Research Shows Agencies Aren't Talking Enough About What Prospective Clients Want to Know Most

Analysis of client priorities in the agency selection process, and what agency information is actually public-facing, reveals a gap that even LLMs can't close

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a growing, apparent disconnect between clients and agencies in the agency selection process, according to new research from Shimek, a strategic advisory firm connecting brands with trusted agency partners globally. The report released today used four independent analyses to uncover a concerning potential gap: while clients have clear priorities and questions when initiating an agency search, publicly available agency information rarely addresses these criteria.

The report, The Goldilocks Problem: Finding the "Just Right" Agency, is based on insights from both a client and an agency perspective. A virtual focus group of 30 senior in-house marketing and communications executives with direct experience in agency selection and management established a clear set of priorities. Three different analyses then examined how public-facing agency information stacks up against these priorities. These included an LLM visibility audit, a website content analysis across a representative set of 14 marketing, advertising and communications agencies, and a Google search audit across the same agencies.

Across all four analyses, it became clear that agencies emphasize their own company positioning and capabilities, rather than highlighting the more practical and nuanced issues clients actually consider when conducting agency reviews.

"Knowing clients can choose from scores, maybe hundreds, of agencies, we wanted to explore the challenges they face when initiating an agency selection process — and to see if AI and other discovery tools have the potential to improve the process," said Steve Shimek, CEO and founder of Shimek. "The data indicates a discovery gap between what clients want and need to know when searching for an agency, and what they can actually find, even in LLM responses."

"While AI is the latest powerful discovery layer, we learned that it and its search cousins are only as useful as the information available to them — and today, that information appears uneven at best," he continued.

The Focus Group: What Clients Want
Insights from the focus group, including CMOs, in-house communications leaders, and VP-level marketing executives, revealed a set of priorities present at the start of any agency search. Clients appear mostly focused on finding agencies that can show measurable outcomes, commit to senior-level day-to-day involvement, have relevant sector experience, and demonstrate team chemistry.

These executives said they will disqualify agencies that have a reputation for high employee or client turnover, or for switching out teams after the pitch. And, in some cases, the group participants said they ruled out agencies that represent companies working with governments known to violate human rights, reflecting broader geopolitical and ethical considerations.

LLM Responses and Web Content: What Agencies are Saying (or Not Saying)
The LLM audit served as a proxy for how clients may begin their agency search: using generative AI to help them shortlist agencies, build an RFP, and uncover other insights not easily found via agency websites or traditional search engines.

The LLM audit used 115 distinct search prompts across 36 topic categories that represented probable client queries and reflected the priorities offered by the virtual focus group participants. Fourteen different U.S.-based agencies were analyzed in the audit, representing a cross-section of large global agencies, mid-size firms, and smaller specialist practices, spanning marketing, communications, creative, and digital services.

The goal was straightforward: when a prospective client asks these questions, do any of the 14 agencies actually surface in LLM responses? Only 11 earned even a single mention across any of the 115 prompts. Three returned zero results in any LLM response on any platform. Five topic categories — measuring PR agency success, senior-level team commitment, the agency review and selection process, client-agency accountability, and AI transparency — returned zero mentions of any of the 14 agencies studied across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview.

To expand the analysis beyond LLM visibility, the report also looked at how discoverable agency website content is on client priorities and examined Google search results. Across all three of these analyses, it became apparent that agencies are more visible on expected company positioning and capabilities than on many of the practical and nuanced issues clients are considering when in the throes of a review.

"Often the agency selection process is opaque, and we believe that the search gets better when both sides get closer," added Shimek. "That requires each party to get out from behind their keyboard and engage in conversations — with each other, with people they know and people they don't — to uncover what an algorithm can't."

Download and read the full report here.

About Shimek
Shimek maintains a network of over 300 agencies, curated over decades and vetted through client recommendations and an active, ongoing pulse on agency performance, reputation, and market standing. Since 2011, the firm has guided hundreds of companies through more than 1,800 agency searches spanning every marketing and communications discipline, in nearly every industry, across the U.S. and around the world. For more information, visit www.shimekstrategic.com.

Media Contact:
Brian Mast
104 West Partners on behalf of Shimek
[email protected]

SOURCE Shimek