Research methodology

Each market analysis on Top AI Firms covers one area of enterprise AI, such as AI consulting or customer analytics, and places the firms working in it in order. This page explains the approach they share. Every analysis also states its own criteria in its text, so the method behind a particular list can be read on the list itself.

One area at a time

We do not publish a single overall ranking of AI firms. A firm that is strong in one area tells a buyer little about its work in another, so each assessment is published for its own area and stays there.

What counts as evidence

Placements rest on evidence a reader can check:

• independent analyst assessments, such as Gartner Magic Quadrant, Forrester Wave, Everest Group PEAK Matrix and ISG Provider Lens placements, whose methods the analyst firms publish
• disclosed financial results, such as reported revenue and bookings
• named client work and production deployments
• the firm's own announcements and published material

Marketing language on its own does not count. Where a figure comes only from a firm's own material, the analysis attributes it to the firm rather than presenting it as independently confirmed.

How a placement is decided

Each analysis applies the criteria it states to the firms with an active practice in its area, and explains every placement in the firm's own section: what the evidence is, and why the firm sits where it does. The ranked table at the top of each analysis links to those sections.

No firm pays to be included, placed or removed.

Sources

Claims are linked to their source where they are made, so a reader can open the report, filing or announcement behind a figure.

Keeping analysis current

Markets move, and an analysis is revised when the evidence behind it changes. Each analysis shows the date it was published or last updated. If something looks out of date or wrong, our corrections policy explains how to tell us and what happens next.

What an analysis cannot tell you

An analysis reflects the published evidence at the time it was written. It cannot tell you how a firm will perform on your project, what it will cost or how its team will work with yours. Use it to build a shortlist, then test the firms on it directly.