Investor relations firms: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank investor relations 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. Investor relations firms helping public companies shape capital markets narratives, earnings communications, shareholder outreach, and IR strategy. 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 AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity answer questions about investor relations firms, Teneo comes up most consistently, appearing in 12.5% of AI visibility across the category and earning citations in 25% of relevant responses. ICR and Sard Verbinnen round out the top three, both appearing regularly when AI engines field questions about IR advisory, shareholder communications, and crisis positioning for public companies.
The rankings reflect which sources AI engines trust most. Clutch.co and ODwyerPR.com drive a significant share of citations, both aggregator and trade-review platforms that compile firm rankings, client reviews, and editorial coverage. LinkedIn and niche sources like GrowthEquityInterviewGuide.com also appear, meaning firms with strong professional profiles and mentions in career or deal-context content earn disproportionate AI visibility compared to firms relying only on their own websites.
For a buyer using this list, the practical takeaway is to look beyond brand prestige and check whether a firm has recent third-party validation on sites AI engines actually cite. A firm ranked lower here may simply have weaker presence on Clutch or ODwyerPR, not weaker capabilities. If your IR need is highly specific (say, small-cap biotech or SPAC communications), search for AI answers in that subcategory, since topical authority in a niche shifts the rankings meaningfully.
At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
Teneo dominates this category with a composite score of 16.2, a visibility of 12.5%, and a citation rate of 25.0%. Every other brand in the top 20 has a composite score of 0.0, making the gap absolute rather than marginal. Teneo is also the only brand recorded as a biggest visibility riser, moving from 0.0% to 12.5% visibility and from 0% to 25% citation in the current period. The category average visibility sits at just 0.6%, which Teneo skews almost entirely on its own.
ICR presents a notable divergence between visibility and citation. It holds a 25.0% citation rate, matching Teneo exactly, yet records 0.0% visibility and a composite score of only 7.5. This means AI systems are referencing ICR as a source or mention without surfacing it in direct brand-facing responses. Sard Verbinnen, Joele Frank, Brunswick Group, and FGS Global all score 0.0 across every metric despite being recognised industry names, showing that brand reputation does not automatically translate into AI visibility.
Google AI Mode is the top engine recorded for every brand in this dataset, suggesting the audit is anchored exclusively on that engine. The top cited sources include clutch.co, odwyerpr.com, growthequityinterviewguide.com, equisolve.com, linkedin.com, newswirejet.com, teneo.com, and boardroompulse.com. Third-party directories and review aggregators dominate over brand-owned domains, with teneo.com being the only brand domain appearing directly in the cited sources list.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
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Teneo 0% → 12% · rank #0 → #1+12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
teneo.com
|
12% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Teneo leads with a composite score of 16.2 and 12.5% visibility, sitting more than 16 points above every other brand in the category. |
||||
| 2 |
icrinc.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
ICR earns a 25.0% citation rate matching Teneo but records 0.0% visibility, producing a composite of 7.5 and signalling citation without direct brand surfacing. |
||||
| 3 |
fgsglobal.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sard Verbinnen scores 0.0 across all three metrics despite peer-level brand recognition, showing no current AI-facing presence in Google AI Mode responses. |
||||
| 4 |
joelefrank.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Joele Frank records 0.0% visibility, 0.0% citation, and a composite of 0.0, placing it identically to the majority of the top-20 field in this audit. |
||||
| 5 |
brunswickgroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Brunswick Group holds rank 5 with a composite of 0.0, indistinguishable from ranks 6 through 20 on every measured AI visibility metric in this dataset. |
||||
| 6 |
fgsglobal.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
morrowsodali.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
notified.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
alpha-sense.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
lambert.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
h-advisors.global
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
edelman.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
addoir.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
fullyvested.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
sloanepr.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
waterandwall.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
blueshirtgroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
sapphireir.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
cognitomedia.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
georgeson.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on investor relations 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 investor relations 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 investor relations firms AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in the investor relations firms category?
Teneo leads with a composite score of 16.2, 12.5% visibility, and 25.0% citation rate. Every other brand in the 20-brand dataset scores 0.0 on the composite.
What is the average AI visibility for investor relations firms?
The category average visibility is 0.6% and the average citation rate is 2.5%, both figures pulled almost entirely upward by Teneo's scores.
Which sources does Google AI Mode cite most for investor relations research?
The top cited sources are clutch.co, odwyerpr.com, growthequityinterviewguide.com, equisolve.com, linkedin.com, newswirejet.com, teneo.com, and boardroompulse.com, with third-party directories outnumbering brand-owned domains.
Can a firm have citations in AI responses without having visibility?
Yes. ICR holds a 25.0% citation rate but 0.0% visibility, showing AI can reference a brand indirectly in source material without surfacing it in a named brand recommendation.
How recently did Teneo gain its AI visibility position?
Teneo is the only brand listed as a biggest visibility riser, moving from 0.0% to 12.5% visibility and 0% to 25.0% citation in the current audit period.
Which AI engine does this category's visibility data reflect?
All 20 brands in the dataset list Google AI Mode as their top engine, meaning the entire audit is based on Google AI Mode response behaviour.