AI Visibility Rankings · Business Services

Software development companies: AI search visibility ranking (2026)

By monitoraeo Last updated July 18, 2026 Refreshed every 30 days

How AI search engines rank software development companies 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. Software development companies that build custom web and enterprise applications, product platforms, integrations, and digital systems for businesses. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →

Avg visibility across category

Avg citation rate

20/20

Brands successfully audited

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When buyers ask AI engines about software development companies, Simform tops the list as the most frequently mentioned brand with a visibility percentage of 25.0. Other notable brands include BairesDev and ScienceSoft. These companies are recognized often, showing their strong presence and credibility in the software development industry.

The rankings reflect where AI engines source their information. Keyholesoftware.com, dbbsoftware.com, and linkedin.com are among the top-cited sources. These sources include aggregators and review sites, meaning they pool together user reviews and expert opinions, providing a balanced view of company strengths and services.

For buyers, this means the list reflects companies that stand out in AI evaluations based on recent reviews and third-party validations. When choosing from these brands, consider how they perform in your specific area of interest, as AI engines value topical authority and recent user experiences.

At a glance

Category leader BairesDev 38% visibility · named in 3 of 8 AI answers

Most cited brand Altar.io 50% citation rate · the AI's most-trusted source brand in software development companies

Top cited domain keyholesoftware.com Referenced by AI across the software development companies query set — the highest-leverage PR target in this category

Visibility spread 38pp Gap between top and bottom of the ranking · 14 brands at 0% (invisible to the AI)

What we observed in this category

Simform leads the category with a composite score of 28.8, having risen from rank 4 to rank 1 after its visibility jumped from 0% to 25% and its citation rate reached 37.5%. BairesDev holds the highest raw visibility at 37.5% but scores only 26.2 composite, sitting just behind Simform. The gap between these two and the rest is significant: rank 3 ScienceSoft scores 25.0, while rank 5 Netguru drops to 8.8, indicating a steep cliff after the top three.

The data reveals a sharp divergence between being named and being trusted as a source. BairesDev appears in 37.5% of AI responses but holds a 0% citation rate, meaning Google AI Mode mentions it without linking to it. Altar.io shows the inverse pattern, with 0% visibility but a 50% citation rate, the highest in the dataset. This means Altar.io is being used as a reference source without being surfaced as a recommended brand, a distinction with real strategic implications.

Google AI Mode is the dominant engine across all 20 brands in this category, with no other engine recorded as a top performer for any brand. The top cited sources list is notably anchored by third-party directories and review aggregators, specifically clutch.co and linkedin.com, alongside smaller specialist domains like keyholesoftware.com and dbbsoftware.com. Simform.com and altar.io are the only tracked brands appearing directly in the cited sources list, suggesting most brands are discussed via intermediary pages rather than their own domains.

Movers & shakers since last refresh

Biggest visibility risers

Simform 0% → 25% · rank #4 → #1
+25pp
BairesDev 25% → 38% · rank #2 → #2
+12pp
Netguru 0% → 12% · rank #11 → #5
+12pp

Biggest visibility fallers

ELEKS 12% → 0% · rank #3 → #14
-12pp

The ranking

#	Brand	Visibility	Citation	Top engine
1	Simform simform.com	25%	38%	Google AI Mode
Simform leads with a composite score of 28.8, a citation rate of 37.5% well above the 6.2% category average, and the largest rank improvement in the dataset, rising 3 places.
2	BairesDev bairesdev.com	38%	0%	Google AI Mode
BairesDev has the highest visibility in the category at 37.5%, more than 6 times the 6.2% average, but its 0% citation rate signals it is named without being used as a trusted source.
3	ScienceSoft scnsoft.com	25%	25%	Google AI Mode
ScienceSoft is the only top-3 brand where visibility and citation rates are equal at 25%, suggesting a more balanced and consistent AI presence than its immediate competitors.
4	Altar.io altar.io	0%	50%	Google AI Mode
Altar.io has 0% visibility but a 50% citation rate, the highest citation figure in the entire dataset, meaning AI uses its content as a reference while never naming it as a recommended vendor.
5	Netguru netguru.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
Netguru climbed 6 ranks to reach position 5, with visibility rising from 0% to 12.5%, but its 0% citation rate means it is mentioned without its domain being anchored as a source.
6	Intellectsoft intellectsoft.net	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
7	Vention ventionteams.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
8	Ciklum ciklum.com	0%	12%	Google AI Mode
9	Globant globant.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
10	Thoughtworks thoughtworks.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
11	EPAM epam.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
12	Endava endava.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
13	Nagarro nagarro.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
14	ELEKS eleks.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
15	Toptal toptal.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
16	TatvaSoft tatvasoft.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
17	Oxagile oxagile.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
18	Atomic Object atomicobject.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
19	WillowTree willowtreeapps.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
20	Yalantis yalantis.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode

Sources AI engines trust in this category

Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on software development companies, 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.

keyholesoftware.comdbbsoftware.comlinkedin.comesparkinfo.comaltar.iosimform.com10pearls.comclutch.co

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 software development companies 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.

Audit your software development companies brand → Browse all rankings Methodology →

Frequently asked about software development companies AI visibility

Who leads AI visibility in the software development companies category?

Simform leads with a composite score of 28.8 and a citation rate of 37.5%, having risen from rank 4 to rank 1 in the most recent audit period. BairesDev holds the highest raw visibility at 37.5% but ranks second due to a 0% citation rate.

What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for software development company research?

The top cited sources include third-party directories such as clutch.co and linkedin.com, alongside specialist domains like keyholesoftware.com and dbbsoftware.com. Of the tracked brands, only simform.com and altar.io appear directly in the cited sources list.

Which brand has the biggest gap between being named and being cited as a source?

BairesDev and Altar.io represent opposite extremes of this gap. BairesDev has 37.5% visibility and 0% citations, while Altar.io has 0% visibility and 50% citations, the highest citation rate in the dataset.

How does the category average AI visibility compare to the top performers?

The category average visibility is 6.2%, while the top three brands score 37.5%, 25%, and 25% respectively. This means BairesDev alone has visibility roughly 6 times the category average.

Which brand has seen the biggest decline in AI visibility?

ELEKS fell from rank 3 to rank 14, losing all of its 12.5% visibility and dropping 11 positions in the ranking. It now holds a composite score of 0.

Are established brands like Globant and Thoughtworks performing well in Google AI Mode?

No. Both Globant and Thoughtworks record 0% visibility, 0% citations, and a composite score of 0, placing them at the bottom of the ranked dataset despite their broader market profiles.