AEO for mergers and acquisitions advisory firms: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank mergers and acquisitions advisory 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. Mergers and acquisitions advisory firms helping owners, boards, and private equity sponsors navigate sale processes, acquisitions, carve-outs, and strategic transactions. 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 people ask AI engines about Mergers and acquisitions advisory firms, Houlihan Lokey stands out as the leader, mentioned in 25% of relevant queries. Evercore and Moelis & Company are also frequently cited, showing strong presence in this category. This visibility suggests a strong reputation and significant industry influence for these firms.
These rankings are shaped largely by the sources that AI engines consult. Sites like ctacquisitions.com, websiteclosers.com, and mascience.com, along with platforms like YouTube, drive much of the content that AI references. Many of these are aggregator or review sites, meaning they compile information from various places rather than offering original analysis.
For buyers evaluating these brands, consider how AI engines value current, comprehensive insights backed by recent reviews and third-party validation. Choosing a firm that consistently appears in AI's top results can offer confidence in its expertise and industry standing, especially if it is frequently validated by authoritative sources and up-to-date content.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Houlihan Lokey leads the M&A advisory AI visibility landscape with a 25.0% visibility score and a composite score of 21.2, more than double Evercore's 12.5% visibility and 8.8 composite score. Every other brand in the top 10, including well-known names like Lazard, Rothschild and Co, and Jefferies, sits at exactly 0.0% visibility. The category average is just 1.9%, which means Houlihan Lokey is running at roughly 13 times the average, making the gap between the top two and the rest structurally significant rather than marginal.
Visibility and citation do not move in lockstep here. Houlihan Lokey holds a 12.5% citation rate, the only brand in the dataset with any citations at all, while Evercore has 12.5% visibility but 0.0% citations. This means Evercore is named by Google AI Mode but not trusted enough to be sourced directly. The category average citation rate is just 0.6%, confirming that being mentioned and being cited are very different outcomes in this space, and only one brand currently achieves both.
The top cited sources in this category are notably not the brand domains of the major advisory firms. Domains like ctacquisitions.com, websiteclosers.com, axial.net, and firstpagesage.com appear in the citation list instead. This suggests Google AI Mode is anchoring its answers on third-party directories, aggregators, and content publishers rather than on the primary websites of the firms themselves. The absence of hl.com, evercore.com, or any other major firm domain from the top cited sources list reinforces this pattern.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Houlihan Lokey 12% → 25% · rank #3 → #1+12pp
-
Evercore 0% → 12% · rank #4 → #2+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Lincoln International 25% → 0% · rank #1 → #5-25pp
-
Harris Williams 25% → 0% · rank #2 → #6-25pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
hl.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Houlihan Lokey leads with 25.0% visibility and a 12.5% citation rate, the only brand in the dataset to register citations, placing it far above the 1.9% category visibility average. |
||||
| 2 |
evercore.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Evercore has 12.5% visibility but 0.0% citations, meaning Google AI Mode names it but does not source it, a notable gap compared to Houlihan Lokey's citation performance. |
||||
| 3 |
moelis.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Moelis and Company scores 0.0% on both visibility and citations, placing it level with 8 of the other top 10 brands despite its market prominence in M&A advisory. |
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| 4 |
pjtpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
PJT Partners holds a 0.0% composite score and 0.0% visibility, indistinguishable from the majority of ranked peers in AI Mode responses across this category. |
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| 5 |
lincolninternational.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Lincoln International fell from rank 1 to rank 5 with a visibility drop of 25.0 percentage points, the sharpest decline in the dataset, wiping out its previous category-leading position entirely. |
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| 6 |
harriswilliams.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
lazard.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
rothschildandco.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
guggenheimpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
jefferies.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
pwpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
centerviewpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
greenhill.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
solomonpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
dcadvisory.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
williamblair.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
psc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
rwbaird.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
raymondjames.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
stifel.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on mergers and acquisitions advisory 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 mergers and acquisitions advisory 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 mergers and acquisitions advisory firms
Who leads AI visibility in the M&A advisory category?
Houlihan Lokey leads with 25.0% visibility and a composite score of 21.2, well ahead of Evercore at 12.5% visibility and a composite score of 8.8. All other tracked brands in the top 10 currently sit at 0.0% visibility.
Which M&A advisory firm is most cited by Google AI Mode?
Houlihan Lokey is the only brand in the dataset with any citation activity, recording a 12.5% citation rate. Every other brand, including Evercore despite its 12.5% visibility score, has a 0.0% citation rate.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for M&A advisory research?
The top cited sources are third-party domains including ctacquisitions.com, websiteclosers.com, axial.net, and firstpagesage.com. None of the major advisory firm domains appear in this cited sources list.
Which brands have seen the biggest recent shifts in AI visibility?
Houlihan Lokey and Evercore are the biggest risers, each gaining 12.5 percentage points. Lincoln International and Harris Williams are the biggest fallers, each losing 25.0 percentage points and dropping from ranks 1 and 2 to ranks 5 and 6 respectively.
How does the category average compare to the top-ranked brand?
The category average visibility is just 1.9%, while Houlihan Lokey sits at 25.0%, meaning the top brand is running at roughly 13 times the category average. The average citation rate is 0.6%, against Houlihan Lokey's 12.5%.
Can a brand have high visibility in Google AI Mode without being cited?
Yes. Evercore has 12.5% visibility in Google AI Mode but a 0.0% citation rate, showing that being named in an AI response and being used as a source are distinct outcomes in this category.