Data last verified: 23 October 2026. Figures re-checked against their primary sources under the Whito rolling re-verification programme.
Finding
On 23 October 2026, ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode named 43 rivals across 15 answers about UK AI visibility services; leaving out 19 global software firms, 10 of the remaining 24 names did not match an active UK company on a one-pass Companies House search.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research/ai-recommended-firms-register-check, 2026-10-23. Free to quote with a link to this page.
Last Updated on November 2, 2026
When an AI assistant recommends a UK firm, is that firm on the register? We asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode five questions about our own market and checked every name they gave.
More people now ask an AI assistant who to hire. The answer reads like a recommendation. Nothing in it tells you whether the business is a registered company.
We wanted to see how often the names hold up. So we checked.
We have an interest to declare. The five questions are about AI visibility services, a market Whito sells into. Whito was the business being watched, and many of the names checked are firms that compete with Whito. We report the register outcome for each name and nothing else. It is not a judgement on any firm’s work.
Key findings
- On 23 October 2026, ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode named 43 rivals across 15 answers about UK AI visibility services; leaving out 19 global software firms, 10 of the remaining 24 names did not match an active UK company on a one-pass Companies House search.
- 14 of those 24 names matched an active UK company.
- Google AI Mode recommended “SearchScore”, described as a London-based consultancy. Companies House returned no results for that name.
- Gemini offered two data platforms, “Prosectus” and “Ottr AI”, that we could not match to any vendor or UK company.
- Two of the UK agencies named were incorporated in May and July 2025.
A snapshot of one day, five questions and three engines. It is not a survey of all UK businesses.
What we did
On 23 October 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode the same five questions, once each, in a fresh conversation, from a UK browser. That gave 15 answers.
- Best AI visibility monitoring service for UK small businesses
- Who can check what ChatGPT and Gemini say about my business in the UK?
- How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT in the UK?
- Where can I buy UK data on which businesses AI assistants recommend?
- Best free tool to check if my website is visible to AI search UK
We listed every business each answer named. 43 different names came up. Each one was searched at Companies House the same day, once, under the name the engine used.
Each name went into one of four groups: a global software firm with no UK trading claim, a match to an active UK company, no active UK match under that name, or no known vendor at all.
What the register check showed
| Outcome | Names |
|---|---|
| Global software firm, outside the UK register | 19 |
| Matched an active UK company | 14 |
| No active UK match under the name used | 8 |
| Could not be matched to any known vendor | 2 |
| Total | 43 |
Leave out the 19 global firms and 24 names remain. 14 matched. 10 did not.
Three findings worth a closer look
SearchScore
Google AI Mode recommended SearchScore for UK AI visibility monitoring and called it a London-based consultancy. A Companies House search for that name, run the same day, returned no results of any kind.
A firm can trade under a name that differs from its registered one, so this does not prove it does not exist. It does mean a buyer could not confirm it from the register in one search.
Prosectus and Ottr AI
Gemini named both as places to buy UK data on AI recommendations. We could not match either to a vendor website or a UK company.
Young firms near the top
Rank4AI was named in three answers, more than any other UK agency. It was incorporated on 15 July 2025. Vikn Studio, also named, was incorporated on 28 May 2025. Both are real, registered companies. They are also among the youngest firms on the list.
The UK names and what the register showed
Every name below was given by at least one engine. The full list of 43, with each engine’s reason, is in the sample report linked at the end.
| Name as the engine gave it | Named by | Companies House, one pass |
|---|---|---|
| Rank4AI | Gemini, AI Mode (3 answers) | RANK4AI LTD 16584507, Colchester, incorporated 15 July 2025 |
| Vikn Studio | AI Mode | VIKN STUDIO LTD 16478937, Beverley, incorporated 28 May 2025 |
| Seral Labs | ChatGPT | SERAL LABS LTD 16935247, London, incorporated 30 December 2025 |
| Taprave | Gemini | TAPRAVE LTD 15518364, Salford, incorporated February 2024 |
| The Polka | ChatGPT | THE POLKA DIGITAL LTD 14109792, Aylesbury |
| Flaunt Digital | ChatGPT (2 answers) | FLAUNT DIGITAL LTD 09696176, Leeds, incorporated 2015 |
| Kangaroo UK | Gemini, AI Mode | KANGAROOUK LIMITED 09158061, Ashby-de-la-Zouch |
| DoLocal | Gemini, AI Mode | DOLOCAL LIMITED 11457673, Liverpool |
| SUSO | Gemini | SUSO DIGITAL LIMITED 10516474, London |
| ClickSlice | Gemini | CLICKSLICE LIMITED 10876199, London |
| Reposition | Gemini | REPOSITION GROUP LIMITED 12038357, London |
| BrightLocal | AI Mode | BRIGHTLOCAL LTD 10384626, Brighton |
| YouGov | Gemini | YOUGOV PLC 03607311, London |
| DLR Media | AI Mode | DLR MEDIA LIMITED SC600110, Dundee |
| SearchScore | AI Mode | No results for this name |
| Tilio | ChatGPT, Gemini | Only exact match dissolved September 2020; no active match |
| 365i / AI-Visibility.org.uk | Gemini, AI Mode | 365I LIMITED dissolved May 2023; trading company not identified |
Limits
- One day, five questions, three engines. Answers change from one asking to the next.
- All five questions are about one market, AI visibility services. Other trades may look different.
- The apps were signed in, which can personalise answers.
- Each name was searched once, under the name the engine used. A firm trading under another name can be missed. Sole traders and partnerships are not on Companies House at all.
- Whito competes in this market. That is why we publish every name and every outcome, not a selection.
What to do when an AI recommends a firm to you
- Search the name on Companies House. It is free.
- No match? Ask the firm for its company number. A sole trader will not have one, so ask for a trading address instead.
- If the trade has a regulator, check its register too.
- Treat an AI answer as a shortlist, not a reference.
Run a business and want to know whether AI names you, or who it names instead? The free Visibility Check reads your website. The Visibility Monitor reads the engines each month and checks every rival on the register.
Data and method
The full month-one report, with every answer logged, is published as the Visibility Monitor sample report (PDF). Register outcomes are as read on 23 October 2026.
Cite as: Whito, “Are the firms AI recommends on the register? We checked 43 names”, 2 November 2026.
The structural checks behind this research run on any website in about twenty seconds. Enter yours and read the full result on the page. Free, and we do not ask for your email.
Run the free Visibility CheckIf your business is named here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk and we will check it and correct it. If you want to respond, send us a statement and we will publish it alongside. Full detail: Corrections, right of reply and removals.
