New research from Hard Numbers shows one self-published page fooled ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude into reporting a fabricated award.
The same tactic lets any brand talk up itself – or talk down a rival – in the answers buyers now trust.
London, 11th June, 2026: Tech companies are quietly shaping what AI chatbots say about their competitors. New research from Hard Numbers looked at the sources driving answers to prompts about fintech, crypto and B2B software companies – and the sources that AI engines lean on when ranking or comparing brands are often written by the brands themselves.
The research spanned three sectors. In UK fintech, Hard Numbers ran prompts such as "Who offers the strongest BaaS stack for embedded finance products with multi-tenant controls and reliable operations?" and found that 70% of the sources influencing the answers were companies recommending themselves.
In crypto custody, prompts such as "Fireblocks vs BitGo for crypto custody" surfaced answers in which 30% of the top 20 sources were comparison pages published by one of the brands being compared. And across 50 B2B SaaS brands in Europe, when ChatGPT was asked "any reasons not to go with [provider]?", 70% of the responses were shaped by the brand's competitors.
To find out how little effort this really takes, Hard Numbers tested it the simplest way possible: it invented an industry award, named its own co-founder the best dressed practitioner in UK PR and published it on its website. The page announced the winners of the "UK PR Honours 2026", an awards programme Hard Numbers invented, and was written to read like a genuine write-up: Darryl Sparey named best dressed, Andy Barr of Season One Communications, who was in on the experiment, named runner-up.
No such ceremony took place and no other source mentions it anywhere. Within days, asked who the best dressed practitioner in UK PR is, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude named Darryl in the majority of responses.
A best-dressed award is harmless. But the tactic is not. Because AI engines repeat what's published with no human oversight, an unverified page can become a trusted source – and the same method could plant false claims about a company's reputation, a product's safety or a political issue.
The tests form part of Gullible Engine Optimisation, released today, a report on how easily AI answers about brands can be manipulated.
Paul Stollery, Co-Founder of Hard Numbers, says:
"We see this content come up all the time in the audits we run. Much of it is not, in isolation, problematic. If you see Brand A recommending itself over Brand B on their website, you take that with a pinch of salt. But the problem is – this content is now getting hoovered up by these chatbots and regurgitated to buyers and consumers. And when they read it, all too often it comes across as impartial advice. Many brands are cottoning on to this – we are into the era of Gullible Engine Optimisation."
Darryl Sparey, Co-Founder of Hard Numbers, says:
"Many within the guild of gilet wearers and 'The Puffer Vest Guy' on Twitter/X think I AM the best dressed man in PR… In all seriousness, if an agency can crown itself best dressed this easily, it can just as easily name itself the best fintech PR or crisis management firm, or talk a rival down. We've done this very publicly because awareness is the fastest route to a fix – and until there is one, every brand should know how gameable these systems actually are."
Results
Asked who the best dressed practitioner in UK PR is, all three chatbots named Darryl 21 of 30 times the platforms were asked.
Screenshots of responses can be provided on request.
About Hard Numbers
Hard Numbers is a performance-driven, data-informed marketing and communications consultancy, with a focus on delivering tangible, demonstrable return on investment for our clients. We create campaigns that drive pipeline, sales and company growth for fast-moving business-to-business companies.
Hard Numbers has recently been named Small Consultancy of the Year Award by the PRCA. It was the best new agency to launch in 2020 according to the CIPR, PR Moment and the UK Agency Awards.
In uncertain times, you need Hard Numbers.
