AI is changing the way clients choose accountants

When a business owner asks an AI tool which accountancy firm to consider, your firm is either part of the answer or it is not. That is a new visibility test, and it has commercial consequences most partners have not yet weighed.

A few years ago, prospective clients searched Google for an accountant or asked their network for a recommendation. Increasingly, they ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity. The question for partners is whether their firm appears in the answer.

This shift is quiet but commercial. Visibility is no longer about ranking on the first page of Google. It is about whether your firm is recognisable to the AI tools your prospective clients are now using as a first filter. The firms that fare best are the ones that have invested in genuine published thinking, clear positioning, and being known for one thing rather than vaguely for everything.

In my recent Accountancy Ireland piece, I look at what this means for accountancy firms specifically and the practical steps partners can take to be visible in this new layer of search.

Three things worth knowing:

1.     AI tools draw on what is already published about your firm; if there is little, you do not appear

2.     The firms that do best are those known clearly for one specialism rather than for everything

3.     This is not about gaming the system; it is about being the firm that genuinely earns the recommendation

Read the full piece in Accountancy Ireland.

Read in Accountancy Ireland →

Whether you want to mobilise your team, sharpen your messaging, or build a pipeline of new opportunities, let us talk about what practical, tailored support could look like in your firm.