AEO for CPA firms: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank CPA 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. CPA firms helping businesses and individuals with tax, audit, assurance, accounting, advisory, and financial compliance services. 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 CPA firms, AI engines predominantly mention EY as the leader in this industry. With a visibility percentage of 62.5, EY stands out among competitors. Other top brands like PwC and KPMG also figure prominently in AI outputs, making them key contenders in conversations about CPA services.
The rankings reflect the sources most frequently cited by AI engines, with vault.com, youtube.com, and insidepublicaccounting.com leading the list. These are often aggregator or review sites, indicating that broad assessments and public perceptions significantly shape the visibility rankings of CPA firms.
For buyers, it is crucial to consider how AI engines prioritize recent reviews and third-party validations when evaluating CPA firms. Looking for firms with strong topical authority on specific subcategories can provide additional insight, as this demonstrates a commitment to maintaining industry relevance and expertise.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
EY leads the CPA firms category with a visibility score of 62.5%, more than 25 percentage points ahead of PwC and KPMG, which are tied at 37.5%. Deloitte sits at 25.0%, and every brand from rank 5 onward holds 0.0% visibility. The category average is just 8.1%, meaning the top four Big Four firms account for virtually all AI-generated mentions. This concentration matters because mid-market firms like Plante Moran and EisnerAmper are entirely absent from AI responses despite holding recognised industry positions.
The most striking divergence in this dataset is that citation rate is 0.0% across every single brand, including EY at rank 1. Visibility and citation are completely decoupled: Google AI Mode names these firms in responses but does not link back to their own domains at any measurable rate. This means EY, PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte are referenced as named entities in AI answers, yet none of them are being treated as trusted source destinations worth citing directly.
Google AI Mode is the sole engine driving all visibility in this dataset. The top cited sources are third-party properties including vault.com, insidepublicaccounting.com, clutch.co, and clearlyrated.com, not the firms' own domains. This indicates AI responses about CPA firms are being constructed from rankings, review, and trade content rather than from the firms' owned content. PwC and KPMG each moved from 0.0% to 37.5% visibility between periods, while Cherry Bekaert, Withum, and Marcum each dropped from 12.5% to 0.0%, showing high volatility in mid-tier AI presence.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
PwC 0% → 38% · rank #7 → #2+38pp
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KPMG 0% → 38% · rank #10 → #3+38pp
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Deloitte 0% → 25% · rank #8 → #4+25pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Cherry Bekaert 12% → 0% · rank #2 → #8-12pp
-
Withum 12% → 0% · rank #3 → #9-12pp
-
Marcum 12% → 0% · rank #4 → #10-12pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
ey.com
|
62% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
EY leads all CPA firms with 62.5% visibility, nearly 25 points above PwC and KPMG, yet holds a 0.0% citation rate matching every other brand in the category. |
||||
| 2 |
pwc.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
PwC jumped from rank 7 to rank 2 this period, gaining 37.5 visibility points from a prior baseline of 0.0%, making it the second-largest riser in the category alongside KPMG. |
||||
| 3 |
kpmg.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
KPMG rose seven positions from rank 10 to rank 3, matching PwC exactly at 37.5% visibility and 0.0% citation, with Google AI Mode as its sole contributing engine. |
||||
| 4 |
deloitte.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Deloitte holds 25.0% visibility, below PwC and KPMG despite its comparable brand scale, having risen four ranks this period from a previous visibility of 0.0%. |
||||
| 5 |
plantemoran.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Plante Moran sits at rank 5 with 0.0% visibility and 0.0% citation, placing it entirely outside AI-generated CPA firm responses despite being a recognised mid-market firm. |
||||
| 6 |
eisneramper.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
uhy-us.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cbh.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
withum.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
marcumllp.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
cbiz.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
grantthornton.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
bdo.global
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
rsm.global
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
forvismazars.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
claconnect.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
bakertilly.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
cohnreznick.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
crowe.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
mossadams.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on CPA 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 AEO 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 →
AEO 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 →
Run an AEO audit on your own CPA firms brand
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation 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 AEO for CPA firms
Who leads AI visibility in the CPA firms category?
EY leads with 62.5% visibility and a composite score of 43.8, well ahead of PwC and KPMG, which are tied at 37.5% visibility and a composite score of 26.2 each.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for CPA firms research?
The top cited sources are third-party sites including vault.com, insidepublicaccounting.com, clutch.co, and clearlyrated.com, not the firms' own domains.
Are any CPA firms receiving direct citations from AI responses?
No. Every brand in the category, including the top-ranked EY, shows a 0.0% citation rate, meaning AI names these firms but does not link to their owned domains.
Which brands have seen the biggest shifts in AI visibility recently?
PwC and KPMG are the biggest risers, each gaining 37.5 visibility points from 0.0%, while Cherry Bekaert, Withum, and Marcum each dropped 12.5 points to reach 0.0%.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the CPA firms category?
Visibility is highly concentrated: the top four firms hold all measurable AI presence, while 16 of 20 tracked brands sit at 0.0% against a category average of just 8.1%.
Which engine is driving AI visibility for CPA firms?
Google AI Mode is the only engine contributing visibility across all 20 brands in this dataset, with no other engine recorded as a top source for any brand.