Which managed IT service providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? (October 2026)
When US buyers ask AI engines which managed IT service provider to hire, two names come back far more often than any other. Dataprise was named most often, in 33 of 56 answers (58.9%), followed by Ntiva (29) and Thrive (14). 54 of the 56 answers named at least one firm, and 152 different firms were named in total, 103 of them only once.
By Frederik Jakobsen, founder of Danish Lead Co and SourceRank AI. Measured 10 October 2026, published October 2026.
The firms AI named most often
Share of all 56 answers that named the firm as a provider, and how many answers on each engine named it. An answer counts once per firm however often it repeats the name.
96.4%
Answers that named at least one provider firm: 54 of 56. The rest gave criteria or advice and no names.
152 firms
Distinct firms named across all 56 answers. 103 of them were named in only one answer.
21.1%
Share of all 360 firm mentions taken by the three most named firms, Dataprise, Ntiva and Thrive.
| # | Firm | Answers naming it | Engines | ChatGPT of 12 | Gemini of 12 | Copilot of 8 | AI Mode of 12 | AI Overviews of 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dataprise | 33 of 56 58.9% | 5 of 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 5 |
| 2 | Ntiva | 29 of 56 51.8% | 5 of 5 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| 3 | Thrive | 14 of 56 25.0% | 4 of 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Integris | 14 of 56 25.0% | 5 of 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Corsica Technologies | 14 of 56 25.0% | 5 of 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | NexusTek | 11 of 56 19.6% | 3 of 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Synoptek | 10 of 56 17.9% | 4 of 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | All Covered | 9 of 56 16.1% | 5 of 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Accenture | 7 of 56 12.5% | 4 of 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Net at Work | 6 of 56 10.7% | 4 of 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 11 | Corporate Technologies | 6 of 56 10.7% | 3 of 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Logically | 5 of 56 8.9% | 4 of 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Cognizant | 5 of 56 8.9% | 3 of 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | TeamLogic IT | 4 of 56 7.1% | 2 of 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | CompassMSP | 4 of 56 7.1% | 3 of 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Top 15 of 152 firms. Engine columns show answers naming the firm out of that engine's measured answers. Firms with the same count are listed in the order the data was read.
What the answers show
- +Two firms stand clear of the field. Dataprise was named in 33 of 56 answers, 58.9%, and Ntiva in 29 of 56 answers, 51.8%. The next three, Thrive, Integris and Corsica Technologies, were each named in 14.
- +The tail is long. 152 different firms were named, and 103 of them appeared in only one answer, so most firms a buyer meets in an AI answer are not repeated anywhere else.
- +Engines agree on the top pick: Dataprise was the most named firm on every engine (tied with Ntiva or Corsica Technologies on some). In 9 of 12 questions at least two engines named the same firm first.
- +A review directory mattered here: clutch.co was the most cited domain in this category, in 11 of the 41 answers that showed sources.
What each engine named
The most named firm per engine, and how many firms each engine named in this category.
| Engine | Answers | Named a provider | Distinct firms | Most named firm on that engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 12 | 11 of 12 91.7% | 51 | Dataprise, Ntiva (9 of 12) |
| Gemini | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 49 | Dataprise (8 of 12) |
| Microsoft Copilot | 8 | 8 of 8 100.0% | 66 | Dataprise, Corsica Technologies (4 of 8) |
| Google AI Mode | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 26 | Dataprise, Ntiva (7 of 12) |
| Google AI Overviews | 12 | 11 of 12 91.7% | 37 | Dataprise, Ntiva (5 of 12) |
First-pick agreement: in 9 of the 12 questions where at least two engines named a firm, two or more engines named the same firm first. Dataprise was named by 5 of 5 engines.
The sources behind the recommendations
Most cited domains in the 41 answers that showed a source list. Several are MSPs' own pages (zazz.io, compassmsp.com, cortavo.com), which is how smaller firms entered the answers.
| # | Cited domain | Kind | Answers citing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | clutch.co | Directory, review or analyst site | 11 of 41 26.8% |
| 2 | technologymatch.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 9 of 41 22.0% |
| 3 | zazz.io | A named firm's own website | 8 of 41 19.5% |
| 4 | compassmsp.com | A named firm's own website | 7 of 41 17.1% |
| 5 | cortavo.com | A named firm's own website | 7 of 41 17.1% |
| 6 | cloudtango.net | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 7 of 41 17.1% |
| 7 | digacore.com | A named firm's own website | 6 of 41 14.6% |
| 8 | aristekconsulting.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 5 of 41 12.2% |
| 9 | corsicatech.com | A named firm's own website | 5 of 41 12.2% |
| 10 | mspcompanies.us | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 5 of 41 12.2% |
| 11 | themanifest.com | Directory, review or analyst site | 5 of 41 12.2% |
| 12 | gartsolutions.com | A named firm's own website | 5 of 41 12.2% |
Out of the 41 answers that carried a source list (123 distinct domains). Sources per engine: ChatGPT 0 of 12, Gemini 11 of 12, Copilot 8 of 8, AI Mode 10 of 12, AI Overviews 12 of 12.
| Source kind | Answers citing at least one |
|---|---|
| Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 37 of 41 90.2% |
| A named firm's own website | 32 of 41 78.0% |
| Directory, review or analyst site | 16 of 41 39.0% |
| Social and video | 3 of 41 7.3% |
| Community forum | 2 of 41 4.9% |
An answer can cite several kinds, so the rows do not sum to the total. "A named firm's own website" means the domain matches the name of a firm named in this category.
How a firm in this category gets named
Being named depends on what the engines read. In this category, of the 41 answers that showed their sources, 32 cited a named firm's own website and 16 cited a directory, review or analyst site. Smaller MSPs that were named mostly entered through their own pages being cited by the engines that show sources: Cortavo's site was cited in 7 answers and CompassMSP's in 7. A clear, specific page answering the buyer's exact question, plus a Clutch profile with real reviews, are the two surfaces the engines read here. This is the work SourceRank AI does, described on the services page. The free site readiness check shows whether your site is structurally ready to be cited; it checks your site, it does not measure answers like the ones on this page. To see where your own firm stands in these answers, book a call.
Exactly what was measured
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 October 2026, one run |
| Buyer questions | 12, each phrased as a buyer asking for a provider, varied by size, budget, situation and switching. Full list below |
| Answer engines | 5: ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews |
| Engine cells | 60. One question on one engine |
| Answers measured | 56 of 60. The denominator for every share on this page. 4 Copilot answers were written for a buyer outside the US, a side effect of the third-party service we query Copilot through, and are excluded |
| Market | United States, English. Google AI Mode and AI Overviews were queried with a US location. ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot were not given a location, the same as in our client measurement runs; Copilot answers that assumed a buyer abroad are excluded |
| Sources | Cited sources come from Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews. ChatGPT's answers in this run came back without a machine-readable source list, so ChatGPT is not in the source tables |
| Firm extraction | One language model call per answer listed the firms the answer named as providers, excluding directories, publications, citation labels and tools. Names were normalised and aliases merged. A hand check of 20 answers across the study is reported on the hub page |
| Not measured | Location personalisation for the chat engines, logged-in or personalised sessions, run-to-run variation (this is a single run, and the same question asked again can return different firms), and model versions, which change without notice |
All 12 buyer questions
- Best managed IT service provider for a 200-person company in the US?
- Which managed service providers (MSPs) are best for mid-size businesses?
- Top managed IT services companies for a company with 100 to 500 employees
- We are unhappy with our current MSP. Which managed IT provider should we switch to?
- Which MSP should a mid-size company use for 24/7 helpdesk and network management?
- Best outsourced IT support company for a multi-location business in the US
- Recommend a managed IT services provider for a healthcare practice group with 300 staff
- Which managed IT providers are best for manufacturing companies?
- Most reliable national managed service providers in the United States
- Best co-managed IT provider to support a small internal IT team
- Which managed IT services company offers the best value for a 50-person firm?
- What are the top-rated managed service providers for mid-market companies moving to the cloud?
Cite this research
Journalists, analysts and writers are welcome to quote, chart and republish the figures on this page. Please credit SourceRank AI and link to this page as the source. For the underlying data, a comment from Frederik Jakobsen or a category we have not covered, see the press page.
Suggested citation
SourceRank AI (2026). Which managed IT service providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? Measured 10 October 2026. https://sourcerankai.com/research/who-ai-recommends/managed-it-service-providers/
Link to copy
<a href="https://sourcerankai.com/research/who-ai-recommends/managed-it-service-providers/">Which managed IT service providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? (SourceRank AI, October 2026)</a>Where to go next
All 22 category studies
Who AI recommends across 22 B2B categories, with the cross-category findings and the full method.
What AI engines cite by industry
The source mix behind AI answers in ten industries, from our September 2026 measurement runs.
AEO for this industry
What we do for firms in this space, and the questions their buyers ask AI.
Common questions
Which managed IT service providers does ChatGPT recommend?
In this October 2026 run ChatGPT named Dataprise and Ntiva most often, in 9 of its 12 answers each. Across all five engines the most named were Dataprise (33 of 56 answers), Ntiva (29) and Thrive (14).
Do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend the same managed IT service providers?
Partly. Dataprise was named by 5 of the 5 engines, and in 9 of the 12 questions at least two engines named the same firm first. Below the top few names the lists diverge: 103 of the 152 firms were named in only one answer.
How was this measured?
12 buyer questions asking for managed IT service providers were put once to ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews on 10 October 2026, from a US English context. 56 answers were measured, and the firms each answer named as providers were extracted and counted once per answer. It is a single run, and the same question asked again can return different firms.