PR agencies in AI answers: well-known names lead, specialists win on topics

Key findings

• Well-known firms lead: fischerAppelt in Germany (37% of answers), ikp in Austria (50%), Team Farner in Switzerland (51%).
• On specific topics, other agencies often lead. In 27 of 51 topics, the top agency is outside the country's top 10: 11 in Germany, 9 in Switzerland and 7 in Austria, out of 17 each.
• On company size, the well-known names stay ahead. Mid-sized company, 200 employees, international group: in all three countries a top-10 agency leads.
• Each country has its own sources. In Germany it is PR-Journal with the Pfeffer ranking, in Austria medianet and HORIZONT, in Switzerland the member list of Leading Swiss Agencies (16% of answers).
• Revenue and AI visibility only match at the top. The Faktenkontor group ranks 12th by revenue in Germany and 87th in AI answers. movea communication ranks 2nd by revenue in Austria and 36th in AI answers.
• A shortlist, not a number one. Only 4.4% of the analysed answers explicitly put one agency ahead of all others. And the systems rarely agree: in Germany, no agency is in the top 10 of all five.
• Permanent index: from 1 November 2026 the index is published monthly. Rankings and agencies can be searched online now.

Spremberg, 28 September 2026. People looking for a PR agency increasingly ask ChatGPT and co. as well. Which agencies these systems name is what the PR analytics platform aclipp measured daily from 6 to 22 September 2026: 96 questions and 7,797 analysed answers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Germany the AI systems name fischerAppelt most often, in 37 percent of answers. In Austria ikp leads (50 percent), in Switzerland Team Farner (51 percent). As soon as someone looks for an agency for a specific topic, other agencies often lead in all three countries.

Top 5 per country

Share of answers in the country ranking (questions without a city) that name the agency. 6 to 22 September 2026.

The countries in detail: Germany · Austria · Switzerland

General questions, familiar names. Specific topics, specialists.

For each country aclipp asked about 17 topics: disciplines, industries and company sizes. In Germany, 11 of them are led by an agency outside the top 10 of the country ranking. For internal and change communication the systems name komm.passion in 85 percent of answers, for B2B tech and software additiv. PR (83 percent). In Switzerland this applies to 9 of 17 topics, for example Kingfluencers for influencer campaigns (94 percent). In Austria the pattern is weaker but present: in 7 of 17 topics an agency outside the top 10 leads, for example FOLLOW Austria for influencer campaigns (91 percent). For crisis communication in Austria, on the other hand, the number one of the country ranking leads: ikp with 90 percent.

Four topics go to agencies outside the top 10 in all three countries: influencer and creator, public affairs, energy and cleantech, and automotive and mobility. Questions about company size, by contrast, stay with the familiar names. For mid-sized companies fischerAppelt leads in Germany (64 percent), Himmelhoch in Austria (78 percent) and Team Farner in Switzerland (70 percent). For an international group it is Edelman (81 percent), Ketchum (80 percent) and Team Farner (74 percent).

Four topics, three countries: the number one

Share of answers that name the agency for the topic. None of the twelve is in its country's top 10. Public affairs refers to the capital in each case (Berlin, Vienna, Bern). Around 80 answers per topic question. 6 to 22 September 2026.

"On general questions, the well-known names win. As soon as someone looks for an agency for a specific topic, crisis, public affairs or influencers, the list looks completely different. Specialists often come to the front that hardly appear in the overall ranking," says Sascha Kirstein, founder and CEO of aclipp.

Each country has its own sources

In Germany, PR-Journal with its ranking database and the Pfeffer ranking is the most cited trade medium: it appears as a source in 272 answers about Germany, ahead of PR Report (114) and HORIZONT (101). The GPRA association accounts for 3 percent of German answers. At the top, this revenue ranking and AI visibility match; further down, the two lists diverge widely.

In Austria the systems also rely mainly on trade media: medianet's agency list appears as a source in 198 Austrian answers, the HORIZONT PR agency ranking in 197, around 9 percent each. The PRVA association accounts for 5.6 percent. In Switzerland it is an association list: the member list of Leading Swiss Agencies appears in 385 answers, 16 percent of all Swiss answers, more often than any trade medium. persoenlich.com follows with 193 answers. Agency directories such as Sortlist play a part everywhere: directories and brokers are cited as a source in 58 percent of answers in Germany, 43 percent in Switzerland and 36 percent in Austria.

Then there are the agencies' own websites. Across all three countries, the systems cite the agency's website in 81 percent of the answers that name TEAM LEWIS, and in 80 percent for ikp. For the influencer question in Austria, the systems cite FOLLOW Austria's own website in 99 percent of the cases that name the agency, and Kingfluencers' in 88 percent in Switzerland.

"The systems draw on what is on the web: the agency's own website, directories, rankings. Which sources count, though, apparently differs from country to country. In Switzerland it tends to be the association list, in Germany and Austria the trade media with their rankings," says Kirstein.

A shortlist, not a number one

The systems rarely name a clear number one: only 4.4 percent of the 7,797 analysed answers (346) explicitly put one agency ahead of all others. Usually you get a list of several names, and the five systems often come to different results. In Germany, no agency is in the top 10 of all five systems. In Austria, ikp, Martschin & Partner and Himmelhoch are in every top 10, but together the five top-10 lists name 24 different agencies. In Switzerland all five systems put Team Farner first, and behind it 25 different agencies appear across the five lists.

"AI rarely gives a clear recommendation. Most of the time you get a shortlist of five or six names. For agencies, getting onto that list is probably what matters, more than being first. It says nothing about the quality of an agency. It shows who the systems know, and that depends heavily on what is on the web about an agency," says Kirstein.

Germany

The AI specialists

For internal and change communication the systems name komm.passion in 85 percent of answers, for automotive and mobility TEAM LEWIS (85 percent), for B2B tech and software additiv. PR (83 percent), for financial services CARTA Kommunikation (80 percent) and for start-ups after Series A PRLab (78 percent). For crisis communication fischerAppelt (49 percent) is just ahead of Dunkelblau (49 percent) and Edelman (48 percent). For public affairs in Berlin ORCA Affairs leads (51 percent), for influencer and creator the Intermate Group (72 percent). fischerAppelt stays ahead on broad questions, for example healthcare and pharma (89 percent) and mid-sized companies (64 percent). Anyone looking for an agency for an international group is most often pointed to Edelman (81 percent).

Mistral is the only system that does not name fischerAppelt most often, but Akima Media. The cities have their own winners too: Adel & Link in Frankfurt (77 percent), VOCATO in Cologne (74 percent), Schwartz PR in Munich and Sympra in Stuttgart (73 percent each).

Revenue and AI visibility

For their recommendations the AI systems often draw on a revenue ranking: PR-Journal with its ranking database is cited as a source in 272 answers about Germany, more often than any other trade medium. It publishes the PRJ Pfeffer ranking 2026 (fee income 2025), for which agencies report their own revenue. At the top, revenue and AI visibility match: fischerAppelt leads both lists, and Edelman, MSL and Ketchum are in the top five of both. Further down the lists diverge widely. The Faktenkontor group ranks 12th by fee income and 87th of 757 agencies named in AI answers; OSK Oliver Schrott Kommunikation ranks 9th and 41st. Conversely, Schwartz PR ranks 26th by revenue and 6th in AI answers, additiv. PR 50th and 11th. Akima Media and FGS Global are in the AI top 10 but do not take part in the Pfeffer ranking.

"AI follows the revenue rankings, but not one to one. Some agencies are much more visible in the answers than their size would suggest, while some large firms hardly appear," says Kirstein.

Austria

The AI specialists

For automotive and mobility the systems name Paua Kommunikation in every answer, for influencer and creator FOLLOW Austria (91 percent), for public affairs in Vienna communication matters (86 percent), for energy and cleantech Oseon (63 percent), for consumer and lifestyle Lifelike PR (60 percent) and for healthcare and pharma Hennrich.PR (52 percent). None of these agencies is in the top 10 of the Austrian overall ranking. Other topics go to familiar names: ikp leads for crisis communication (90 percent), Reiter PR for start-ups after Series A (90 percent), Martschin & Partner for financial services and banks (78 percent), Himmelhoch for mid-sized companies (78 percent). Asked for an agency for an international group, the systems put Ketchum first (80 percent).

The cities have their own winners too: in Vienna Martschin & Partner leads (64 percent), just ahead of ikp (61 percent). In Graz Short & Sweet PR leads (69 percent); in the nationwide country ranking the agency is 119th.

Revenue and AI visibility

How far revenue and AI visibility go together shows in a comparison with the HORIZONT PR agency ranking 2026 (fee income 2025). At the top the lists match: Grayling ranks 1st by fee income and 3rd in AI answers, ikp 3rd and 1st. Seven of the ten agencies with the highest revenue in the HORIZONT ranking are also in the AI top 10. Further down the lists diverge. Martschin & Partner, listed in the HORIZONT ranking in the group of places 11 to 18, is 2nd in AI answers. movea communication ranks 2nd by revenue and 36th of 504 agencies named in AI answers. Ecker & Partner (6th in AI answers) and Reiter PR (9th) are not included in the published HORIZONT ranking (places 1 to 18).

Revenue and AI visibility in Austria. HORIZONT PR agency ranking 2026 against the AI country ranking, selection.

HORIZONT rank by fee income 2025; places 11 to 18 without a published order. AI rank: place in the Austrian country ranking (questions without a city, 504 agencies named). 6 to 22 September 2026.

Trade media and rankings appear as a source in 19 percent of Austrian answers, much more often than in Switzerland (10 percent). Besides medianet and HORIZONT the systems cite Leadersnet (52 answers), press releases on ots.at (133) and the PRVA agency finder (118). Sortlist alone appears in 26 percent of Austrian answers.

Switzerland

Where AI gets its knowledge

For their answers the systems rely mainly on directories, the agencies' own websites and association lists. Directories and brokers are cited as a source in 43 percent of Swiss answers, Sortlist alone in 35 percent. The systems also often cite the agencies' websites: kontx.ch in 21 percent of Swiss answers, farner.ch also in 21 percent and brandaffairs.ch in 19 percent.

Among source types, associations follow directories and brokers with 18 percent, mainly through the member list of Leading Swiss Agencies. Trade media and rankings together account for 10 percent. In Germany and Austria association lists play a much smaller role.

Number one and association list across DACH

Country ranking, questions without a city, 6 to 22 September 2026.

Specialists, systems, cities

For public affairs in Bern, Les Tailleurs Communication (96 percent) and furrerhugi (95 percent) are almost level. On specialist topics the systems also name agencies outside classic PR: for influencer campaigns, Kingfluencers is followed by HEADZ Agency (84 percent) and House of Influence (80 percent). Team Farner stays ahead on broad questions, for example SMEs (70 percent), a company with 200 employees (88 percent) or an international group (74 percent).

The Swiss specialists

Selection. ◆ = not in the top 10 of the Swiss overall ranking. Around 80 answers per question, 6 to 22 September 2026.

Team Farner leads in all five systems, but how often varies: Gemini names the agency in 88 percent of answers, Google AI Mode in 71, ChatGPT in 43, Claude in 31 and Mistral in 24 percent. Only Team Farner, KONTX and furrerhugi are in the top 10 of all five systems. Of the 25 agencies across the five top-10 lists, 15 appear in only one system. Answers also shift noticeably from day to day: in ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode, Brand Affairs reaches 5 to 35 percent depending on the day, Burson 7 to 38 percent. A single query therefore says little; only the average over many days gives a reliable picture.

Zurich, Bern and Basel have their own favourites. In Zurich the systems name Contcept most often (44 percent), ahead of open up (39 percent) and Team Farner and Brand Affairs (38 percent each). In Bern Esther Beck PR leads (55 percent), ahead of furrerhugi (47 percent) and Zoebeli Communications (40 percent); in Basel int/ext Communications (47 percent) leads Valencia Kommunikation (37 percent) and bom! communication (25 percent).

The index continues

The first measurement becomes a permanent index. From 1 November 2026 aclipp publishes the results monthly, on the first of each month. The rankings for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, every agency to search and the original prompts are available now at aclipp.com/en/pr-agencies/ai-visibility-index.

For the monthly measurement aclipp has revised the prompt set. Some questions in the first wave mixed topic and city, and not every topic was asked the same way in all three countries. The new set asks about topics per country and cities separately, with a fixed weighting per country. Measurement then uses the three most widely used systems, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. The September figures are the starting point, not a baseline for the following months.

"How agencies show up in AI answers is not set in stone. That is why we measure continuously, disclose questions and methodology, and show transparently every month where each agency stands," says Kirstein.

Methodology

• Survey: aclipp, own measurement with the aclipp feature AI Visibility, not commissioned
• Period: 6 to 22 September 2026, daily queries
• Questions: 96 typical searches for PR agencies. Germany 41: 19 without a city (2 general recommendations, 16 topics, 1 language test in English) and 22 with a city across 7 cities. Austria 26: 19 without a city, 7 with a city in Vienna and Graz. Switzerland 29: 19 without a city, 10 with a city in Zurich, Bern and Basel. Public affairs is asked about the capital in each case and is the 17th topic. Queries were run from a location in the country.
• Language: apart from the language test, the questions were asked in German, so French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland are only partly covered. In Switzerland the SME question referred to "mittelständische Unternehmen" (mid-sized companies).
• AI systems: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral and Google AI Mode. Gemini and Mistral incomplete on some days. Google AI Overview only on 6 September; those answers are included in the data.
• Data: 7,797 analysed answers, 4,875 of them in the country rankings (questions without a city), the rest in the city questions. Around 80 answers per topic question. Agencies named: 757 in Germany, 504 in Austria, 676 in Switzerland.
• Study and index: the figures in this release are the results of the study (wave 1). On the basis of this data aclipp has built the permanent AI Visibility Index. For the index, agency names were cleaned further, variants merged and entries without a PR connection removed. Ranks and values in the index may therefore differ from the study figures.
• Analysis: agency names read from each answer by AI extraction (Mistral Small), only what appears verbatim in the text. Spelling variants merged; directories, associations and media do not count as agencies. Sources: websites cited by the AI systems.
• Visibility: share of answers that name an agency. AI answers vary from day to day; the values are averaged over the whole period. The country ranking averages over all questions without a city, so an agency that is strong in only one topic cannot lead it.
• Revenue comparison: Germany against the PRJ Pfeffer ranking 2026 (fee income 2025, self-reported by the agencies), Austria against the HORIZONT PR agency ranking 2026 (fee income 2025), published for places 1 to 18, with places 11 to 18 in no published order.
• Context: visibility says nothing about the quality of an agency. It shows which agencies the AI systems know and name for typical questions.
• Independence: client relationships had no influence on data collection or analysis.
• Continuation: monthly on the first of each month from 1 November 2026, with a revised prompt set and the AI systems ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Wave 1 values are therefore not directly comparable with later months.

Rankings, all agencies and original prompts: aclipp.com/en/pr-agencies/ai-visibility-index
Background on the blog: aclipp.com/en/blog/ai-visibility-index-pr-agencies
Study data (country rankings and prompts, German): aclipp.com/en/press

High-resolution charts and the full data package are available on request. Sascha Kirstein is available for interviews and background conversations on the methodology.