AEO for tenant representation firms: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank tenant representation firms by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured quarterly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Tenant representation firms helping occupiers negotiate leases, evaluate sites, reduce occupancy costs, and shape office and industrial real estate 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 buyers ask AI engines about Tenant representation firms, Hughes Marino consistently appears as the leader with a visibility of 12.5%. Other top brands include Vestian and Cresa. These firms are frequently mentioned for their expertise and track record in the industry, making them prime contenders when choosing a service provider.
The rankings primarily result from data aggregated from top-cited sources such as hughesmarino.com and vestian.com, with additional insights from sheltonassociates.com, mdcregroup.com, and aggregator sites like clutch.co. This reflects the firms' strong online presence and authoritative content that AI engines trust when aggregating and ranking choices.
For buyers, this ranking means focusing on how AI engines value the brands, pay attention to recent reviews and third-party validations. A brand's topical authority and credibility in this subcategory can be crucial, making the most-cited domains and visibility percentages valuable factors to consider during the decision-making process.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Hughes Marino leads the category with a composite score of 35.0, more than 8 points ahead of second-placed Vestian at 26.2. The gap matters because Hughes Marino combines a citation rate of 87.5% with active visibility of 12.5%, while most brands in the category sit at or near the 3.8% average visibility. Its domain also appears directly in the top cited sources list, meaning AI Mode is pulling from its own web content rather than third-party aggregators alone.
Vestian presents the sharpest divergence between visibility and citation in the dataset. It holds 0.0% visibility yet matches Hughes Marino exactly on citation rate at 87.5%, placing it second overall on composite score. Savills shows the inverse pattern, achieving the highest visibility of any brand at 25.0% but recording 0.0% citations. This split confirms that being named in AI responses and being trusted as a source are measured separately and can diverge significantly.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in this dataset without exception. The top cited sources include both brand-owned domains such as hughesmarino.com and vestian.com alongside third-party review and directory sites including clutch.co, topcommercialrealestatebrokers.com, and reddit.com. The presence of reddit.com and review aggregators in the citation pool suggests AI Mode is anchoring on user-generated and directory content as much as on firm websites when constructing tenant representation answers.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Savills 0% → 25% · rank #11 → #4+25pp
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Cresa 0% → 12% · rank #14 → #3+12pp
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CBRE 0% → 12% · rank #6 → #5+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Vestian 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #2-12pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
hughesmarino.com
|
12% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Hughes Marino scores 35.0 composite, more than triple the rank-5 score of 8.8, driven by an 87.5% citation rate and its domain appearing directly in the top cited sources list. |
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| 2 |
vestian.com
|
0% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Vestian holds 0.0% visibility yet achieves an 87.5% citation rate, matching the category leader on citations while generating zero named appearances in AI Mode responses. |
||||
| 3 |
cresa.com
|
12% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
Cresa jumped 11 ranks from 14th to 3rd this period, with both visibility and citation rising from zero to 12.5% and 50.0% respectively, the largest rank gain in the dataset. |
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| 4 |
savills.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Savills rose 7 places to rank 4 with the highest visibility in the category at 25.0%, but its 0.0% citation rate means AI Mode surfaces it without treating its domain as a trusted source. |
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| 5 |
cbre.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
CBRE shares a composite score of 8.8 with JLL at rank 6, both recording 12.5% visibility and 0.0% citations, placing them well below the 87.5% citation rates of the top two brands. |
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| 6 |
jll.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
tenantbase.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cushmanwakefield.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
streamrealty.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
mohrpartners.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
cresaglobal.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
colliers.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
nmrk.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
avisonyoung.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
transwestern.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
svn.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
lee-associates.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
bradfordallen.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
naiglobal.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
fischercompany.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on tenant representation 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 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Run an AEO audit on your own tenant representation 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 tenant representation firms
Who leads AI visibility in the tenant representation firms category?
Hughes Marino leads with a composite score of 35.0 and an 87.5% citation rate, ahead of Vestian at 26.2 and Cresa at 23.8.
Which brand has the highest visibility percentage in Google AI Mode for tenant representation?
Savills holds the highest visibility at 25.0%, though it records 0.0% citations, meaning AI Mode mentions it without citing its domain as a source.
What sources does AI cite most for tenant representation research?
The top cited sources include brand-owned domains such as hughesmarino.com and vestian.com alongside third-party sites including clutch.co, topcommercialrealestatebrokers.com, and reddit.com.
Can a brand have high citation rates but zero AI visibility in this category?
Yes. Vestian records 0.0% visibility but an 87.5% citation rate, showing that AI Mode can use a domain as a source without naming the brand in its generated responses.
Which brands are rising fastest in AI visibility for tenant representation?
Cresa gained 11 ranks (from 14th to 3rd) and Savills gained 7 ranks (from 11th to 4th), with Savills recording the largest single-period visibility delta at plus 25.0 percentage points.
How does the category average compare to the leading brands' citation rates?
The category average citation rate is 13.1%, while Hughes Marino and Vestian both record 87.5%, meaning the top two brands are cited at more than six times the category average.