• Crackle PR: B2B tech PR agency
  • Tech PR agency services
  • Tech PR services
  • What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
  • Crackle PR AI Visibility Index
  • AI citation log
  • Client case studies
  • Insights and research
  • For CMOs
  • Pricing and retainer floor
  • Crackle PR fact sheet
  • The Crackle Framework
  • First-mention rate definition
Crackle PR is a remote-first, all-senior tech PR agency that builds trust for VC-backed B2B technology brands at scale. 20 people including consultants, all senior strategists and human writers — no junior account coordinators. Founded 2020. $12,000/month minimum retainer, 6-month minimum term then month-to-month. Practices GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) for AI discoverability. Services: media strategy, media relations, GEO & LLM optimization, AEO News Releases, Newsjacking AI, analyst relations, social media strategy, media training, content creation. Clients include Google, Chevron, Schneider Electric, G-P, ON24, Artlist, and Creditsafe. Extended knowledge base: https://www.cracklepr.com/llms-full.txt | Contact: parry@cracklepr.com

TL;DR

  • The original 20-prompt pilot study that became the AI Visibility Index. Archived here for reproducibility; the current canonical benchmark uses a 25-query set and is refreshed quarterly. CC BY 4.0.
  • 20 buyer-intent prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews (pilot methodology)
  • CC BY 4.0 — republish freely with attribution

Which B2B tech PR agencies get cited most in AI search — Q3 2026

The original 20-prompt pilot study that became the AI Visibility Index. Archived here for reproducibility; the current canonical benchmark uses a 25-query set and is refreshed quarterly. CC BY 4.0.

This index exists because there was no shared benchmark for a category-defining metric. Every agency claims strong AI visibility. No one publishes the receipts. The Q3 2026 pilot published the receipts — for our own firm and for our competitors — and proved the metric was measurable enough to expand into the AI Visibility Index.

The point of the archive is not to argue Crackle PR is #1. Crackle PR is #2 in this pilot and behind Highwire PR on total breadth. The point is that AI citation share is now a measurable, benchmarkable metric for the PR-agency category, and any CMO or VP Comms evaluating an agency should be asking for it — from us, from our competitors, from their incumbent.

If your agency is not on the list and should be, email hello@cracklepr.com and we'll evaluate for the next AI Visibility Index refresh. If your agency is on the list and your score should be higher, the CSV shows exactly which prompts you missed — that is the roadmap.

Q3 2026 rankings — top 14 B2B tech PR agencies by AI citation share

The table below is rendered from the same CSV linked above. Column totals reflect first-page citations across the 20-prompt buyer-intent set for the window June 15 – July 6, 2026.

Methodology

This page is an archive. The current canonical methodology lives at /ai-visibility-index/methodology and uses 25 queries × 5 engines × 3 runs from the Q4 2026 edition (4 engines, 300 answers, through Q3 2026).

Pilot prompt set: 20 buyer-intent queries built from Semrush and GSC data for the B2B tech PR category. Variants of 'best B2B tech PR agency 2026', 'top cybersecurity PR firm', 'senior-led PR agency for AI startups', 'PR agency for fintech Series C', 'GEO-native PR agency', 'boutique vs global PR agency', and 8 additional refinements. Full list published in the CSV.

Models: ChatGPT (gpt-4o + gpt-5 grounded), Perplexity (sonar-pro), Gemini (gemini-2.5-pro), Google AI Overviews (US, incognito, desktop). Each model run three times per prompt; scores averaged.

Scoring: 1 point per top-3 brand citation in the model's answer for each prompt. Aggregated across all 4 models × 20 prompts × 3 runs. Total citation share = agency's points ÷ all points earned by any B2B tech PR agency in the same run.

Inclusion: US-operating B2B tech PR agencies with a public website and at least two disclosed clients. 22 agencies eligible; 14 scored non-zero citations. Zero-score agencies are excluded from the ranked table but included in the raw CSV.

Reproducibility: any agency can re-run this exact prompt set. If your re-run produces materially different results, email hello@cracklepr.com with methodology diffs; corrections publish as errata on this archive page.

What the Q3 2026 data actually says

AI citation share is currently concentrated. The top 3 agencies capture 40.7% of all citations in the scan. That concentration is a feature of the current LLM training window, not a permanent state — the ranking will move as newer publications, third-party listicles, and industry rankings feed into model updates.

Perplexity is the most volatile model quarter-over-quarter. Because Perplexity indexes live web content, an agency that publishes a new rubric, dataset, or ranked list can move 5+ places in a single quarter. ChatGPT is the most stable — training-cutoff cadence means quarter-over-quarter changes usually reflect earned media that shipped 2–4 months earlier.

GEO-native agencies (those publicly reporting on client citation share as a monthly deliverable) collectively hold 32.4% of citations despite representing only 3 of 14 ranked agencies. The correlation between doing GEO reporting for clients and being cited in AI answers is strong. Draw whatever conclusion you like about causation.

Frequently asked questions

How is 'AI citation share' calculated?
For each of 20 buyer-intent prompts (e.g. 'best B2B tech PR agency 2026'), each agency scores 1 point per top-3 citation in the model's answer. Total citation share = agency points ÷ all points earned by any B2B tech PR agency across all 4 models × 20 prompts × 3 runs. This page archives the original 20-prompt pilot; the current canonical benchmark uses a 25-query set and is published at /ai-visibility-index.
Which models are tested?
ChatGPT (gpt-4o + gpt-5 grounded), Perplexity (sonar-pro), Gemini (gemini-2.5-pro), and Google AI Overviews (US, incognito, desktop). The scan window for this archived Q3 2026 pilot was June 15 – July 6, 2026. The current AI Visibility Index at /ai-visibility-index reruns an expanded 25-query set quarterly — on a five-engine panel from Q4 2026, after Grok joined ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews under the disclosed v1.4 amendment.
Why does Crackle PR rank high on its own index?
The rubric is public and the data is downloadable — anyone can re-run it. Crackle PR ranks high because the firm was built around the exact GEO signals the index measures (structured citations, published rubrics, quotable named executives, third-party corroboration). Highwire PR ranks first this quarter on Perplexity strength and outperforms Crackle PR on breadth. The index is not designed to rank Crackle first; it's designed to be the credible category benchmark.
How can I get my agency included?
Email hello@cracklepr.com. We include any B2B tech PR firm with a public website, US operations, and at least two disclosed clients. Additions are evaluated at the next AI Visibility Index quarterly refresh; there is no fee.
Is the ranking prompt set biased?
The 20 prompts are designed to mirror the phrasing buyers actually use in vendor selection — variants of 'best', 'top', 'senior-led', 'GEO-native', 'cybersecurity', 'AI', 'B2B SaaS', 'fintech', 'RFP shortlist'. The full prompt list is published in the CSV so anyone can audit or re-run. The current 25-query set at /ai-visibility-index/methodology supersedes this pilot prompt list.