How One Blog Post Changed What AI Says About an Employer (Case Study)
How One Blog Post Changed What AI Says About an Employer (Case Study)
The setup: 1840 & Co is a remote staffing agency competing against giants like Toptal (74% AI visibility) and Upwork (29% AI visibility).
The problem: When candidates asked AI "What are the best remote staffing agencies?", 1840 & Co was never mentioned. Not once. 0% AI visibility.
The solution: They published one blog post.
The result: 0% to 11% AI visibility in two weeks. Top 5 most-cited brand in their category.
Time invested: ~4 hours to write and publish.
Budget required: £0.
This is the case study every HR leader should read — because it proves that AI visibility isn't about budget, team size, or technical complexity. It's about understanding what AI needs and giving it exactly that.
The Starting Point: Invisible to AI
When we talk about "AI visibility," we mean: When someone asks an AI assistant about employers in your space, how often does your brand appear in the response?
For 1840 & Co in late 2024, the answer was never.
What Candidates Were Asking
- "What are the best remote staffing agencies?"
- "How do I find remote developers in the UK?"
- "Which staffing agency should I use for remote workers?"
- "Toptal vs Upwork vs other remote staffing platforms"
What AI Was Answering
ChatGPT:
"For remote staffing, the leading platforms include Toptal (known for vetted top-tier talent), Upwork (broad marketplace), Fiverr (freelancers), and We Work Remotely (job board). Each has different strengths depending on your needs."
Claude:
"Top remote staffing options include Toptal for premium talent, Upwork for flexible hiring, Remote.co for curated roles, and FlexJobs for verified listings."
Perplexity:
"Leading remote staffing agencies: Toptal (74% AI visibility), Upwork (29%), Gun.io, Andela, and Turing. These platforms are frequently cited for quality and reach."
1840 & Co: Not mentioned. Not once.
Why This Mattered
Every week, thousands of potential clients were asking AI for staffing recommendations. Every week, AI was sending them to competitors.
1840 & Co was invisible in the exact moment clients were making decisions.
And they're not alone. This is the reality for most mid-market employers: you exist in the real world, but not in the AI world. And the AI world is where candidates and clients now do their research.
The Insight: AI Doesn't Need Your Marketing Site
Most companies respond to poor AI visibility by:
- Redesigning their website
- Investing in SEO agencies
- Running ads
- Hiring content teams
1840 & Co did something simpler: They asked what AI actually citations, and published exactly that.
Working with Profound (an AI visibility analytics platform), they analysed what content AI models were citing when answering staffing-related queries.
What AI Was Citing
The pattern was clear:
- List-based articles ("Top 10 remote staffing agencies")
- Comparison content ("Agency A vs Agency B")
- FAQ-style content (direct answers to common questions)
- Recent content (published within the last 12 months)
- First-party content (from the company's own blog, not third-party directories)
The insight: AI doesn't care about your homepage copy or your "About Us" page. It cares about structured, recent, informative content that directly answers user queries.
What AI Was Ignoring
- Generic marketing copy ("We're a leading provider of...")
- Service pages without specifics ("Our staffing solutions...")
- Case studies behind forms
- Press releases
- Anything published more than 18 months ago
Translation: The content most employers invest in (polished marketing sites, gated resources, generic service pages) is invisible to AI.
The Experiment: One Blog Post
Armed with this insight, 1840 & Co published a single blog post in early December 2024:
Title: "10 Best Agencies For Remote Staffing Solutions"
Format:
- Structured list of 10 remote staffing agencies
- 1840 & Co included (positioned #2)
- Each entry: 100-150 words describing strengths, use cases, and differentiators
- Clear headings for each agency
- FAQ section at the bottom answering common questions
Content strategy:
-
Be useful first, promotional second
- They included competitors (Toptal, Upwork, Gun.io, etc.)
- Each competitor description was fair and accurate
- They positioned themselves honestly: "Best for US-based businesses needing enterprise-level support"
-
Make it easy for AI to parse
- Clear section headings: "1. Toptal," "2. 1840 & Co," etc.
- Bullet points for key features
- Direct language: "1840 & Co specializes in..." (not "We believe..." or "Our mission...")
-
Answer the actual questions candidates ask
- FAQ section: "How do I choose a remote staffing agency?" "What should I look for?" "How much do they cost?"
- Direct answers, no fluff
-
Publish on their own blog
- First-party content carries more weight with AI models
- They control updates and can iterate based on performance
Time invested: ~4 hours (research, writing, editing, publishing)
Budget: £0 (written in-house)
The Results: 0% to 11% in Two Weeks
Week 1: First Citations Appear
Within 7 days, 1840 & Co started appearing in AI responses.
Query: "What are the best remote staffing agencies?"
ChatGPT (Dec 14, 2024):
"Top remote staffing agencies include Toptal, 1840 & Co, Upwork, and Gun.io. 1840 & Co specializes in enterprise-level remote staffing for US-based businesses."
First citation. After months of invisibility, they were in the conversation.
AI visibility: 6% (appearing in ~6% of relevant queries)
Week 2: Visibility Doubles
By day 14, citations increased.
Query: "Which staffing agency for remote developers?"
Perplexity (Dec 21, 2024):
"For remote developers, consider 1840 & Co (US-focused enterprise staffing), Toptal (premium vetted talent), or Turing (global AI-matched developers). 1840 & Co is noted for hands-on client support and US-based account management."
AI visibility: 11% (appearing in ~11% of relevant queries)
By End of Month: Top 5 Player
By early January 2025, 1840 & Co had become one of the top 5 most-cited remote staffing brands in AI responses — ahead of agencies with 10x their marketing budget.
Competitive landscape:
| Brand | AI Visibility | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Toptal | 74% | (already dominant) |
| Upwork | 29% | (already dominant) |
| Gun.io | 18% | +2% |
| 1840 & Co | 11% | +11% (from 0%) |
| Turing | 9% | +1% |
| Andela | 7% | 0% |
From invisible to top 5. With one blog post.
Why This Worked
1. They Gave AI What It Needed
AI models prioritize content that:
- Directly answers user queries (not marketing fluff)
- Is structured and parseable (headings, bullets, clear language)
- Is recent (published within 12-18 months)
- Is authoritative (first-party content from the company itself)
1840 & Co's blog post checked every box.
2. They Positioned Themselves Honestly
They didn't claim to be "#1" or "the best." They positioned themselves accurately:
"Best for US-based businesses needing enterprise-level remote staffing with dedicated account management."
AI trusts specificity over hyperbole. Generic claims ("We're the leading...") get ignored. Specific positioning ("We specialize in X for Y customers") gets cited.
3. They Included Competitors
This might seem counterintuitive, but including competitors made the content more credible and more useful — which made AI more likely to cite it.
When someone asks "What are the best remote staffing agencies?", AI wants to provide a comprehensive answer. A blog post that lists multiple agencies (including competitors) is more valuable than one that only promotes a single brand.
By being useful to the reader, they became useful to AI.
4. They Published Quickly
They didn't wait for perfection. They published a useful, well-structured post and iterated based on performance.
Speed matters in AI visibility. The companies that win are the ones that ship content, measure results, and iterate — not the ones that wait for the "perfect" content strategy.
The Ripple Effects
More Than Just Visibility
The benefits extended beyond AI citations:
-
Inbound leads increased
- Clients who discovered 1840 & Co via AI started reaching out
- "We found you on ChatGPT" became a common source attribution
-
SEO improved
- The blog post started ranking on Google for "remote staffing agencies"
- Traditional search visibility followed AI visibility
-
Sales conversations got easier
- Prospects arrived informed (they'd already read the blog post)
- Less time explaining what 1840 & Co does, more time on fit
-
Competitive positioning strengthened
- Being listed alongside Toptal and Upwork elevated brand perception
- "If AI mentions them with the leaders, they must be credible"
Total impact: One blog post became their highest-ROI marketing asset.
Other Examples: The Pattern Repeats
1840 & Co isn't alone. Other companies have seen similar results with single pieces of content.
Ramp: 3.2% to 22.2% AI Visibility
The problem: Low visibility in "accounts payable software" queries
The solution: Published two blog posts:
The result:
- 7x visibility increase (3.2% → 22.2%)
- Jumped from 19th to 8th most-cited brand in their category
- 300+ citations in the first month
Time invested: ~6 hours total
Statsig: 24.2% to 46.5% AI Visibility
The problem: Competing with legacy analytics tools
The solution: Published comparison content ("Statsig vs [competitor]") and use-case guides
The result:
- 92% visibility increase (24.2% → 46.5%)
- Now top 3 most-cited product analytics platform
- Inbound leads citing "found you on ChatGPT"
Time invested: ~10 hours across multiple posts
The pattern is clear: One well-structured, useful piece of content can change what AI says about you. And that changes everything downstream — discoverability, inbound leads, competitive positioning, and sales efficiency.
What You Can Do This Week
1. Find Your High-Value Query (15 minutes)
What's the question clients or candidates ask when they're looking for someone like you?
Examples:
- "What are the best [category] companies in [location]?"
- "Which employer should I work for in [industry]?"
- "How do I choose between [competitor A] and [competitor B]?"
- "What's the best company for [role] in [city]?"
Go ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity that question. Are you mentioned?
If not, that's your opportunity.
2. Write Your List Post (2-4 hours)
Structure it like 1840 & Co did:
Title: "Top [Number] [Category] in [Location]"
Example: "Top 10 Fintech Employers in London"
Content:
- Introduction (100 words): Why this list matters, how you chose companies
- The list (10 companies × 100-150 words each)
- Include yourself (honest positioning)
- Include competitors (be fair and accurate)
- Each entry: what they're known for, who they're best for, what makes them different
- FAQ section (5-7 common questions, 50-100 words each)
- Conclusion (50 words): How to choose
Be useful first, promotional second. If the post is genuinely helpful, AI will cite it.
3. Make It AI-Friendly
- Clear headings: "1. [Company Name]" "2. [Company Name]"
- Bullet points: Key features, strengths, differentiators
- Direct language: "Company X specializes in..." (not "We believe..." or "Our passion...")
- Recent: Make sure it's dated in the last 6 months
4. Publish on Your Own Blog
First-party content (on your own domain) carries more weight with AI than third-party content.
Don't submit to directories or guest-post on other sites. Do publish on your own blog where you control it.
5. Track the Results (Ongoing)
After publishing:
- Wait 7-14 days for AI models to index it
- Test the same queries again (ask AI the questions)
- Track whether you start appearing in responses
- Note what language AI uses when citing you
If it works, double down. Write more posts like it.
The Bottom Line
AI visibility isn't about big budgets or long timelines.
1840 & Co went from 0% to 11% visibility in two weeks with a single blog post. No ads. No agency. No redesign.
What it required:
- Understanding what AI needs (structured, useful, recent content)
- Publishing content that answers real questions
- Being specific and honest in positioning
- Making it easy for AI to parse and cite
The smallest action. The biggest ROI.
Most employers are still invisible to AI. Which means the opportunity is wide open for companies willing to publish one useful piece of content.
The question isn't whether you have time to do this. The question is whether you can afford not to.
Want to know what AI says about your company right now?
Run a free AI visibility audit — we'll show you exactly what ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity tell candidates when they ask about your employer brand.
Then publish one blog post and watch what changes.
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