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AI Shortlist Plays / Proof engines can quote

Can we name our clients in public proof, and how do we ask?

Ask in writing, channel by channel, with the exact words and numbers attached, and keep the answer on file. A named client is the strongest proof an engine can quote; an anonymised one still works if it is described well.

By ProlinkagePublished 8 November 2026Play 24 of 40 · Edition 1

Effort: 1 to 2 hours per client, plus a register

Who does it: Account lead, with marketing

Best for: B2B firms of 20 to 500 people

Evidence: Strong (for the legal floor: US FTC final rule, 14 August 2024)

01 / WHY IT MATTERS

Why it matters.

A named, checkable client carries more weight than “a leading SaaS company”. In our own test on 6 November 2026, ChatGPT pointed to named B2B clients when it explained why it shortlisted the firms it chose.

The rules set a floor too. The US Federal Trade Commission’s final rule on reviews and testimonials, announced on 14 August 2024, bans testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist or who had no actual experience of the business. Real, permitted and recorded is the only safe standard.

02 / SELF-CHECK

The 10-minute self-check.

List every client name, logo and quote on your site and your profiles. For each one, ask:

  • Do we have written permission, with a date?
  • Does it say which channels: website, LinkedIn, sales decks, outreach?
  • Has the client seen the exact numbers we show?

Every “no” is a risk to remove this week, not a box to tick later.

03 / STEPS

Steps.

  1. Ask per channel. Many clients say yes to the website and no to cold outreach.
  2. Offer three options: named; named without numbers; anonymised by industry, country and size.
  3. Send the exact text and figures for approval, not a summary.
  4. Record the answer and the date in a register, one row per client per channel.
  5. When you anonymise, describe enough to be useful (“a UK logistics software firm with 200 staff”) but not enough to identify. Never place the anonymised result next to the named version of the same client.
  6. Re-confirm every year, and when a client’s contact changes.

We apply the same register to every proof point in our AI search visibility work.

04 / OUR OWN SITE

What we saw on prolinkage.com.

05 / MEASURE

How to measure it.

  • Coverage: share of public proof with logged permission. The target is all of it.
  • Named proof: number of named results per service page.
  • Speed: days from ask to answer. Long waits usually mean the request was too vague.
07 / SOURCES

Sources.

AI Shortlist Plays

The self-check shows what you can see yourself.

What the engines say across repeated runs, which sources they read and who they name instead is harder to see from inside. Our free AI Visibility Snapshot runs a sample of your buyers’ questions and is reviewed by a person.

More than a decade of experience, across businesses and markets.