Competitive intelligence for MerchantHQ · ChatGPT (gpt-4o + web search) · round 1 + round 2 combined

Who cites Merchant Advice Service^[1]

542 real buyer-phrased prompts across two rounds (217 round 1, 8 Aug + 325 round 2, 9 Aug), scoped to Merchant Advice Service's (MAS) own actual site content: card machines and readers, high-risk merchant accounts (the verticals MAS actually covers, gambling, adult, travel, CBD, vape, crypto), trade-specific picks, EPOS/POS, payment gateways, compliance mechanics, broker-vs-direct framing, and brand-vs-brand comparisons. Round 2 deliberately added more generic superlative head-terms ("best card machine UK" and similar, because MAS's own site targets those terms directly, unlike MerchantHQ which avoids them by design), plus prompts aimed squarely at MAS's own free/unbiased/whole-of-market/no-sales-calls positioning, plus broad comparison-style prompts matching the shape that appears to win for recurring non-whitelisted competitors (businessexpert.co.uk, expertsure.com, merchantswitch.com and others). Business banking, merchant finance/cash advance, open banking, direct debits and loyalty (all real MAS categories) stayed scoped out at Adam's request to keep this a payments-only comparison throughout. Run through ChatGPT with live web search forced on and scanned for every citation and every named acquirer, terminal brand, or broker, including MerchantHQ itself, for a direct head-to-head on MAS's own broader turf.

Run: 8-9 Aug 2026 (round 1 + round 2) Model: gpt-4o, GB location, search forced Engine: ChatGPT only

01 Headline numbers

across all 542 scoped prompts (round 1 + round 2)

02 Who gets named most

whitelist match against known UK lenders/brokers · top 20

03 Who backs whom

the domain(s) ChatGPT cites when describing each provider

Provider	Named in	Backing sources (highest count first)

04 All 542 prompts

Prompt	Cites	Source	First	Option	Other domains cited

[1] "Cited as source" = merchantadviceservice.co.uk appears as a footnoted reference behind a claim. "Named as option" = "Merchant Advice Service" (or strict-caps "MAS") mentioned in the answer's own text. "Named most" (section 02) uses a whitelist match against the same real UK acquirer/terminal-brand panel used for MerchantHQ's own audit, with "MerchantHQ" and "Merchant Advice Service" both added explicitly so this run reports a direct head-to-head between the two brokers on MAS's own broader prompt set. Companies House confirms Libby James (Merchant Advice Service's founder) and co-founder David Bird each hold exactly one directorship, Merchant Advice Service Limited (#10343029), no other companies found. Scope note: business banking, merchant finance/cash advance, open banking, direct debits and loyalty are all real categories on MAS's own site but were excluded from this prompt set at Adam's request, to keep the comparison to payments only. Full topic-area rationale in ~/ai-visibility-tracking/merchant-advice-service_prompt_topic_areas.md. Round 2's 325-prompt curation notes (source breakdown, scope cuts, dedup method, self-generated top-up rationale) are in ~/ai-visibility-tracking/mas_prompts_round2_final.md. Full raw data for both rounds lives in ~/ai-visibility-tracking/mas_run/.