An IT buyer does not always arrive with a preferred managed service provider in mind.
They may start by asking which company can support several offices, secure Microsoft 365, modernise ageing infrastructure or provide reliable long-term IT support. Increasingly, those questions are being put directly to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
The shortlist produced in that moment can quickly become the market the buyer compares.
That is why we created the Tenacious AI Visibility Index.
Each month, we repeat the same buyer-focused questions and record every provider explicitly recommended. Over time, this shows which firms are strengthening their position, which are dropping out of the leading group and how differently each AI model understands the market.
July is Month 2 of the Index for UK MSPs and IT support companies. The results remain highly fragmented, but the names leading that fragmented market have changed considerably since June.
Transparity retains first place in July, making it the only provider to remain at the top of the combined MSP ranking across both months.
However, the rest of the Top 10 has been almost completely reshaped.
Littlefish enters at number two, Texaport at number three, and ANS Group moves from third to fourth. Softcat, Air IT, Advania, Foresite Cybersecurity, The HBP Group and Computacenter also enter the July Top 10.
Eight of June’s leading ten providers are no longer in the July Top 10.
The market has also broadened. July detected 86 unique providers, compared with 66 in June.
Yet one thing has not changed: no MSP achieved full agreement across every AI model.
July therefore, tells two stories at once. More companies are entering the AI-generated consideration set, but no provider has yet become the clear cross-platform default.
| Metric | June 2026 | July 2026 | Change |
| AI models included | 3 | 4 | Gemini added |
| Buyer questions | 10 | 10 | No change |
| Unique providers detected | 66 | 86 | Up 20 |
| Full-consensus providers | 0 | 0 | No change |
| Top-ranked provider | Transparity | Transparity | Retained |
| Perplexity responses with named providers | 1 of 10 | 9 of 10 | Much broader coverage |
| Top 10 providers retained | Transparity, ANS | Transparity, ANS | 2 of 10 |
June’s MSP dataset was already unusually fragmented. ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity produced substantially different provider lists, and Perplexity returned named company citations for only one question.
July expands the analysis to four question-level model datasets and detects named providers in 39 of 40 model responses. Despite that broader evidence base, no company appears across all four models.
Transparity remains the leading provider in the combined ranking.
In June, it reached number one through a place in ChatGPT’s sector shortlist and one Claude appearance.
In July, its visibility becomes much broader. Transparity is named in:
That produces 24 total mentions across three models, the highest score in the July MSP dataset.
The significant change is not simply that Transparity stayed first. It is that the company’s visibility is now supported by repeated question-level appearances across three separate AI platforms.
Littlefish moves into the July Top 10 at number two, with 22 total mentions.
It is named in eight ChatGPT questions, nine Claude questions and five Perplexity questions.
Littlefish was already present in June’s wider company index, but it did not make the combined June Top 10. Its July position, therefore represents a major improvement in Top 10 visibility rather than a completely new appearance in the dataset.
Texaport records one of July’s most model-specific visibility patterns.
It appears in:
That gives it 16 total mentions across three models and third place overall.
Its position is driven heavily by Gemini, which shows why total visibility should always be read alongside model agreement.
ANS was third in June and remains one of only two companies to retain a Top 10 position in July.
Its July result is more widely distributed across models than its raw total might initially suggest:
ANS appears across three models, giving it broader agreement than several firms with higher raw mention totals.
Eight providers enter the July Top 10:
These are new entrants to the combined Top 10, not necessarily completely new providers in the wider dataset.
That distinction matters.
Air IT and Littlefish, for example, appeared repeatedly in Claude’s June results but were excluded from the leading group because the other June models did not reinforce those recommendations strongly enough. The addition of Gemini and much broader Perplexity coverage gives July a different view of cross-model visibility.
Softcat ranks fifth after appearing in every ChatGPT question and once in Perplexity.
Air IT ranks sixth through seven Claude appearances and four Perplexity appearances.
Advania reaches seventh with nine ChatGPT mentions and one Perplexity mention.
Foresite Cybersecurity enters eighth, driven primarily by nine Gemini appearances.
The HBP Group follows in ninth, supported by eight Gemini appearances and two ChatGPT mentions.
Computacenter completes the Top 10 with eight ChatGPT appearances and one Perplexity mention.
Eight June Top 10 providers do not retain a place in July:
This does not automatically mean those companies stopped appearing in AI recommendations.
It means their July recommendation coverage was not broad or frequent enough to remain in the combined leading group after four question-level model datasets were analysed.
Nasstar’s departure is particularly notable because it ranked second in June and had the strongest Claude presence among the June Top 10. Connection Technologies also leaves after being the only June provider to bridge Claude and Perplexity.
The July results demonstrate how quickly an AI shortlist can change when model coverage expands.
| Rank | Company | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Perplexity | Total | Models Agree |
| 1 | Transparity | 8 | 8 | 8 | — | 24 | 3/4 |
| 2 | Littlefish | 8 | 9 | — | 5 | 22 | 3/4 |
| 3 | Texaport | 4 | — | 10 | 2 | 16 | 3/4 |
| 4 | ANS Group | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | 6 | 3/4 |
| 5 | Softcat | 10 | — | — | 1 | 11 | 2/4 |
| 6 | Air IT | — | 7 | — | 4 | 11 | 2/4 |
| 7 | Advania | 9 | — | — | 1 | 10 | 2/4 |
| 8 | Foresite Cybersecurity | — | — | 9 | 1 | 10 | 2/4 |
| 9 | The HBP Group | 2 | — | 8 | — | 10 | 2/4 |
| 10 | Computacenter | 8 | — | — | 1 | 9 | 2/4 |
Counts show the number of the ten buyer questions in which each model explicitly named the provider. Total mentions have a maximum possible score of 40.
The ranking method prioritises breadth of model agreement before total mentions.
That is why ANS Group ranks fourth with six total mentions across three models, while Softcat ranks fifth despite having eleven mentions across only two models.
This is an important distinction.
A provider that repeatedly appears in one model can have strong platform-specific visibility. A provider recognised by three or four models has broader visibility across the market.
| Company | June Rank | July Rank | Movement |
| Transparity | 1 | 1 | No change |
| Littlefish | Outside Top 10 | 2 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Texaport | Outside Top 10 | 3 | New Top 10 entrant |
| ANS | 3 | 4 | Down 1 |
| Softcat | Outside Top 10 | 5 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Air IT | Outside Top 10 | 6 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Advania | Outside Top 10 | 7 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Foresite Cybersecurity | Outside Top 10 | 8 | New Top 10 entrant |
| The HBP Group | Outside Top 10 | 9 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Computacenter | Outside Top 10 | 10 | New Top 10 entrant |
| Nasstar | 2 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| Connection Technologies | 4 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| AAG IT Services | 5 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| Controlware UK | 6 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| Centrality | 7 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| Wavex | 8 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| Xtravirt | 9 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
| ARO Technology | 10 | Outside Top 10 | Dropped out |
The Top 10 overlap is just two providers: Transparity and ANS.
That makes MSPs one of the most volatile sectors in the Index so far.
The largest ChatGPT change is methodological.
June contained one curated sector ranking. July captures a separate ChatGPT response for every buyer question.
Within July, Softcat leads ChatGPT visibility by appearing in all ten responses. Advania follows with nine, while Transparity, Littlefish and Computacenter appear eight times each.
This shows a very different ChatGPT market from June, when AAG IT Services, Controlware UK, Centrality, Wavex and Xtravirt occupied the top five positions in the sector-wide shortlist.
Claude’s July results concentrate heavily around:
ANS appears twice.
This partly continues the pattern visible in June, when Littlefish and Air IT appeared frequently in Claude’s buyer-question results even though they did not enter the combined Top 10.
Gemini was not included in June and introduces a new recommendation layer in July.
Texaport appears in all ten Gemini responses.
Foresite Cybersecurity follows with nine, while Transparity and The HBP Group each appear eight times.
This single model materially affects July’s combined rankings and helps explain why Texaport, Foresite Cybersecurity and The HBP Group enter the Top 10.
Perplexity returned named company data on only one of ten June questions.
In July, it returned named providers in nine of ten responses.
Littlefish leads Perplexity visibility with five question appearances, followed by Air IT with four and Texaport with two.
That improvement in coverage makes July’s Perplexity results far more useful, but it also means June and July raw counts should not be treated as directly equivalent.
Three findings stand out.
First, the MSP recommendation landscape is still wide open. No company appears across all four July models.
Second, model dependence remains a major risk. Softcat and Advania perform strongly in ChatGPT but gain little reinforcement elsewhere. Foresite Cybersecurity is highly visible in Gemini but only receives one additional appearance in Perplexity.
Third, Transparity has the strongest continuity. It retains first place and moves from limited June evidence to repeated recognition across ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
The question for August is whether any provider can finally move from three-model visibility to complete four-model consensus.
That is exactly the type of trend an ongoing monthly index is designed to reveal.
Many MSPs still grow mainly through referrals, vendor partnerships, acquisitions and existing client relationships.
Those channels remain valuable, but they do not automatically create the public evidence AI systems need to recommend a provider.
To build stronger recommendation visibility, an MSP needs to make it easy for AI models to understand:
That means moving beyond generic pages promising proactive support and excellent service.
Detailed case studies, industry-specific service pages, original research, recognised partnerships, useful technical guidance and authoritative third-party references all help strengthen the signals AI systems can use.
Our AI visibility metrics guide explains how recommendation coverage should be measured across models and prompts.
The generative engine optimisation guide covers how companies can structure their wider presence so AI systems understand what they do.
We also explore the balance between authority, content and citations in what actually drives AI visibility.
The July 2026 Tenacious AI Visibility Index analysed ten UK-focused MSPs and IT support buyer questions across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
A company was counted once for every model and question in which it was explicitly named.
Obvious brand-name variants were normalised, while generic categories, directories and non-provider sources were excluded. Perplexity returned a named commercial provider in nine of ten July responses.
July was compared with June’s Top 10 membership and recommendation patterns. Because June used three models and a different mix of sector-level and question-level data, month-on-month movements are directional rather than direct raw-score comparisons.
Disclosure: Results reflect responses collected on 10 July 2026. They measure named-provider visibility within this test set, not market share, service quality or an endorsement by Tenacious.
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Transparity ranked first with 24 total question-level mentions across ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
No. Transparity, Littlefish, Texaport and ANS Group each appeared across three of the four models, but no provider achieved complete four-model consensus.
Littlefish, Texaport, Softcat, Air IT, Advania, Foresite Cybersecurity, The HBP Group and Computacenter entered the combined Top 10.
Nasstar, Connection Technologies, AAG IT Services, Controlware UK, Centrality, Wavex, Xtravirt and ARO Technology left the Top 10.
No. The Index measures named appearances in AI-generated recommendations. It does not assess service quality, technical performance, customer satisfaction or commercial suitability.
June used three models, with ChatGPT supplying one sector-level shortlist and Perplexity returning named companies on only one question. July used four models and question-level counting throughout. Top 10 recommendation patterns can be compared directionally, but raw totals are not like-for-like.
