthened their visibility significantly during July.
Gripped appeared consistently across multiple questions and multiple AI systems, making it one of the strongest performers overall.
Bray Leino emerged as a major winner within Claude's recommendations, appearing repeatedly across buyer scenarios.
Blend strengthened its visibility in questions relating to inbound marketing, HubSpot implementation and content-led growth.
The Marketing Practice maintained strong visibility around B2B demand generation and enterprise marketing.
These firms increasingly appear across the types of questions buyers ask before contacting an agency.
July also introduced several notable entrants and emerging names:
Many of these firms specialise in specific niches or buyer categories, suggesting AI models are becoming more nuanced in matching agency recommendations to question intent.
As recommendation patterns evolve, some previously visible agencies appeared less frequently in July.
This does not necessarily indicate declining market performance.
Instead, changes often reflect:
This is exactly why longitudinal tracking matters.
| Rank | Agency | Visibility Pattern |
| 1 | Gripped | Strong across ChatGPT and Claude |
| 2 | Bray Leino | Dominant in Claude responses |
| 3 | Blend | Consistent B2B and inbound visibility |
| 4 | Croud | Strong ChatGPT performance |
| 5 | Hallam | Strong ChatGPT and Gemini visibility |
| 6 | The Marketing Practice | Consistent B2B demand generation presence |
| 7 | Impression | Strong Gemini and ChatGPT visibility |
| 8 | Growth Division | Frequently recommended for scaleups |
| 9 | UltraGrowthMedia | Strong specialist B2B positioning |
| 10 | Jellyfish | Gemini-led visibility |
The key lesson is that visibility is no longer determined by a single platform.
Agencies increasingly need recognition across multiple AI systems.
| Metric | June 2026 | July 2026 |
| AI models tested | 4 | 4 |
| Buyer questions | 10 | 10 |
| Recommendation patterns | Fragmented | Fragmented |
| Dominant recommendation profile | B2B growth agencies | B2B growth + specialist agencies |
| AI visibility importance | Growing | Growing rapidly |
As future months are added, this table will become increasingly valuable for tracking movement over time.
ChatGPT strongly favoured B2B growth agencies. Gripped, Croud, Hallam, Blend and The Marketing Practice featured heavily throughout buyer journeys.
Claude consistently surfaced agencies with strong B2B credentials and established strategic positioning. Bray Leino, Gripped and UltraGrowthMedia were particularly prominent.
Gemini preferred larger digital and performance-focused agencies. Impression, Hallam, Jellyfish and related firms performed strongly.
Perplexity produced the widest variety of recommendations. Unlike the other models, it frequently surfaced niche providers and specialist agencies with less overlap.
The lack of strong consensus highlights how early the marketing agency category remains within AI recommendation systems.
Three clear patterns are emerging.
This aligns closely with what we covered in our AI visibility metrics guide and generative engine optimisation guide.
AI visibility is becoming an authority game.
Most agencies still focus heavily on traditional SEO, referrals and outbound activity.
Those channels remain important.
However, buyers are increasingly asking questions such as:
If your agency does not appear when those questions are asked, you are invisible during part of the buying process.
As we explained in what actually drives AI visibility and AI citations and authority signals, visibility increasingly depends on entity recognition, authority, citations and structured evidence.
The Tenacious AI Visibility Index measures which companies appear when AI models answer real buyer questions.
For this sector we asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity ten UK-focused questions covering:
Every named agency was recorded and normalised.
Appearances were counted across all questions and all models.
Results reflect responses collected during July 2026 and are intended to measure AI recommendation visibility rather than agency quality or commercial performance.
Want to Know Whether AI Recommends Your Agency?
The Top 10 is only part of the story. This month's dataset contains dozens of marketing agencies recommended across four AI models.
If your agency isn't appearing, the question isn't whether you're good at what you do.
It's whether AI understands that you're good at what you do.
We can show:
Get in touch if you'd like us to benchmark your visibility against competitors and show exactly how AI currently sees your agency.
What is the Tenacious AI Visibility Index?
A monthly study tracking which companies AI platforms recommend across multiple industries and buyer journeys.
Does appearing more often mean an agency is better?
No. The index measures visibility in AI recommendations, not service quality or commercial performance.
Why do different AI models recommend different agencies?
Each model uses different data sources, retrieval systems and ranking approaches, leading to different recommendation patterns.
Why should marketing agencies care about AI visibility?
Because buyers increasingly use AI to research suppliers before contacting them.
Can agencies improve their AI visibility?
Yes. Strong positioning, authority signals, citations, thought leadership and consistent entity recognition can improve recommendation visibility.
How often is the index updated?
The Tenacious AI Visibility Index is updated monthly using the same buyer questions, allowing recommendation changes to be tracked over time.
