12 NOVEMBER 2026 · 5 MIN READ · BEN FILDES
How recruitment agencies get recommended by ChatGPT: what 48 answers showed us
The short answer: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and the other big chat assistants recommend the recruitment agencies that the sites they read already list and describe clearly. Ranking in Google helps, but it is not the deciding factor. Being on the right lists, with a website that says exactly who you place and where, is.
We tested it. On 12 November 2026 we put the questions buyers ask to four chat assistants, with web search switched on, and counted who they named.
How we tested it
We tracked two businesses: a legal recruitment agency in Lancashire we work with, and NEON GORILLA itself.
For each, we wrote six questions in a buyer's words. For the agency, questions like "What are the best legal recruitment agencies in Lancashire?" and "Which recruitment agency should a law firm in Preston use to hire a solicitor?". Each question went to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and a fourth leading assistant. That is 24 answers per business, 48 in all.
We recorded whether each answer named the business, and every website it cited. The same day, we checked where each business sat in Google UK's top 100 for 15 searches.
What the answers showed
| Legal recruitment agency, Lancashire | NEON GORILLA | |
|---|---|---|
| Named in answers | 10 of 24 | 2 of 24 |
| ChatGPT | 5 of 6 | 0 of 6 |
| Gemini | 5 of 6 | 1 of 6 |
| Perplexity | 0 of 6 | 1 of 6 |
| A fourth assistant | 0 of 6 | 0 of 6 |
| In Google's top 100 | 7 of 15 searches | 1 of 15 searches |
Three things stand out.
The assistants lean on lists. Across the 24 legal recruitment answers, a recruitment agency directory was cited in 17. That is more than any single agency's own website. The next most cited were four rival legal recruiters' own sites, each in 10 to 12 answers, then Wikipedia in 7 and Reddit in 6. When someone asks "who should I use", the assistants go looking for a list, and then for the agencies on it.
Being named does not need page one. The agency ranked 34th in Google for "legal recruitment agency" and was outside the top 100 for "legal jobs manchester", its busiest search at 720 a month. Its best positions were 8th and 10th, on smaller searches. Yet ChatGPT and Gemini named it in 10 answers. Every one of those answers also linked to its website, so the site was being read even where it was not ranking.
Each assistant is its own audience. ChatGPT and Gemini named the agency in 5 of 6 answers each. Perplexity and the fourth assistant named it in none. For us it was the other way round: our two mentions came from Perplexity and Gemini. A check on one assistant tells you about that assistant only.
Google showed its own summary at the top of 4 of the agency's 15 searches. None of them cited the agency, so that is the next gap to close.
What a recruitment agency should do about it
None of this is a trick. It is the same work that wins clients the old way, done so a machine reading the web can find it.
1. Get listed, properly, where the assistants look. Find the recruitment directories and "best agencies in [city]" lists that come up for your sector and patch, and get on them. Fill in every field: specialisms, locations, contact details, a real description. A half-finished listing is one the assistant skips.
2. Say plainly who you place, and where. A specialism page for each sector you recruit in, and a location page for each patch you cover. "Conveyancing and private client recruitment for law firms in Lancashire and Greater Manchester" can be quoted. "Bespoke talent solutions" cannot.
3. Keep live jobs on your own site. Live roles with proper job structured data show you are active, in a place, in a sector. A site that stays in step with your Indeed feed does this without extra work. See a recruitment website that matches your Indeed feed and recruitment websites.
4. Collect reviews where people read them. Reviews from clients and candidates on your Google Business Profile and on the directories you are listed on. They are part of what a list is ranked by.
5. Be part of the conversation. Reddit was cited in 6 of the 24 answers. Helpful answers in the recruitment and legal threads, and useful posts on LinkedIn, put your name where the assistants read.
6. Keep your details the same everywhere. The same business name, address, phone number and description on your site, your Google profile and every directory. Mixed details make it harder to be sure the agency on the list is you.
The limits of a test like this
This is one day, six questions per business and four assistants. The answers change from one run to the next, so treat any single reading as a snapshot, not a verdict. We re-run the same questions every Monday and track the trend, which is the number that matters.
It also measures being named, not being chosen. A buyer who hears your name still has to like what they find. The work above helps there too.
Where this sits in winning clients
Being recommended by ChatGPT is the slow channel: it builds for months and pays for years. It sits beside the fast one, outreach to companies that are hiring right now. How to get clients for a recruitment agency covers both, and recruitment agency marketing splits the budget between them.
If you want the fast channel run for you, that is business development for recruitment agencies.
Sources
Our own tracker, read 12 November 2026: six buyer questions per business put to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and a fourth leading assistant with web search on, 48 answers in all, recording whether each named the business and which websites it cited; Google UK top 100 positions for 15 searches per business, with monthly UK search volumes from Google Ads. Data collected through DataForSEO. The legal recruitment agency is a client and is not named.
Get your free growth report and see your market's numbers, or book a 1-to-1 and we look at how your agency shows up together.
Questions people ask
- Does my recruitment agency need to rank on Google to be named by ChatGPT?
- Not on page one. In our test, a legal recruitment agency was named in 10 of 24 answers while ranking 34th in Google UK for "legal recruitment agency" and outside the top 100 for its busiest search. What it did have was a site that says plainly who it places and where, and listings on the sites the assistants read.
- Which sites do ChatGPT and Gemini use when they recommend recruiters?
- In our test they leaned on a recruitment agency directory, cited in 17 of 24 answers, then on agency websites, Wikipedia and Reddit. The pattern holds across sectors: lists and comparison pages are what the assistants quote when someone asks who to use.
- Why does Perplexity recommend different agencies from ChatGPT?
- Each assistant searches and weighs sources its own way. In our test ChatGPT and Gemini named the same agency in 5 of 6 answers each, while Perplexity and the fourth assistant named it in none. Track each one separately, and do not judge your visibility on a single assistant.
- How often should I check whether ChatGPT recommends my agency?
- Weekly, with the same questions each time. Answers change from one run to the next, so a single check proves little. A fixed set of questions asked every week shows the trend, which is what tells you whether your work is paying off.
This is one of the long answers behind business development for recruitment agencies. If you would rather we ran it for you, book a 1-to-1 and we work out your numbers live.
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