Accounting firms: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank accounting firms by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured monthly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Accounting firms that provide audit, tax, advisory, transaction, and outsourced finance services for businesses across industries. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When buyers inquire about top accounting firms, AI engines frequently highlight EY as the leader, with a notable visibility at 75%. PwC and Deloitte are also frequently mentioned, underscoring their status among industry leaders. The prominence of these brands in AI-generated responses highlights their robust market presence and reputation among industry peers.
The rankings reflect data drawn from frequently cited sources like vault.com and gmac.com, which suggests a reliance on industry-specific and review-focused sites for evaluations. Platforms such as YouTube and LinkedIn also contribute, indicating the importance of user reviews and professional endorsements in shaping these perceptions.
For buyers, this ranking implies a focus on firms with strong third-party validations and recent discussions. Considering the weight AI engines place on topical authority and user experiences, selecting a firm that is not only frequently cited but also positively reviewed across various channels will be crucial. Keep an eye on recent testimonials and expert analyses for informed decision-making.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
EY leads the accounting firms category with a visibility score of 75.0%, more than double the 37.5% recorded by both PwC and Deloitte. That gap is significant because the category average sits at just 10.6%, meaning EY is appearing in AI-generated responses at roughly seven times the average rate. KPMG trails at 25.0% and BDO, RSM, and Grant Thornton each reach only 12.5%, suggesting the top position is not closely contested and EY holds a structurally distinct advantage in Google AI Mode responses.
A notable divergence exists between visibility and citation across all ranked brands. Every top-five brand holds a 0.0% citation rate despite varying visibility levels, while Plante Moran sits at rank 8 with 0.0% visibility but a 25.0% citation rate, the highest in the dataset. This means Plante Moran's domain is being linked or referenced by AI responses without the brand being named as a recommendation, a pattern that separates being trusted as a source from being surfaced as a named firm.
The top cited sources in this category are vault.com, gmac.com, youtube.com, linkedin.com, and reddit.com, none of which are accounting firm domains. This indicates Google AI Mode is anchoring its responses on third-party career, review, and community platforms rather than on the firms' own websites. PwC and Deloitte each recorded a visibility delta of plus 25.0 percentage points in the most recent period, suggesting AI responses in this category are becoming more concentrated around a small group of Big Four names.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
PwC 12% → 38% · rank #2 → #2+25pp
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Deloitte 12% → 38% · rank #3 → #3+25pp
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KPMG 12% → 25% · rank #4 → #4+12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
ey.com
|
75% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
EY's 75.0% visibility is exactly double PwC and Deloitte's 37.5% and more than seven times the 10.6% category average, making it the clear AI visibility leader with a 0.0% citation rate. |
||||
| 2 |
pwc.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
PwC matches Deloitte at 37.5% visibility and a composite score of 26.2, having risen from 12.5% in the prior period, but holds no citation presence at 0.0%. |
||||
| 3 |
deloitte.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Deloitte shares PwC's 37.5% visibility and 26.2 composite score after the same 25.0 percentage point rise, yet records 0.0% citations, identical to every other top-five brand. |
||||
| 4 |
kpmg.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
KPMG sits at 25.0% visibility and a composite score of 17.5, gaining 12.5 percentage points since the prior period but trailing EY by 50 percentage points in AI-named appearances. |
||||
| 5 |
bdo.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
BDO reaches only 12.5% visibility and a composite score of 8.8, placing it level with RSM and Grant Thornton and well below the Big Four firms in Google AI Mode responses. |
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| 6 |
rsmus.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
grantthornton.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
plantemoran.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
bakertilly.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
mossadams.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
cohnreznick.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
claconnect.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
eisneramper.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
marcumllp.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
pkf.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
cbh.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
crowe.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
forvismazars.us
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
armanino.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
moore-global.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on accounting firms, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
Rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 30 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Get your own accounting firms brand audited
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about accounting firms AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in accounting firms?
EY leads with a visibility score of 75.0%, far ahead of the next ranked brands PwC and Deloitte, which are both at 37.5%. The category average is 10.6%, so EY's lead is substantial.
Which accounting firm has the highest citation rate in AI responses?
Plante Moran holds the highest citation rate at 25.0%, despite having 0.0% visibility, meaning its domain is referenced in AI responses without the brand being named as a firm recommendation.
What sources does AI cite most for accounting firm research?
The top cited sources include vault.com, gmac.com, youtube.com, linkedin.com, and reddit.com, none of which are accounting firm websites, indicating AI anchors on third-party career and community platforms.
Are any accounting firms gaining AI visibility quickly?
PwC and Deloitte each gained 25.0 percentage points in visibility in the most recent period, rising from 12.5% to 37.5%, and KPMG gained 12.5 percentage points in the same window.
Do highly visible accounting firms also earn the most AI citations?
No. Every top-five brand by visibility, including EY at 75.0%, records a 0.0% citation rate, showing that being named in AI responses does not correlate with being cited as a source in this category.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the 20 accounting firms audited?
Visibility is heavily concentrated, with the top brand EY at 75.0% and the category average at 10.6%, while Baker Tilly, Moss Adams, and others below rank 8 all score 0.0% visibility.