Staffing agencies: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank staffing agencies 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. Staffing agencies that place permanent, contract, and temporary talent across professional, technical, administrative, and industrial roles. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Download this ranking as a PDF
We'll email it to you. One-off send — no list, no follow-up, no surprise marketing.
When people ask AI engines about staffing agencies, Robert Half often tops the list. With a visibility percentage of 25.0, it stands out among its peers. Other notable names that frequently appear are Adecco and Kforce. These brands have established a strong presence with AI citing them consistently.
The rankings reflect data drawn from frequently cited sources like frontlinesourcegroup.com, LinkedIn, and YouTube. These platforms serve as aggregators or review sites, providing a wealth of information that AI engines rely on to assess which staffing agencies are most notable. This ensures that the rankings are grounded in broad and varied insights.
For any buyer reviewing this list, it's essential to consider what AI engines prioritize, such as recent reviews and independent third-party validation. A brand's topical authority on specific subcategories can also play a significant role. These factors should guide your decision-making when evaluating which staffing agency might best meet your needs.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Robert Half leads the staffing agencies category with a visibility score of 25.0%, which is ten times the category average of 2.5%. That gap is significant because the next closest brand, Adecco and Kforce, each sit at 12.5% visibility. With 16 of the top 20 brands scoring zero on visibility, the category is highly concentrated at the top, meaning a buyer using Google AI Mode for research encounters only a small number of brands with any meaningful presence.
The divergence between visibility and citation reveals an important pattern. Adecco has a citation rate of 25.0% against a visibility of only 12.5%, suggesting it is trusted as a source even when not prominently named in AI-generated answers. Conversely, Kforce has 12.5% visibility but zero citations, meaning it is mentioned but not linked or sourced. Aerotek presents the sharpest contrast, with 0.0% visibility but a 12.5% citation rate, showing it is referenced as a source without appearing in narrative descriptions.
The top cited sources in this category include frontlinesourcegroup.com, linkedin.com, youtube.com, m.yelp.com, facebook.com, and prnewswire.com alongside adecco.com. Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, confirming it is the sole engine driving AI visibility in this category. The presence of Yelp, Facebook, and YouTube among cited sources indicates the AI is anchoring on review platforms and social media rather than purely on brand-owned or trade media content.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Aerotek 25% → 0% · rank #4 → #4-25pp
-
Randstad 25% → 0% · rank #2 → #5-25pp
-
Robert Half 38% → 25% · rank #1 → #1-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
roberthalf.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Robert Half leads with 25.0% visibility, ten times the 2.5% category average, but its citation rate of 12.5% trails Adecco, and its visibility has fallen from 37.5% in the prior period. |
||||
| 2 |
adecco.com
|
12% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Adecco's citation rate of 25.0% doubles its visibility of 12.5%, making it the most-cited brand in the category and the only brand whose own domain appears in the top cited sources list. |
||||
| 3 |
kforce.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Kforce matches Adecco's 12.5% visibility but records zero citations, suggesting AI responses mention the brand without sourcing its content, the weakest citation-to-visibility ratio in the top three. |
||||
| 4 |
aerotek.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Aerotek holds a 12.5% citation rate despite zero visibility, an unusual inversion indicating it is used as a reference source in AI responses where it is not named as a recommended brand. |
||||
| 5 |
randstad.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Randstad scores zero on both visibility and citations, a sharp fall from a previous visibility of 25.0% and a drop from rank 2 to rank 5, the largest rank decline in the dataset. |
||||
| 6 |
insightglobal.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
teksystems.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
manpowergroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
kellyservices.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
haysplc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
michaelpage.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
allegisgroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
motionrecruitment.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
sthree.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
nesfircroft.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
talentburst.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
astoncarter.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
experis.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
lucasgroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
volt.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on staffing agencies, 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 staffing agencies 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 staffing agencies AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in the staffing agencies category?
Robert Half leads with a visibility score of 25.0% and a composite score of 21.2, both well above the next ranked brand Adecco at 12.5% visibility and a composite score of 16.2.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for staffing agency research?
The top cited sources include frontlinesourcegroup.com, linkedin.com, youtube.com, m.yelp.com, facebook.com, prnewswire.com, adecco.com, and expertexecutiverecruiters.com, with review and social platforms featuring prominently alongside brand-owned content.
Which staffing brand has the highest citation rate relative to its visibility?
Adecco has the highest citation rate at 25.0% against a visibility of 12.5%, and Aerotek has a 12.5% citation rate despite zero visibility, both outperforming Robert Half's 12.5% citation rate on this metric.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the staffing agencies category?
The category is highly concentrated, with the top three brands holding all measurable visibility and 16 of the top 20 brands scoring zero, against a category average visibility of just 2.5%.
Which brands have seen the biggest drops in AI visibility recently?
Aerotek and Randstad each fell by 25.0 percentage points in visibility, dropping to zero, while Robert Half fell by 12.5 points from 37.5% to 25.0% but retained the category lead.
Is Google AI Mode the primary engine driving visibility in this category?
Yes, Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every brand in the dataset, with no other engine recorded as a top performer across any of the 20 brands audited.