In June, we launched the Tenacious AI Visibility Index to track which companies AI platforms recommend when buyers ask real commercial questions.
This is not a one-off research project.
Every month, we run the same buyer questions through leading AI models and track which firms appear, which rise, which fall, and which disappear completely.
The objective is simple: build the UK's most comprehensive dataset showing how AI recommendations evolve over time.
For accounting firms and fractional CFO providers, this matters because more business owners, founders and finance leaders are now using AI to shortlist advisers before they ever visit a website.
If AI is becoming part of the buying journey, visibility inside AI recommendations becomes a competitive advantage. July marks Month 2 of the Index.
The July data shows a significant shift in AI recommendations for accountants and fractional CFO firms.
In June, specialist CFO providers dominated much of the conversation. The CFO Centre was the most visible firm overall, with FD Capital also performing strongly.
In July, large accountancy and advisory firms moved decisively into the lead.
BDO becomes the most visible accounting brand across the four-model dataset, closely followed by Grant Thornton and RSM.
Perhaps the biggest story is the expansion of consensus. Ten firms achieved four-model agreement in July, meaning ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all recommended them at least once.
The data suggests AI systems are increasingly converging around established accounting brands while still maintaining space for specialist CFO providers in specific buyer scenarios.
| Metric | June 2026 | July 2026 |
| AI models analysed | 3 | 4 |
| Buyer questions | 10 | 10 |
| Unique providers detected | 79 | 92 |
| Four-model consensus firms | N/A | 10 |
| Most visible company | The CFO Centre | BDO |
| Highest-ranking CFO specialist | The CFO Centre (#1) | The CFO Centre (#10) |
| Top-ranked accountancy firm | Grant Thornton (#9) | BDO (#1) |
July produced a broader and more competitive dataset, with 92 unique providers appearing across the four AI platforms.
Several firms made substantial gains between June and July.
Grant Thornton moves from ninth place in June to second place in July. The firm achieved strong visibility across all four models and was particularly prominent in Claude, where it appeared in 8 of 10 buyer-question responses.
RSM climbs from tenth place to third overall. The firm appears consistently across all four models and achieved full four-model consensus.
Price Bailey moves from eighth place in June to fifth place in July. Its visibility is particularly noteworthy because it appears consistently across multiple buyer-intent categories rather than dominating a single niche.
The July Top 10 contains six firms that were not present in the June Top 10.
BDO becomes the most visible accounting firm in the entire July dataset, generating 23 total mentions across the four models.
Forvis Mazars establishes itself as one of the strongest cross-model performers, appearing in all four model datasets.
KPMG enters the rankings with broad agreement across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
PwC appears across all four models and ranks seventh overall.
Deloitte achieves four-model consensus and enters the July Top 10.
EY also secures four-model agreement and joins the leading group.
The arrival of the Big Four firms is one of the clearest changes in the July data.
Several firms that featured prominently in June are no longer present in the July Top 10.
These include:
This does not mean they disappeared from AI recommendations entirely.
Rather, larger accountancy brands gained enough visibility across multiple question categories to overtake specialist providers.
| Rank | Company | Total Mentions | Models Agree |
| 1 | BDO | 23 | 4/4 |
| 2 | Grant Thornton | 22 | 4/4 |
| 3 | RSM | 17 | 4/4 |
| 4 | Forvis Mazars | 15 | 4/4 |
| 5 | Price Bailey | 14 | 4/4 |
| 6 | KPMG | 14 | 4/4 |
| 7 | PwC | 13 | 4/4 |
| 8 | Deloitte | 12 | 4/4 |
| 9 | EY | 11 | 4/4 |
| 10 | The CFO Centre | 7 | 4/4 |
The most important figure here is not necessarily total mentions.
It is model agreement.
All ten firms above achieved visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, making them the most consistently recognised brands in the category.
| Company | June Rank | July Rank | Movement |
| BDO | Outside Top 10 | 1 | New entrant |
| Grant Thornton | 9 | 2 | ▲ 7 |
| RSM | 10 | 3 | ▲ 7 |
| Forvis Mazars | Outside Top 10 | 4 | New entrant |
| Price Bailey | 8 | 5 | ▲ 3 |
| KPMG | Outside Top 10 | 6 | New entrant |
| PwC | Outside Top 10 | 7 | New entrant |
| Deloitte | Outside Top 10 | 8 | New entrant |
| EY | Outside Top 10 | 9 | New entrant |
| The CFO Centre | 1 | 10 | ▼ 9 |
This table captures the biggest story in the sector: large advisory firms gained visibility while specialist CFO providers lost relative share of recommendations.
ChatGPT's strongest performers were:
ChatGPT continues to surface a mixture of national accountancy firms and challenger mid-market practices.
Claude strongly favoured established advisory firms.
Its leaders were:
Claude produced the strongest concentration around recognised accounting brands.
Gemini produced a more diverse mix. While Grant Thornton and BDO remained prominent, Gemini also surfaced firms, such as Moore Kingston Smith and Menzies, more frequently than other models.
Perplexity showed the greatest variation. While BDO, Grant Thornton and RSM appeared consistently, Perplexity also surfaced specialist providers such as FD Capital.
Two trends stand out.
First, accounting brands with broad service offerings appear to be strengthening their position across AI recommendations.
Firms such as BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM and Forvis Mazars appear across multiple buyer journeys, from growth advice and international expansion through to strategic finance support.
Second, specialist CFO firms still own important niches.
The CFO Centre remains the only specialist CFO brand to achieve full four-model consensus and remains highly visible for fractional CFO-related questions.
This suggests AI systems are becoming better at matching specialist providers to specialist questions while reserving broader recommendation slots for larger advisory firms.
The firms appearing most frequently are not necessarily the biggest firms.
They are the firms AI systems can understand most clearly.
Across dozens of AI visibility projects, we repeatedly see the same patterns.
The firms most likely to be recommended tend to have:
If you want to understand how these signals are measured, our AI visibility metrics guide and generative engine optimisation guide explain the framework in more detail.
Visibility inside AI systems is increasingly becoming a separate channel from traditional SEO.
The firms investing earliest are creating advantages that become difficult to displace later.
The July 2026 edition of the Tenacious AI Visibility Index analysed recommendations from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
Each model was asked the same 10 UK-focused buyer questions covering accountancy, fractional CFO support, growth finance, forecasting, investment readiness and strategic advisory services.
Every provider explicitly named in a response was recorded once per model and question. Obvious brand-name variants were normalised, while generic categories and non-provider sources were excluded.
The July results were then compared with the June dataset to identify changes in Top 10 membership, new entrants, firms that dropped out, shifts in model agreement and wider recommendation patterns.
Because the June and July collection methods were not identical, month-on-month movements should be treated as directional rather than direct raw-score comparisons.
Disclosure: The Index measures AI recommendation visibility, not service quality, market share or an endorsement by Tenacious AI Marketing.
Want the Full Accounting AI Visibility Dataset?
The Top 10 is only part of the story.
This month's dataset contains 92 different accounting and CFO providers.
If your firm isn't listed near the top, the important 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:
If you'd like to see the complete accounting sector dataset, get in touch, and we'll send it across.
Whether your firm appears frequently, occasionally, or not at all, the full data provides a much clearer picture of how AI currently sees your market.
The Tenacious AI Visibility Index is a monthly research project that tracks which companies AI platforms recommend across multiple industries. We ask the same buyer questions each month and record every company mentioned.
The Index is updated monthly. Using the same sectors and buyer questions allows us to track how AI recommendations change over time.
No. The Index records which companies AI models recommend. It is not an endorsement or ranking based on service quality.
AI recommendations change as models update, sources change and companies improve or weaken their digital authority signals. The Index tracks those changes rather than judging them.
Firms that appear consistently tend to have strong topical authority, clear service positioning, third-party citations, media mentions and content that directly answers buyer questions. Visibility can be measured and improved over time.
