What ChatGPT and Google AI actually say about R&D tax advisers, our own sweep data
BDO converted every single one of its ChatGPT mentions into a recommendation. On Gemini, in the same sweep, it converted none. The gap between engines is often bigger than the gap between firms.
Steen Stones · Reviewed
Look at any single firm across all three engines in our R&D tax sweep and the spread is often bigger than the difference between one firm and the next. BDO's ChatGPT answers converted every one of its four mentions into a specific recommendation. Its Gemini mentions, five of them, same sweep, same week, converted none.
The same firm, three engines, three different outcomes
- BDO, ChatGPT100%
- ForrestBrown, ChatGPT83%
- ForrestBrown, Claude81%
- EmpowerRD, Claude65%
- RCK Partners, Claude58%
- BDO, Claude50%
- Kene Partners, Claude42%
- Alexander Clifford, Claude36%
- Every firm, Gemini0%
Avouch multi-engine market sweep, 18 July 2026, 50 buyer questions, UK R&D tax credit advisers, ChatGPT + Gemini + Claude, 87 firms tallied
Every single one of the 87 firms in this sweep shows a 0% Gemini conversion rate, not a low number, zero, checked against the full tally rather than a sample. ChatGPT and Claude both convert real, substantial shares of their own mentions, and not always for the same firms: ForrestBrown leads on both, but BDO's strength is specific to ChatGPT.
What the recommending answers actually said
Two quotes from the sweep, not yet used elsewhere in this territory, showing the same pattern that holds throughout: a specific reason, not a general endorsement.
BDO, my pick for larger or technically complex claims, especially where HMRC has opened an enquiry.
My pick is Ayming UK for mid-size to large contractors given its specific track record in the sector.
Where the citations actually come from
forrestbrown.co.uk was the single most-cited domain in the sweep, ahead of kene.partners and empowerrd.com, firms' own sites do appear as sources here, more prominently than in the solicitors sweep, where directories led. That's a real sector difference worth noting rather than smoothing over: R&D tax buyers researching a specific claim appear to read further into a firm's own site than a law firm buyer does, at least in this data.