TheShortlist Report

Measured research on who gets recommendedLatest reading

Counts, not opinions · No paid placement · Method published

Shortlist Report

What The Shortlist Report finds

Most “best agencies” lists are somebody’s opinion or somebody’s paid placement. Ours are counts.

We put the questions buyers really ask to AI assistants, ask each one many times because the answers move, and record which firms come back. Then we publish the tally, the sample size, and the method — so you can argue with the numbers instead of taking our word for them.

Nothing here is our judgement of who is good. It is a count of who gets named, which is a different and more checkable thing. How we measure.

16,604Responses measured
91Questions reported
509Firms counted
–Measured

Reports

Where each firm shows up: managed IT service providers

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 14 managed IT service providers questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one managed IT service providers report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmManaged it service providersMSP small businessMSP cybersecurityCo managed it providersMSP regulated industriesMSP multi site and remoteMSP cloud microsoft AWSOutsourced it help deskSwitching managed service providerMSP midmarket and enterpriseMSP backup and ransomware recoveryMSP network and infrastructureMSP vcio and it strategyMSP by cityReports
Accenture63%—21%———34%12%—64%————5 of 14
Ntiva44%46%—————19%8%—6%———5 of 14
Dataprise37%28%——33%——17%6%—————5 of 14
IBM41%—32%——————39%9%———4 of 14
Integris—7%—————10%8%————51%4 of 14
Kyndryl57%—————21%——54%————3 of 14
NTT DATA54%—22%——————51%————3 of 14
CDW50%—————42%——23%————3 of 14
Cognizant36%—————18%——50%————3 of 14
CMIT Solutions—17%——————5%————26%3 of 14
Rackspace38%—————46%———————2 of 14
HCLTech34%————————41%————2 of 14
DXC33%————————34%————2 of 14
SHI39%—————28%———————2 of 14
Thrive43%—————————6%———2 of 14
Infosys———————10%—37%————2 of 14
Deloitte—————15%22%———————2 of 14
Framework IT————————————17%19%2 of 14
IT GOAT————————4%————25%2 of 14
Bit by Bit————————4%————21%2 of 14
On-Site Technology———16%———————5%——2 of 14
Uprite—7%——————4%—————2 of 14

Where each firm shows up: Amazon agencies

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 12 Amazon agencies questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one Amazon agencies report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmAmazonAmazon full service managementAmazon PPCAmazon listing creativeAmazon launchAmazon enterprise brandsAmazon small sellersAmazon account problemsAmazon by verticalAmazon international expansionAmazon logistics and claimsSwitching amazonReports
Tinuiti100%14%45%—20%41%——45%——47%7 of 12
Nuanced Media57%—11%17%14%———18%——19%6 of 12
SalesDuo17%15%33%17%—17%—————18%6 of 12
Olifant Digital17%—25%—13%——4%14%——18%6 of 12
Canopy Management75%—34%—15%——6%———45%5 of 12
Acadia84%————28%——21%——24%4 of 12
My Amazon Guy37%——18%———5%———14%4 of 12
Pattern61%————34%——23%———3 of 12
Amazon Growth Lab24%——————5%———10%3 of 12
Channel Bakers62%————18%——————2 of 12
Marknology——————45%4%————2 of 12
VASO Group—————18%————31%—2 of 12
Flywheel20%————25%——————2 of 12
Teikametrics——34%————————11%2 of 12
Front Row—23%———17%——————2 of 12
BellaVix27%——————————11%2 of 12
PPC Jumpstart——————33%4%————2 of 12
Sequence Commerce—19%12%—————————2 of 12
Seller Interactive———13%16%———————2 of 12

Where each firm shows up: fractional CFO and outsourced accounting firms

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 12 fractional CFO and outsourced accounting firms questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one fractional CFO and outsourced accounting firms report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmFractional CFO firmsFractional CFO startupsOutsourced accounting small businessCFO support fundraising M&AFractional CFO by industryOutsourced controller bookkeepingAccounting systems implementationBooks are messOutsourced tax and complianceCap table and valuation advisorsOutsourced FP&A and forecastingInterim finance leadershipReports
Deloitte28%——16%————22%15%14%22%6 of 12
KPMG21%——————3%26%16%—22%5 of 12
EY———14%——14%—21%14%—19%5 of 12
RSM42%—————27%—21%——11%4 of 12
PwC23%———————30%15%—22%4 of 12
Pilot95%55%41%—————————3 of 12
Burkland Associates65%51%—24%————————3 of 12
BDO39%———————21%——17%3 of 12
Grant Thornton28%——————2%18%———3 of 12
Kruze Consulting63%52%——————————2 of 12
inDinero72%—17%—————————2 of 12
Paro54%—————————12%—2 of 12
BPM—————28%10%—————2 of 12
AccountingDepartment.com——15%——21%——————2 of 12
Kroll———17%—————14%——2 of 12
Genpact—————18%————11%—2 of 12
Alvarez & Marsal———12%———————10%2 of 12

Where each firm shows up: TikTok Shop agencies

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 12 TikTok Shop agencies questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one TikTok Shop agencies report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmOverallLive sellingAffiliatePaid mediaCreator sourcingSetup and managementUSSmall brandsEnterprise cpgBeauty brandsBy verticalSales stalledReports
Social Tale40%—55%38%43%52%55%45%55%64%74%48%11 of 12
MediaLabs60%—73%34%41%25%18%30%66%39%38%20%11 of 12
Creatify35%—36%31%40%19%—33%13%59%31%18%10 of 12
MADA——44%25%22%——26%47%59%53%16%8 of 12
Pattern42%—15%—14%15%——42%—11%—6 of 12
Outlandish61%———14%—18%—25%—8%7%6 of 12
MomentIQ21%44%——13%14%23%—————5 of 12
WE Marketing——26%—51%36%—————24%4 of 12
The Brand Buddies———————39%—33%40%—3 of 12
Growera———27%———38%———16%3 of 12
TokShop Agency———————15%—34%28%—3 of 12
Uptickk26%—16%—9%———————3 of 12
Amie——————17%——50%——2 of 12
Harvest Group18%———————29%———2 of 12
Social Commerce Club30%—13%—————————2 of 12
Iced Media23%————————16%——2 of 12
OverCast Digital26%——————————9%2 of 12
BA Media—————20%————8%—2 of 12
Favored21%——————————6%2 of 12
Avanta Brands———14%—————12%——2 of 12
TBAR Partners———17%———————9%2 of 12

Where each firm shows up: Salesforce and CRM implementation partners

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 10 Salesforce and CRM implementation partners questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one Salesforce and CRM implementation partners report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmSalesforce partners small mid marketSalesforce partners by industrySalesforce migration partnersSalesforce integration specialistsSalesforce managed servicesFailed salesforce implementationSalesforce marketing cloud partnersSalesforce service cloud partnersSalesforce data and analyticsSalesforce training and adoptionReports
Accenture19%75%22%44%24%9%31%53%29%11%10 of 10
Deloitte14%68%23%38%23%—29%35%28%9%9 of 10
Slalom21%52%17%40%—8%31%40%30%10%9 of 10
PwC—61%12%22%——13%26%21%—6 of 10
Capgemini—42%—23%——15%37%13%—5 of 10
IBM—20%—26%——18%39%14%—5 of 10
Cognizant———23%23%—20%26%——4 of 10
Systep19%———48%—————2 of 10
Wipro———25%———36%——2 of 10
MK Partners——————13%19%——2 of 10
RSM18%—14%———————2 of 10

Where each firm shows up: AEO, GEO and AI visibility agencies

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 8 AEO, GEO and AI visibility agencies questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one AEO, GEO and AI visibility agencies report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmAeo geoGeo b2b saasGeo ecommerceTechnical aeo geoAi citation contentAi visibility monitoringGeo small businessEnterprise geoReports
iPullRank77%32%——23%—20%46%5 of 8
Siege Media68%25%24%—27%——27%5 of 8
Go Fish Digital36%17%22%—21%——21%5 of 8
Omniscient Digital53%35%————27%17%4 of 8
First Page Sage37%31%19%————18%4 of 8
Directive44%31%—————27%3 of 8
Profound—18%———59%——2 of 8
NoGood46%—————19%—2 of 8
Skale26%18%——————2 of 8
Search Agency————17%20%——2 of 8
POLARIS———9%24%———2 of 8

Where each firm shows up: NetSuite and ERP implementation partners

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 8 NetSuite and ERP implementation partners questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one NetSuite and ERP implementation partners report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmNetsuite partnersERP selection advisorsQuickbooks to ERP migrationERP ecommerce and inventoryERP integrations and custom buildERP managed servicesFailed ERP implementationERP midmarket and enterpriseReports
Deloitte94%12%——31%21%—42%5 of 8
RSM76%—10%18%—33%—29%5 of 8
Accenture61%———34%19%—42%4 of 8
Capgemini60%———14%18%—36%4 of 8
IBM60%———15%18%—33%4 of 8
PwC63%———25%——37%3 of 8
KPMG59%———11%——27%3 of 8
Myers-Holum40%——16%—18%——3 of 8
Rand Group——13%19%——15%—3 of 8
Infosys56%——————22%2 of 8
EY54%——————22%2 of 8
Lightbridge ERP—58%——16%———2 of 8
Ultra Consultants—50%————17%—2 of 8
Cognizant41%———22%———2 of 8
NTT DATA38%————18%——2 of 8
ERP Advisors Group—42%————8%—2 of 8
BDO—————26%—19%2 of 8
EPIQ Infotech—————31%9%—2 of 8

Where each firm shows up: executive search firms

Share of responses naming each firm, across the 7 executive search firms questions. Blank means the firm was not named often enough in that sample to clear the reporting threshold. Only firms named in more than one executive search firms report are shown.

Figures are the percentage of that report’s responses naming the firm. Column headers link to the full report, which states its own sample size and collection window.
FirmExecutive search firmsExecutive search by roleExecutive search by industryExecutive search startupsExecutive search enterprise and boardDiversity executive searchFailed executive searchReports
Spencer Stuart100%90%96%—87%58%66%6 of 7
Korn Ferry100%91%90%—65%55%47%6 of 7
Russell Reynolds Associates100%82%85%—70%61%49%6 of 7
Heidrick & Struggles100%82%81%—63%57%43%6 of 7
Egon Zehnder100%77%67%—64%42%39%6 of 7
ON Partners—23%19%15%29%——4 of 7
JM Search24%19%19%———7%4 of 7
True85%28%—35%———3 of 7
Odgers53%—34%—19%——3 of 7
DHR Global66%———22%—9%3 of 7
Diversified Search Group35%—21%——23%—3 of 7
Daversa Partners12%24%—34%———3 of 7
WittKieffer63%—27%————2 of 7
Boyden42%———25%——2 of 7
Cowen Partners—42%21%————2 of 7
Riviera Partners—16%—34%———2 of 7
Caldwell13%————19%—2 of 7

How to read any of this

Share is a plain fraction: the number of responses naming a firm, divided by the number of responses in that sample. Nothing is weighted or blended into a score. Firms are grouped into tiers rather than ranked one-to-N, because at these sample sizes the order inside the top group is noise — we tested that and show the working.

None of it is a quality ranking. It measures how often an AI assistant names a firm, which follows what has been written about that firm online. A good firm nobody has written about will score low here, and that is a fact about its visibility, not a verdict on its work.