How AI chooses which agent to recommend
Five signals, not a ranking algorithm
AI models don't rank agencies in a list the way Google does. They decide whether to mention you at all inside a single answer. Five signals drive that decision:
- Entity clarity — Can the model tell, unambiguously, who you are, where you operate, and what you do? Inconsistent naming, vague "About" pages, and missing structured data all blur this.
- Structured data — Schema markup that explicitly states your services, service area, and reviews, so a model doesn't have to guess from unstructured text.
- Review signals — The volume, recency and specificity of reviews across the platforms AI models actually draw from, not just star ratings.
- Citation presence — Being mentioned, accurately, on the third-party sites AI models already trust (local directories, press, industry bodies) — not just your own site.
- Content specificity — Local, specific content rather than generic pages that read the same as every other agency's site.
Fix these five and you're doing everything currently within your control to be the agency an AI model chooses to mention.