How AI Search Is Recommending Staffing Agencies: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

Robert Half remains the category leader for valid recommendation coverage in August 2026, but its lead narrowed dramatically. Robert Half's coverage fell to 22.9% from 50.6% in July 2026, while Randstad, the next closest brand, declined to 17.5% from 43.2%. The gap between the leader and the second-place brand narrowed to 5.4 points in August 2026, down from a 7.4-point gap in July 2026.

The category experienced widespread declines across nearly all tracked brands. The sharpest single decline was Robert Half, down 27.7 points from July to August 2026, followed closely by Adecco down 27.2 points and Randstad down 25.7 points. Every tracked brand except Openjobmetis SpA and Staffmark Group recorded a significant decline in valid recommendation coverage this month.

This month's movement represents a pronounced category-wide contraction in how often AI systems surface staffing agencies as valid recommendations. The analysis found no significant risers in August 2026. The declines span all tiers of the category, from the leader to mid-tier and smaller brands. The pattern coincides with a broader compression in recommendation-shaped answers recorded across the benchmark this month, rather than a change isolated to any single brand.

Each monthly run begins with 788 prompt-surface observations (577 unique questions) across the benchmark's defined AI/search surface universe in August 2026, compared with 772 prompt-surface observations (496 unique questions) in July 2026. Of those, 788 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor in August 2026, versus 772 in July 2026; 703 were relevant and 85 were irrelevant in August 2026, versus 608 relevant and 164 irrelevant in July 2026. The public metrics use the 547 qualified observations in August 2026 and the 498 qualified observations in July 2026 that survive both qualification stages.

Key Findings

Benchmark Context

The report separates the raw collection universe from the qualified analysis set. Brand-level recommendation percentages are calculated within the qualified benchmark set.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The following metrics summarize the qualified benchmark's overall answer composition for the two months in this comparison.

The shift between July and August 2026 is substantial. Recommendation-shaped answer share fell by 19.1 points and valid recommendation shortlist share fell by 33.7 points, meaning AI systems produced far fewer direct recommendation formats in August 2026.

AI Recommendation Trend

Category-wide contraction in AI recommendation coverage

The staffing agencies category is in a broad decline phase. Robert Half retains leadership with 22.9% valid recommendation coverage in August 2026, but the gap to the next brand has narrowed. The category as a whole saw recommendation coverage compress across all tiers, with 14 of 16 tracked brands recording significant declines.

The breadth and consistency of the declines indicate a category-level pattern rather than isolated brand performance. No single brand exceeded normal month-to-month variation in a positive direction. The combined effect of 14 significant declines coincides with the drop in recommendation-shaped answer share described above, with fewer answers taking the form of valid recommendations.

What Changed This Month

Robert Half: Leader retains position despite largest decline

Robert Half's valid recommendation coverage fell to 22.9% in August 2026 from 50.6% in July 2026, a decline of 27.7 points. The brand's raw mention presence rate dropped to 27.8% from 70.9% over the same period.

Robert Half was recommended in the top three in 13.9% of observations in August 2026, down from 25.1% in July 2026. Rank-one recommendations were 10.1% in August 2026, down from 13.9% in July 2026. The brand was present in 152 of 547 qualified observations in August 2026, versus 353 of 498 in July 2026.

Despite the decline, Robert Half remains the category leader by a 5.4-point margin over Randstad. The brand's average recommended rank improved to 2.5 in August 2026 from 2.8 in July 2026, meaning when Robert Half is recommended it tends to appear higher in the list.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt types moved away from recommendation-shaped answers, and does Robert Half still capture rank-one positioning in the prompts it continues to win?

Adecco and Randstad: Mid-tier leaders lose significant ground

Adecco's valid recommendation coverage fell to 16.4% in August 2026 from 43.6% in July 2026, down 27.2 points. Randstad declined to 17.5% from 43.2%, down 25.7 points. Both brands remain in the top tier of the category but with substantially reduced coverage.

Adecco was present in 118 of 547 qualified observations in August 2026, versus 308 of 498 in July 2026. Rank-one recommendations fell to 1.3% from 5.8%. Randstad's rank-one rate declined to 3.5% from 7.6%, and its top-three rate fell to 11.2% from 23.5%.

Both brands maintained positive sentiment when mentioned, with net sentiment scores of 0.8 in August 2026. The declines are concentrated in reduced presence and top-three placement, not in negative framing.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Whether the drop for Adecco and Randstad is concentrated in specific prompt categories or AI surfaces, and which competitor is capturing the recommendations they previously held.

Broad mid-tier declines: Aerotek, Insight Global, Kelly Services, Express Employment Professionals, ManpowerGroup

A cluster of mid-tier brands each recorded significant declines between 12.7 and 19.3 points. Aerotek fell to 14.8% from 34.1%, Insight Global to 16.3% from 31.7%, Kelly Services to 9.3% from 25.1%, Express Employment Professionals to 10.2% from 25.9%, and ManpowerGroup to 11.0% from 23.7%.

These brands saw their raw mention presence rates fall by roughly 18 to 25 points. Their top-three recommendation rates also declined, though for several brands, including Aerotek and Express Employment Professionals, the top-three declines were comparatively small next to the swings in overall recommendation coverage. The category-level change came from the combination of several smaller movements across this tier.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Whether the mid-tier declines track the overall shift toward fewer recommendation-shaped answers, or whether specific AI surfaces are dropping these brands from recommendation lists.

Smaller brands: Disproportionate percentage impact

PeopleReady fell to 3.7% from 16.5%, a decline of 12.8 points. Spherion fell to 2.4% from 9.4%. PrideStaff fell to 2.6% from 5.8%. These brands operate on small observation counts, so percentage movements can overstate the absolute change. PeopleReady had 20 valid recommendations in August 2026, down from 82 in July 2026. Spherion had 13 valid recommendations in August 2026, down from 47. PrideStaff had 14, down from 29.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Whether these brands appear only in specific prompt types that saw fewer recommendation-shaped answers, rather than losing visibility across the board.

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

In August 2026, all 547 qualified observations were classified into the Brand Recommendation cluster, which captures discovery and consideration prompts. The Pricing & Value and Multi-Brand Comparison clusters had no observations in either July or August 2026. The public benchmark therefore measures which brands AI systems recommend for staffing needs, but it cannot yet answer how AI systems frame pricing, value, or head-to-head competitive comparisons for staffing agencies.

Brand Opportunity Summary

The benchmark identifies where attention is warranted; a company-level analysis is needed to explain why.

Evidence Behind the Benchmark

The aggregate metrics are built from prompt-level observations, including the query, AI surface, recommendation outcome, rank, sentiment, and citations where exposed. Company-level analysis can go deeper into prompt, competitor, surface, and evidence patterns. Source presence is not automatically treated as proof of causation.

About This Benchmark

This report is part of the LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery research program.

• AI Industry Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Industry Market Discovery Metrics
• AI Industry Market Discovery Standards

Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• Small-count movement: Brands such as AppleOne Employment Services, Employbridge, and Staffmark Group operate on very small observation counts (3, 4, and 2 valid recommendations respectively in August 2026). Percentage movements for these brands should be interpreted with caution.
• Qualified denominator vs raw collection: Brand-level percentages are calculated within the 547 qualified observations for August 2026, not the 788 raw prompt-surface observations. The raw universe includes irrelevant and reserved prompts.
• Directional analysis: Month-over-month movement identifies changes worth investigating. This report does not establish the cause of those changes. The category-wide nature of the declines coincides with broader shifts in the benchmark's recommendation-shaped answer share, but prompt-level or company-level analysis is required to confirm.
• Instrument consistency: The same instrument version was used for both July and August 2026, and no instrument break was recorded.

Next Step

The Public Benchmark Shows Where a Brand Is Winning or Losing. A Company-Level Audit Shows Why.

The aggregate coverage percentages in this report raise questions that only company-level analysis can answer. Which high-intent prompts is a brand winning or losing? When a brand loses a recommendation, which competitor takes its place? What attributes do AI systems associate with each staffing agency, and which external sources shape those answers?

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps these prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy. The benchmark shows where attention is warranted; the audit explains why and what to do about it.

Request an AI visibility audit