Professional Services Firms’ Positioning and AI Search Readiness: What Our 2026 Survey Found

RSW/B2B’s 2026 report, The State of Agency Positioning & AI Search Readiness, surveyed mid-to-small professional services firms across North America in June 2026 to understand how they view their own brand positioning and how they’re adapting to AI-mediated search.

[Download the full report below]

The findings reveal an interesting contradiction: over 75% of firms describe the professional services industry as “somewhat” or “very” undifferentiated, yet more than 80% believe their own firm stands apart from its closest competitors.

This traces back to process.

Roughly 80% of firms built their positioning internally, relying on their own employees rather than outside perspective, which helps explain why so many firms sound alike while each one insists it’s the exception.

On the AI front, awareness is high but action lags.

Sixty percent of firms say they’re “very” or “extremely” aware of emerging AI search standards, yet only 11% consider their own site “very optimized” for AI-mediated search platforms like Claude or ChatGPT.

A few key numbers from the survey:

• 75%+ of firms see the industry overall as undifferentiated
• 80%+ of firms believe their own firm is differentiated from competitors
• 80% developed their positioning using only their own employees
• 60% are “very” or “extremely” aware of AI search standards
• 11% consider their site “very optimized” for AI-mediated search
• 60%+ use AI heavily for internal business practices, but only 40% use it heavily in client work

The report also touches on Google’s official generative AI search guidance, noting that it largely confirms existing SEO fundamentals while pushing back on some GEO tactics gaining traction in the market.

The report’s overall conclusion is straightforward: most firms think they’re different, but their positioning often mirrors the same handful of claims (senior-led teams, defined process, strategic partnership) found across the industry.

Getting objective outside input, and pairing sharper positioning with real AI search readiness, is positioned as the path forward.

Our report closes with an introduction to RSW/B2B’s AI-Brand Compass model, a positioning intelligence tool built on 100+ professional services firm sites that diagnoses how AI systems currently read a firm’s brand and audits its site against 10 GEO/AEO best practices, giving firms a concrete roadmap to navigate between current perception and target positioning.