About Whito
Whito asks the AI engines who they recommend, checks each name on the register, and publishes the method. It is an independent UK research publisher, run by Whito Ltd since 2017. We look at how UK businesses are found, trusted and priced, and the studies are free to read. We only name firms we can confirm are real, using Companies House where they are registered, and if we can’t confirm one, we say so.
That covers what marketing and software cost, how sectors are structured, and what AI assistants recommend when someone asks for a local firm. The AI work runs on a fixed method and is published quarterly as the Whito AI Visibility Index.
Whito is not an agency, a review site or a price comparison site. We don’t run marketing, host reviews or arrange quotes. The free directory is our method in public, and nobody can pay to appear in it, to pass a check, or to move.
Free to read. Free to list. Nobody pays to appear. Listing is free, the AI check is free, and the paid products are always labelled, on the how we make money page.
What Whito is
The directory
Find a UK business, or list yours free. Listings are checked against Companies House where the business is registered, and against the business’s own website, structured so AI assistants can read them, and never ranked for payment. We do not invent reviews.
The research
Original, citeable studies built from primary data: a software price index verified against 50 vendors, a 120-site audit of AI readiness, UK cost benchmarks and more. 171 research and data posts published as of 23 September 2026, including the quarterly Whito AI Visibility Index.
The guidance
Practical marketing help for UK business owners, organised by the Whito Framework: Start, Build, Scale. Written in plain English, with advice we can back with data.
Why Whito exists
Most marketing advice is written for big brands with big budgets. It does not translate to a three-person business trying to win more customers from Google. We kept seeing the same problems: businesses paying for ads with no landing page strategy, posting on social media with no conversion path, rebuilding websites that were never the real issue.
Then the problem changed shape. People started asking ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity for recommendations before they ever searched, and most UK businesses are invisible to those tools. When we audited 120 independent UK business websites in July 2026, only one had a hand-written llms.txt file, and barely 6% used correct business-type structured data. The directory exists to fix that in the most direct way we could think of: listings that machines and people can actually read.
The guidance side gives UK businesses plain, sourced advice on what to do first, without the jargon or the retainer.
Whito in numbers, 23 September 2026
171
Research and data posts published free in the Whito library, with the method shown.
160
AI answers logged for the Q3 2026 Whito AI Visibility Index, across 8 sectors and 20 UK towns.
120
UK business websites audited for AI readiness in our sector study.
434
UK businesses listed on 18 September 2026, checked against Companies House where the business is registered.
Who is behind Whito
Whito was founded in 2017 by Jacob and Ethan Whitmore, two UK marketers with over 15 years of combined experience across SEO, paid advertising, analytics and conversion optimisation. They built Whito after years of watching businesses pay for tactics that sounded impressive and delivered nothing.
What we believe
Four principles sit behind the directory, the research and every piece of guidance we publish.
Structure before scale
No point driving traffic to a broken funnel. Fix the foundations first, then grow.
Clarity over cleverness
If your customer does not understand what you do in five seconds, nothing else matters.
Revenue, not vanity
Followers and impressions are nice. Sales and leads pay the bills, so that is what we measure.
Honest information
We tell you what the data shows and what you should stop paying for, even when it is uncomfortable.
How the guidance works
Everything follows the Whito Framework. Three stages, no skipping ahead.
Start
Get your positioning, offer and basics right. Clarity on who you serve, what you sell, and why it matters.
Build
Put systems in place. Consistent content, proper conversion paths, the right channels for your business.
Scale
Now you can grow. Double down on what works, automate where it saves real time, and add channels when the numbers support it.
Built on research, not opinion
We research pricing and claims from primary sources, test tools ourselves, and update published content when things change. Nobody pays for placement.
UK marketing cost index
Benchmarks for what UK businesses actually pay for marketing, updated as the market moves.
Software price index
What a real UK software stack costs, verified against 50 vendors in July 2026.
Tool reviews
Marketing tools tested with UK reality checks: real prices, VAT, billing currency and the traps.
Independent and transparent
Whito is independently owned. We are not part of a marketing agency, media group or software company, and we do not accept payment for reviews, rankings or placement anywhere on the site.
Some reviews include affiliate links. They never influence our scores or recommendations, and tools without affiliate programmes get the same coverage and scrutiny. Read exactly how we earn on our How We Make Money page, how we work on our Editorial Policy, and where our numbers come from on Data and Sources.
Whito Ltd is registered in England, company number 10918465. WHITO is a registered UK trade mark (UK00004268241).
Quick answers
What is Whito?
Whito is an independent UK research publisher with a free, register-checked directory. Listings are checked against Companies House where the business is registered and written so both people and AI tools can read them. The research library holds 171 research and data posts as of 23 September 2026, including the quarterly Whito AI Visibility Index, and the guidance is built on the Start, Build, Scale framework.
Is Whito free to use?
Yes. Browsing the directory, the research and the guidance costs nothing, and a standard directory listing is free. Nothing about a listing is for sale, and money never changes how anything is ranked.
How does Whito make money?
We sell Whito Data research files: the complete dataset behind a study, a quarterly Refresh, and built-to-order collections. Some tool reviews carry disclosed affiliate links. Nobody can pay for placement, a better review score or a higher ranking. The full breakdown is on our How We Make Money page.
How are directory listings verified?
Listings are built from public information. Where a business is a registered company we check it at Companies House, and when a business claims its listing we confirm its details and mark it Verified. We write listings in plain, structured language so AI assistants can read them, and we never invent reviews.
Who owns Whito?
Whito is independently owned by Whito Ltd, registered in England, company number 10918465. It was founded in 2017 by Jacob and Ethan Whitmore and is not part of any agency, media group or software company. It used to trade as WhitoMedia: same business, new name.
Want to know where your marketing stands?
Run the free Whito Visibility Check on your website. No sales pitch. No obligation. Just a clear, honest look at what is working and what is not.
Prefer to start small? Join Whito insights
Practical UK marketing tips and news for businesses. No jargon, no sales pitch.
Unsubscribe anytime