Who AI engines cite on CPA queries

For factual tax questions, AI engines go to the source: IRS.gov, state departments of revenue, and professional bodies such as the AICPA and its Journal of Accountancy, with large finance publishers filling in explanations. For "find me an accountant" questions, review platforms and directories carry much of the load. The exact mix varies by engine and query and changes over time, so we measure it per audit rather than publish a fixed ranking.

An independent firm will not displace IRS.gov on "what is the standard deduction". It can be the best answer to the questions the IRS does not answer in plain language: how a specific rule applies to a dentist's practice, what a Maryland LLC owner should do about pass-through entity tax, which states a small SaaS company must register in. Those pages get cited when they answer directly in a quotable passage, link to the primary IRS or state source for every rule, carry a named CPA author with a verifiable license, and show a last-reviewed date.

Entity work closes the loop. AccountingService and Person markup, a complete Google Business Profile, and consistent directory listings let an engine confirm that the firm and its authors are who they say they are. Our audit shows which sources each engine cites for your target questions and where your pages fall short of them.