Crypto project teams now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude which agency to hire before booking a call or filling out a brief, making AI the first touchpoint in vendor selection, according to an October 2026 test that submitted five main queries across the three platforms covering three buyer intents: best crypto marketing agency, best blockchain marketing agency, and best crypto marketing agency for token launch. Agency name, position, and source URLs were recorded for all responses. ICODA ranked #1 on both Claude and ChatGPT for “best crypto marketing agency,” the only agency to hold both platforms simultaneously on that query, with a Coverage Score of 8/9; it was absent from Perplexity’s standard crypto shortlist but #1 for token launch. MarketAcross scored 6/9, appearing on Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity across crypto and blockchain queries, ranked #3 on ChatGPT for both crypto and blockchain queries and #6 on Claude for crypto, described as “best for media authority and thought leadership.” Lunar Strategy scored 5/9, NinjaPromo 3/9, and theKOLLAB 2/9. The engines surface agencies that have invested in AI visibility and optimized for how these models index and cite content.