AEO for UX design agencies: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank UX design agencies 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. UX design agencies helping companies research users, design interfaces, prototype products, improve usability, and ship better digital experiences. 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 UX design agencies, Clay emerges as the leader, cited in 25% of cases. IDEO and Eleken also rank highly in these AI-driven results. Clay's prominent visibility highlights its strong reputation and track record in the industry.
The rankings reflect data sourced from well-known platforms such as agency.uxplanet.org, clutch.co, and fuselabcreative.com. These aggregators and review sites provide extensive feedback and experiences, influencing the AI's decision-making and emphasizing user satisfaction and industry authority.
For buyers evaluating this list, consider the value AI engines place on recent reviews and third-party validation. Look for agencies with authoritative mentions in trusted sources and specific expertise in your project's subcategory, as these aspects often guide AI recommendations effectively.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Clay leads the UX design agencies category with a composite score of 25.0, the only brand where visibility and citation are perfectly aligned at 25.0% each. IDEO matches Clay on visibility at 25.0% but holds zero citation percentage, producing a composite of just 17.5. That 7.5-point composite gap between the top two brands illustrates how being named in AI responses and being actively cited as a source are meaningfully different signals, and Clay currently holds both advantages simultaneously.
The visibility-versus-citation divergence is a defining pattern in this category. Four brands, frog, Work & Co, Goji Labs, and Ramotion, each hold 12.5% visibility with zero citation percentage, identical to IDEO in that respect. Only Clay and Eleken earn citations matching their visibility. This means the majority of named brands are recognised by Google AI Mode as relevant but are not being used as trusted reference sources, a distinction that matters for anyone assessing true AI authority rather than simple name-drop frequency.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, indicating the entire category's AI visibility is concentrated on a single platform. The top cited sources include third-party directories and review platforms such as clutch.co, designrush.com, and uiuxagencyrankings.com alongside community sources like reddit.com. This suggests Google AI Mode is anchoring its UX agency responses heavily on aggregator and review site content rather than on the agencies' own domains.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Clay 12% → 25% · rank #4 → #1+12pp
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IDEO 12% → 25% · rank #6 → #2+12pp
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Eleken 0% → 12% · rank #3 → #3+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
MetaLab 25% → 0% · rank #2 → #20-25pp
-
UX studio 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #8-12pp
-
Method 12% → 0% · rank #7 → #9-12pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
clay.global
|
25% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Clay is the only brand matching the category's top visibility score of 25.0% with an equal citation rate, giving it a composite score 7.5 points above IDEO. |
||||
| 2 |
ideo.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
IDEO shares Clay's 25.0% visibility but holds zero citation percentage, cutting its composite score to 17.5 and signalling it is named but not sourced by Google AI Mode. |
||||
| 3 |
eleken.co
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Eleken sits at 12.5% visibility and 12.5% citation, the second brand with aligned scores, placing it well above the category averages of 5.6% visibility and 1.9% citation. |
||||
| 4 |
frog.co
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
frog reaches 12.5% visibility but earns no citations, producing a composite of 8.8, identical to Work & Co, Goji Labs, and Ramotion at ranks 5 through 7. |
||||
| 5 |
work.co
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Work & Co holds 12.5% visibility with zero citation percentage, placing it in a four-way tie on composite score of 8.8 with frog, Goji Labs, and Ramotion. |
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| 6 |
gojilabs.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
ramotion.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
uxstudioteam.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
method.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
designit.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
hugeinc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
rga.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
akqa.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
momentumdesignlab.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
ustwo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
instrument.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
thinkcompany.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
fantasy.co
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
willowtreeapps.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
metalab.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on UX design 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 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 UX design agencies 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 UX design agencies
Who leads AI visibility in the UX design agencies category?
Clay leads with a composite score of 25.0, the only brand in the dataset where visibility and citation percentage are both at 25.0%. IDEO matches on visibility at 25.0% but holds zero citation percentage, giving it a lower composite of 17.5.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for UX design agency research?
The top cited sources include third-party directories and review platforms such as clutch.co, designrush.com, and uiuxagencyrankings.com, alongside community platform reddit.com and specialist sites like agency.uxplanet.org and parallelhq.com.
Which brands are visible in AI responses but not actually cited as sources?
IDEO, frog, Work & Co, Goji Labs, and Ramotion all hold 12.5% or higher visibility with zero citation percentage, meaning Google AI Mode names them in responses but does not link to their domains as reference sources.
Which brands have seen the biggest drops in AI visibility recently?
MetaLab fell from rank 2 to rank 20 with a visibility drop of 25.0 percentage points, and UX studio dropped from rank 1 to rank 8 with a visibility drop of 12.5 points and a citation delta of negative 75.0.
How concentrated is AI visibility in this category?
The category average visibility is just 5.6%, with only two brands, Clay and IDEO, reaching 25.0% visibility, suggesting AI share is heavily concentrated at the top with most of the 20 brands receiving little or no exposure.
Which engine drives AI visibility for UX design agencies?
Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every brand in the dataset, indicating the entire measurable AI visibility for this category currently comes from a single platform.