Picture a founder who has just incorporated a company. She needs bookkeeping, tax filings, payroll for her first two hires and probably a set of accounts her bank will take seriously. A few years ago she would have asked a friend, her bank manager or a fellow founder for the name of an accountant. Today, a growing share of owners open an AI assistant on their phone and ask outright: which kind of accounting firm suits a small services company? What should I ask before signing an engagement letter? Which firms in my city have a good reputation?
This shift does not replace referrals. It sits alongside them, and it moves the point at which the choice is shaped. This guide will not tell you what to do technically. It helps you weigh what the change means for your practice, and the decisions that sit with you as a partner or owner.
What has changed in the client's journey
Choosing an accountant has always been about trust. Clients hand over their numbers, their payroll and their dealings with the tax authority. Nobody chooses lightly. What has changed is where that trust starts to form.
The AI assistant now acts as a first adviser. It does not sign on the client's behalf, but it frames their thinking: which criteria matter, which questions to ask, and sometimes which firms to look at. The client then reaches you, or a competitor, with a short list already in mind. For the full journey, from Google searches to reviews and referrals, read our guide on how clients choose an accounting firm.
What is at stake for a firm
On the short list, or not in the running
When an AI assistant names three firms and yours is not among them, you have not lost a competition: you were never in it. The client does not compare you; they have no idea you exist. And unlike a Google search, where people scroll through several results, an assistant's answer is usually brief. There is little room.
Often the clients you want most
The owners who consult an AI assistant before choosing tend to be the ones starting up, scaling, preparing a funding round or bidding for public contracts. Those engagements grow, last and generate referrals of their own. Overseas founders setting up a local entity, with no network on the ground, fall into the same group.
A reputation that is read online
An AI assistant forms its picture of your firm from what exists publicly about it. If your practice keeps a low profile online, that picture is blurry, and a more visible competitor naturally takes the space. This is not about professional quality; it is about visible evidence. Our guide on why buyers check you online before they trust you goes further on this.
The risk of being absent
The risk is not immediate, and that is exactly what makes it dangerous. Your existing book keeps ticking over thanks to loyal clients and referrals. But the flow of new engagements gradually shifts towards the firms that are present where owners prepare their decision. By the time you notice that new incorporations no longer come your way, the gap is already established.
The risk is sharpened by scarcity. In an assistant's answer, as on the first screen of Google, only a few firms get a mention. Those who establish themselves early hold an advantage that strengthens over time.
The decisions that sit with you
You do not need to become an expert in AI assistants. You need to make four management decisions.
- Know where you stand. Does your firm come up today when an owner looks for an accountant in your city, on Google and in AI assistant answers? An audit tells you precisely.
- Choose the clients you want. Start-ups, growing SMEs, subsidiaries of foreign groups, charities: each asks different questions and values different things.
- Decide whether to delegate. A partner's time is billable. Spending it on the firm's own visibility is expensive. If you hand it over, insist on a delivery commitment and reporting you can read at a glance.
- Decide on timing. The earlier a presence is established, the more weight it carries. Waiting until the shift is obvious means starting late.
For the broader picture, our guide on AI assistants and how buyers choose completes this reasoning.
What Traffic Engine offers
Traffic Engine is Kolonell's service for making your firm visible when owners look for an accountant, on Google and in AI assistant answers, so that it receives qualified enquiries. Kolonell guarantees publication and measurement, not what Google or an AI decides: nobody honest promises a guaranteed mention. Kolonell ran the approach on its own website first, and the curves are published on the offer page and refreshed daily.
The Visibility Audit, at €690, maps where you stand on Google and with AI assistants, positions you against your sector and sets out a plan, with a report within 48 business hours. It is deducted from the €1,500 setup if you start within 30 days. Plans run from Presence at €1,100 to Momentum at €1,900 a month, on a 12-month commitment with a measured review at three months and no more than 3 seats per sector and area. See the offer and check whether your sector is still open.
Your next step
Run the free website score at the top of the Traffic Engine page for a first benchmark in seconds. Then ask yourself honestly how many of last year's new clients had never heard of you before they made contact. If the answer is "almost none", your firm depends entirely on a channel that your future clients are now supplementing with another one.