Guide
The AI Shortlist Index: November 2026
By The Venoh AI team · Last updated November 8, 2026
When a buyer asks AI "who is the best X in India", a short list of brands takes most of the answers. The AI Shortlist Index ranks them: 104 brands across 14 industries, from 1,441 tests of the plain buyer question for real companies' categories. 70% of the companies we tested were not named at all. This is who was. Published by Venoh AI every month; free to quote with a link.
| Industry | #1 named by AI | Also on the shortlist | Companies tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | Marsh India | Prudent Insurance Brokers, Square Insurance Brokers, Howden India | 210 |
| Software and SaaS | InsuraCRM | Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath, OWLS Software | 180 |
| Wealth and investing | Groww | Zerodha, Blume Ventures, Nuvama Private | 125 |
| Banking and lending | HDFC Bank | ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finance | 116 |
| Healthcare and pharma | MediBuddy | Onsurity, Practo, Johnson & Johnson | 104 |
| Consumer brands and e-commerce | Amazon India | Wakefit, BlueStone, Haldiram's | 71 |
| Marketing agencies | Sercon India | iProspect India, Pinstorm, Social Beat | 65 |
| Manufacturing | Avaada | SRF, ReNew | 58 |
| HR and recruitment | ABC Consultants | Randstad India, SutraHR, Vantage Fit | 55 |
| Fintech and payments | Cashfree Payments | Razorpay, Bajaj Finserv, PayU | 46 |
| IT services | Accenture | TCS, Infosys, HCLTech | 45 |
| Consulting | Accenture | FundTQ | 39 |
| Real estate | CBRE India | Cushman & Wakefield India, NoBroker, JLL | 35 |
| Education | NIIT | Bodhih | 34 |
The full Index, industry by industry
Insurance: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marsh India | 23 of 210 tested categories |
| 2 | Prudent Insurance Brokers | 17 of 210 tested categories |
| 3 | Square Insurance Brokers | 11 of 210 tested categories |
| 4 | Howden India | 10 of 210 tested categories |
| 5 | Axis Max Life | 9 of 210 tested categories |
| 6 | Aon India | 7 of 210 tested categories |
| 7 | Edme Insurance Brokers | 7 of 210 tested categories |
| 8 | Riskcovry | 6 of 210 tested categories |
| 9 | Zopper | 5 of 210 tested categories |
| 10 | ICICI Lombard | 5 of 210 tested categories |
67% of the insurance brokers and insurers we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full insurance results.
Software and SaaS: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | InsuraCRM | 5 of 180 tested categories |
| 2 | Microsoft Power Automate | 3 of 180 tested categories |
| 3 | UiPath | 3 of 180 tested categories |
| 4 | OWLS Software | 3 of 180 tested categories |
| 5 | Darwinbox | 3 of 180 tested categories |
| 6 | Keka | 3 of 180 tested categories |
| 7 | LeadSquared | 2 of 180 tested categories |
| 8 | Zapier | 2 of 180 tested categories |
| 9 | Bond-Pro | 2 of 180 tested categories |
| 10 | Infosys | 2 of 180 tested categories |
74% of the software and SaaS companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full software and saas results.
Wealth and investing: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groww | 15 of 125 tested categories |
| 2 | Zerodha | 15 of 125 tested categories |
| 3 | Blume Ventures | 8 of 125 tested categories |
| 4 | Nuvama Private | 8 of 125 tested categories |
| 5 | Angel One | 7 of 125 tested categories |
| 6 | Anand Rathi Private Wealth | 5 of 125 tested categories |
| 7 | ICICI Prudential | 5 of 125 tested categories |
| 8 | Kotak Private Wealth | 5 of 125 tested categories |
| 9 | Nippon India | 4 of 125 tested categories |
| 10 | ONE Wealth | 4 of 125 tested categories |
80% of the wealth managers, stockbrokers and investment firms we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full wealth and investing results.
Banking and lending: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HDFC Bank | 17 of 116 tested categories |
| 2 | ICICI Bank | 17 of 116 tested categories |
| 3 | SBI | 11 of 116 tested categories |
| 4 | Bajaj Finance | 8 of 116 tested categories |
| 5 | LIC Housing Finance | 7 of 116 tested categories |
| 6 | Kotak Investment Banking | 6 of 116 tested categories |
| 7 | Tata Capital | 6 of 116 tested categories |
| 8 | Muthoot Finance | 4 of 116 tested categories |
| 9 | Moneyview | 4 of 116 tested categories |
| 10 | Bajaj Housing Finance | 3 of 116 tested categories |
62% of the banks and lenders we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full banking and lending results.
Healthcare and pharma: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MediBuddy | 5 of 104 tested categories |
| 2 | Onsurity | 5 of 104 tested categories |
| 3 | Practo | 4 of 104 tested categories |
| 4 | Johnson & Johnson | 3 of 104 tested categories |
| 5 | Plum | 3 of 104 tested categories |
| 6 | Anvayaa | 3 of 104 tested categories |
| 7 | Tata 1mg | 2 of 104 tested categories |
| 8 | PharmEasy | 2 of 104 tested categories |
| 9 | R1 RCM | 2 of 104 tested categories |
| 10 | Syngene International | 2 of 104 tested categories |
69% of the healthcare and pharma companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full healthcare and pharma results.
Consumer brands and e-commerce: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon India | 2 of 71 tested categories |
| 2 | Wakefit | 2 of 71 tested categories |
| 3 | BlueStone | 2 of 71 tested categories |
| 4 | Haldiram's | 2 of 71 tested categories |
63% of the consumer brands and e-commerce companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full consumer brands and e-commerce results.
Marketing agencies: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sercon India | 4 of 65 tested categories |
| 2 | iProspect India | 3 of 65 tested categories |
| 3 | Pinstorm | 3 of 65 tested categories |
| 4 | Social Beat | 3 of 65 tested categories |
| 5 | Schbang | 2 of 65 tested categories |
| 6 | Ogilvy India | 2 of 65 tested categories |
| 7 | Showtime Events | 2 of 65 tested categories |
| 8 | DDB Mudra | 2 of 65 tested categories |
91% of the marketing and advertising agencies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full marketing agencies results.
Manufacturing: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avaada | 3 of 58 tested categories |
| 2 | SRF | 2 of 58 tested categories |
| 3 | ReNew | 2 of 58 tested categories |
72% of the manufacturers and industrial companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full manufacturing results.
HR and recruitment: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABC Consultants | 12 of 55 tested categories |
| 2 | Randstad India | 4 of 55 tested categories |
| 3 | SutraHR | 3 of 55 tested categories |
| 4 | Vantage Fit | 3 of 55 tested categories |
| 5 | Plum | 2 of 55 tested categories |
| 6 | Apex Systems | 2 of 55 tested categories |
| 7 | Michael Page India | 2 of 55 tested categories |
| 8 | CIEL HR | 2 of 55 tested categories |
| 9 | Quess Corp | 2 of 55 tested categories |
89% of the recruitment, HR and employee-benefits firms we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full hr and recruitment results.
Fintech and payments: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cashfree Payments | 5 of 46 tested categories |
| 2 | Razorpay | 4 of 46 tested categories |
| 3 | Bajaj Finserv | 4 of 46 tested categories |
| 4 | PayU | 3 of 46 tested categories |
| 5 | CARE Ratings | 3 of 46 tested categories |
| 6 | Wealthy | 2 of 46 tested categories |
| 7 | Paytm | 2 of 46 tested categories |
| 8 | Skydo | 2 of 46 tested categories |
| 9 | ICRA | 2 of 46 tested categories |
| 10 | India Ratings | 2 of 46 tested categories |
74% of the fintech, payments and financial advisory firms we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full fintech and payments results.
IT services: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accenture | 7 of 45 tested categories |
| 2 | TCS | 6 of 45 tested categories |
| 3 | Infosys | 6 of 45 tested categories |
| 4 | HCLTech | 6 of 45 tested categories |
| 5 | Cognizant | 5 of 45 tested categories |
| 6 | Deloitte | 4 of 45 tested categories |
| 7 | Wipro | 3 of 45 tested categories |
| 8 | Genpact | 2 of 45 tested categories |
| 9 | Concentrix | 2 of 45 tested categories |
| 10 | Capgemini | 2 of 45 tested categories |
80% of the IT services and outsourcing companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full it services results.
Consulting: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accenture | 3 of 39 tested categories |
| 2 | FundTQ | 2 of 39 tested categories |
82% of the consulting and research firms we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full consulting results.
Real estate: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CBRE India | 4 of 35 tested categories |
| 2 | Cushman & Wakefield India | 3 of 35 tested categories |
| 3 | NoBroker | 2 of 35 tested categories |
| 4 | JLL | 2 of 35 tested categories |
| 5 | Colliers | 2 of 35 tested categories |
| 6 | Brigade | 2 of 35 tested categories |
57% of the real estate and construction companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full real estate results.
Education: who AI names most
| Rank | Brand | Named in answers for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NIIT | 2 of 34 tested categories |
| 2 | Bodhih | 2 of 34 tested categories |
79% of the education and training companies we tested were not named at all for their own category. Full education results.
How the Index is made
Between 5 October and 1 November 2026 we asked AI search with live web search (Perplexity, through its API), two or three versions of the plain buyer question for each of 1,441 companies' own category and market, such as "best insurance broker in India". A brand's count is the number of tested categories whose answers named it. AI answers vary from run to run, so the Index shows who is named most consistently, not a single answer. The next edition re-tests every question. Method in full.
Named in the Index? Show it
Brands in the Index can add the Named by AI 2026 badge to their website, linking to this page. Copy this code:
<a href="https://venoh.com/ai-shortlist-index" title="Named by AI: Venoh AI Shortlist Index"><img src="https://venoh.com/badge/named-by-ai-2026.svg" alt="Named by AI 2026, Venoh AI Shortlist Index" width="180" height="56"></a>Frequently asked questions
What is the AI Shortlist Index?
A monthly ranking by Venoh AI of the brands AI assistants name most when buyers ask for the best company in an industry in India. The November 2026 edition ranks 104 brands across 14 industries.
How do I get my company into the AI Shortlist Index?
A brand is in the Index when AI names it in answers to buyers' questions. That depends on being mentioned on the sites AI reads: listings, reviews, comparisons, press and clear answer pages. Venoh AI's free check shows where you stand.
Can I use the Named by AI badge?
Yes, if your brand is in the current Index. Link the badge to venoh.com/ai-shortlist-index.
Want this checked on your own pages?
The Venoh AI diagnostic reviews your real pages and labels every finding by how it was determined. Send us your website address and a line about what you sell.