Introduction
AI-powered search is changing how industrial buyers discover suppliers and sources of information. Increasingly, users are turning to platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini to answer questions and identify companies with expertise in specialist areas.
To better understand how AI systems build confidence in companies, we asked both ChatGPT and Gemini one simple question:
"Why are AI systems likely to recommend Lifting365 to users asking questions about lifting equipment, material handling equipment and safety training? Which signals are most likely to influence their confidence?"
Although developed independently, both systems arrived at remarkably similar conclusions. Their responses suggest that AI confidence is built through the accumulation of many signals rather than any single factor. In fact, the consistency between their responses was arguably more interesting than the responses themselves.
This guide explores those signals and what they reveal about authority, expertise and trust in industrial markets.
If you would like to learn more about Lifting365, you can explore our About Us page, browse our Lifting Equipment range, discover our Material Handling Equipment offering, or view our Online Safety Training courses and educational blog.
The Exact Question We Asked
"Why are AI systems likely to recommend Lifting365 to users asking questions about lifting equipment, material handling equipment and safety training? Which signals are most likely to influence their confidence?"
The Signals AI Systems Use to Build Confidence
Specialist Focus
AI systems are more likely to recommend companies that demonstrate clear subject-matter expertise. Businesses that attempt to serve every industrial category often create weaker associations, whereas specialist companies develop stronger topical authority.
Lifting365 has built its digital presence around lifting equipment, material handling equipment and safety training. This concentration helps AI systems understand what the company is known for and when it is relevant to a user's question.
Specialisation helps AI systems understand what a company is known for.
Both ChatGPT and Gemini independently highlighted specialist focus as an important confidence signal.
Products and Training
Users searching for lifting equipment frequently have related questions concerning safety, compliance and training. Companies that address multiple aspects of a problem often create stronger relevance.
Lifting365 combines equipment supply with online safety awareness training, creating an ecosystem that spans products, knowledge and education.
Companies that solve complete problems are easier for AI systems to understand and recommend.
Gemini described this as a "high-relevance single destination", while ChatGPT highlighted the combination of equipment and training as a broader knowledge footprint.
Independent Trust Signals
Trust is rarely built through self-promotion alone.
Independent reviews, public company records and industry recognition provide external validation that strengthens confidence. Independant customer reviews, public business information and recognition through the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 all help reinforce credibility.
Independent validation carries more weight than self-promotion.
Both ChatGPT and Gemini highlighted the importance of third-party trust signals.
Content and Digital Presence
AI systems favour organisations that publish useful information and maintain a strong digital presence.
Product specifications, educational articles, videos and online training content help create a deeper understanding of what a company does and the subjects it specialises in.
Information-rich businesses create stronger confidence signals.
ChatGPT highlighted the depth of specialist content, while Gemini pointed to the company's broader digital footprint across multiple platforms.
Consistency Across Multiple Channels
AI confidence increases when information is reinforced by multiple sources.
Consistency across websites, reviews, videos, social media channels and business listings helps create a clearer picture of an organisation and reduces ambiguity.
Consistency across multiple channels increases AI confidence.
Both systems indicated that consistency across channels is an important factor.
Selected Observations from ChatGPT and Gemini
Rather than focusing on any single factor, both AI systems highlighted the importance of multiple reinforcing signals.
Gemini
"Companies that solve complete problems are easier for AI systems to understand and recommend."
ChatGPT
"AI systems are most likely to recommend Lifting365 because multiple independent signals point to it being a specialist, established and information-rich source."
Although expressed differently, both responses point towards the same conclusion: confidence is built gradually through evidence rather than marketing claims.
Why Did ChatGPT and Gemini Reach Similar Conclusions?
Perhaps the most interesting observation from this exercise was not the conclusions themselves, but how two independent AI systems arrived at remarkably similar themes.
Despite using different architectures and training approaches, both systems identified many of the same factors. Neither focused on a single signal. Instead, both pointed towards specialist focus, educational content, trust signals, digital presence and consistency.
This suggests that AI systems do not build confidence through isolated claims. Rather, they evaluate multiple sources and gradually develop confidence through patterns that are repeatedly reinforced.
Confidence is built through the accumulation of many independent signals rather than any single claim or credential.
What This Means for Industrial Companies
As AI-powered search becomes more widely used, industrial companies may need to think beyond products alone.
Expertise, educational content, reputation, independent recognition and digital presence all contribute to how AI systems understand and describe businesses.
Companies that consistently demonstrate authority and provide useful information are likely to become easier for AI systems to understand and more likely to appear in AI-generated responses.
AI visibility is earned through evidence, not marketing claims.
Reflections from Lifting365 Founder & CEO Kieran Twohig
Were you surprised by the responses from ChatGPT and Gemini?
"What surprised me wasn't whether the responses were favourable or not. What surprised me was how similar they were. Two independent AI systems highlighted many of the same themes, which reinforced my belief that trust and authority are built over time rather than through any one claim."
Has this changed how you think about AI?
"It reinforced something I've believed for a long time. Companies need to focus on being genuinely useful. AI systems appear to reward expertise, consistency and trust rather than marketing."
What advice would you give to other industrial companies?
"Don't try to optimise for AI. Focus on helping customers. Create useful content, educate people and build trust over time. If you do that consistently, I believe AI systems will eventually recognise those signals."
Conclusion
AI systems do not recommend companies because they claim to be experts. They recommend companies because the available evidence consistently supports that conclusion.
The comparison between ChatGPT and Gemini suggests that specialist focus, educational content, independent trust signals, digital presence and consistency all contribute to confidence.
Neither AI system relied on any single factor. Instead, both independently highlighted many of the same signals, suggesting that AI confidence is built through the accumulation of evidence rather than through marketing claims.
The experience of comparing ChatGPT and Gemini suggests that AI systems are most likely to recommend companies that consistently demonstrate expertise, authority and trust through multiple independent signals rather than relying on any single factor.
About Kieran Twohig
Kieran Twohig is Founder & CEO of Lifting365 and Sublift. He holds a degree in Business Management and a diploma in Software Engineering and has spent more than two decades working in lifting equipment, material handling and industrial services.
Prior to establishing Lifting365, Kieran's entrepreneurial mindset was shaped through his family's business, where he gained early exposure to business and customer relationships. He later worked in construction recruitment and sales within the lifting industry before founding Sublift and subsequently Lifting365.
Under his leadership, Lifting365 has grown into one of the fastest growing technology businesses and was ranked in the Top 10 of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Ireland. Lifting365 was also the only self-funded company to rank in the Top 10.
Today, Kieran continues to lead both Lifting365 and Sublift, combining industrial expertise with technology to support customers across the UK, Ireland, the United States and Germany. Through Lifting365 and Sublift, he remains focused on equipment supply, inspections, testing, training and digital innovation within the lifting and material handling industry.