EPC Tops Semrush AI Index for Microsoft Consulting—Why AI Now Shapes Vendor Shortlists

EPC Group, a Microsoft-focused consulting firm, now holds the top spot in Semrush’s U.S. AI Brand Performance Index for the Microsoft consulting category—outranking industry behemoths like Accenture and Avanade. The ranking, published on June 10, 2026, measures how brands surface in AI-generated responses from large language models, tracking both sentiment and share of voice. For enterprise procurement teams increasingly relying on AI search and discovery tools, this isn’t just a vanity metric; it’s fast becoming a key factor in vendor shortlists.

The Semrush AI Brand Performance Index analyzes millions of AI-generated answers across platforms like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. It evaluates which brands appear most frequently and in what context when users query AI tools about business services. In the crowded Microsoft consulting space, where dozens of firms claim expertise in Power BI, Azure, and Dynamics 365, standing out in AI-generated results directly impacts lead generation and deal flow.

“This ranking validates our decade-long focus on Microsoft’s data and governance stack,” said Errin O’Connor, EPC Group’s CEO, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “AI discovery is the new front door for enterprise clients. If you’re not visible in AI answers, you’re invisible in the procurement process.”

EPC Group’s surge to the top reflects a broader shift in B2B professional services. Traditional vendor evaluation—dominated by analyst reports like Gartner Magic Quadrants and Forrester Waves—is being augmented, and in some cases supplanted, by AI-generated recommendations. A procurement manager researching “best Microsoft Purview consulting firms” on an AI search engine now gets a synthesized answer that pulls from public content, reviews, and brand sentiment. EPC’s high ranking suggests the firm has successfully optimized its digital footprint for these AI gatekeepers.

How the Semrush Index Works

Semrush’s methodology tracks brands across over 50 AI models and search interfaces. It assigns a “brand sentiment score” based on the tone of mentions (positive, neutral, negative) and a “share of voice” metric indicating how often a brand appears relative to competitors. EPC Group not only led in positive sentiment but also captured the highest share of voice, appearing in 32% of all Microsoft consulting-related AI responses analyzed during the measurement period.

The index covers U.S. firms only, a limitation but still relevant given the global nature of Microsoft consulting. Accenture, long the 800-pound gorilla, came in second with a 28% share of voice, while Avanade followed at 19%. Other firms like Cognizant and HCL Tech clustered lower. The data underscores how smaller, specialized firms can outpace integrators when they dominate niche conversations—like Microsoft Purview governance or Power BI implementation.

Table: Top 5 U.S. Microsoft Consulting Firms in Semrush AI Brand Performance Index, June 2026

Why AI Discovery Matters for Enterprise Procurement

The enterprise procurement landscape has changed dramatically since 2024. Tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google’s Gemini for Workspace now integrate directly with procurement workflows, allowing buyers to ask complex questions in natural language. “Find a consulting partner with at least five years of Power Platform experience and a focus on federal compliance” returns a curated list generated from public data, case studies, and reviews.

Traditional RFPs often started with a known list of vendors, but AI discovery reverses that: the AI assembles a list based on inferred expertise and reputation signals. Being absent from those AI-generated shortlists means missing out on opportunities before you even know they exist. For consulting firms, the Semrush index provides a proxy for their AI visibility—a metric that correlates with inbound leads and win rates.

O’Connor noted that EPC Group has invested heavily in content that AI models find relevant and authoritative. “We publish technical whitepapers, client success stories, and maintain an active GitHub repository. That content doesn’t just attract human readers; it trains AI models on our expertise,” he said. This approach dovetails with the rise of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), where AI models pull from trusted, fresh sources to generate answers.

The Microsoft Consulting Battlefield

Microsoft’s partner ecosystem has never been more competitive. Over 400,000 organizations worldwide are part of the Microsoft Partner Network, but only a subset have deep expertise in advanced workloads like Purview, Fabric, and the Power Platform. EPC Group, founded in 1997, carved a niche in data governance and business intelligence. Its Purview practice alone has grown 300% year-over-year, driven by organizations scrambling to label, classify, and protect data for Copilot rollouts.

“Every CIO I talk to is worried about data sprawl and compliance before turning on Copilot,” O’Connor said. “Our Purview framework ensures that when an employee asks Copilot a question, they only see data they’re authorized to access. That’s not a nice-to-have; it’s a prerequisite for any regulated industry.”

The firm’s AI index ranking likely benefited from its concentrated focus. While Accenture and Avanade have broader service lines spanning SAP, Salesforce, and custom development, EPC’s Microsoft-only specialization makes it more likely to appear in tightly scoped AI queries. A procurement search for “Microsoft Purview governance partner” might surface EPC Group prominently, whereas a generic “digital transformation partner” query might favor the global integrators.

How AI Discovery Is Changing the Rules for Microsoft Partners

AI discovery flips the traditional partner marketing model. Instead of spending millions on trade show booths and sponsorships, firms must now invest in digital authority—creating the kind of content that large language models deem trustworthy. This shift levels the playing field for boutique consultancies like EPC Group, which can outrank giants by dominating niche topics.

Consider a practical example: A midsize insurance company needs to migrate legacy Access databases to Dataverse and implement sensitivity labels for HIPAA compliance. Their IT director types “best partner for Microsoft Purview and Access migration for healthcare” into an AI search. The AI scans thousands of public documents, case studies, and expert contributions. Firms with deep, structured content on exactly that intersection—like EPC Group’s published frameworks—appear at the top. Accenture might have a broader healthcare practice, but if its content lacks the same granularity, it gets relegated.

This dynamic explains why EPC Group’s share of voice is disproportionately high in certain subdomains. The Semrush index confirms that specialization pays dividends in AI visibility.

What This Means for Windows-Focused Enterprises

For organizations heavily invested in the Windows ecosystem—Windows 11, Microsoft 365, Azure—the implications are direct. Their technology choices increasingly depend on partners with proven, discoverable expertise in specific Microsoft services. AI-driven vendor discovery can surface regional or specialized firms otherwise hidden behind the marketing budgets of global SIs.

A municipal government planning to deploy Windows 11 with Intune and move to Sharepoint Online could use AI to find partners with documented experience in public-sector Windows 11 migrations. EPC Group’s ranking suggests that such organizations now have a data-driven shortcut: the leading firms by AI sentiment and share of voice are likely the ones with the most authoritative public track records.

However, procurement leaders must use AI rankings as a starting point. AI models sometimes hallucinate expertise or conflate firms with similar names. Semrush’s index mitigates this by providing a structured, third-party measure of AI visibility, but it should complement traditional due diligence—reference calls, proof-of-concepts, and security reviews.

EPC Group’s Playbook for AI Visibility

EPC Group’s rise offers a template for other Microsoft partners. The firm follows a three-pronged strategy:

• Technical Content Depth: Publishing detailed implementation guides, architecture diagrams, and real-world metrics. Google and Bing still index this content, but AI models ingest it directly via training data and live search.
• Community Engagement: Active participation in Microsoft forums, Stack Overflow, and the Power Platform community. AI models pick up on contributor frequency and endorsements.
• Client Proof Points: Public case studies with measurable outcomes (e.g., “reduced data classification time by 70% using Purview”). LLMs use these as evidence when constructing recommendations.

Smaller firms can replicate this playbook without massive budgets. The key is consistency and specificity—AI models reward depth over breadth.

The Future of AI-Driven RFP Processes

Looking ahead, AI is poised to automate the entire RFP lifecycle. Tools already generate RFPs based on project requirements, match them to vendor profiles, and even score proposals automatically. As these systems mature, a vendor’s AI brand performance could become a hard-number criterion, similar to Dun & Bradstreet ratings or ISO certifications.

Microsoft itself is embedding AI deeper into its partner discovery tools. Microsoft AppSource and the commercial marketplace now include AI-generated recommendations, making the Semrush index a preview of how Microsoft’s own ecosystem might surface partners.

EPC Group’s top ranking, while a snapshot in time, signals a permanent change. The days of winning Microsoft consulting deals solely through relationships and golf games are fading. In the AI-mediated future, your digital footprint—as interpreted by algorithms—determines who answers the call when opportunity knocks.

Conclusion

EPC Group’s pole position in the Semrush AI Brand Performance Index is more than a marketing milestone. It’s evidence that AI is reshaping the enterprise procurement funnel for Microsoft services, elevating firms that master visibility and sentiment in AI-generated channels. For CIOs and procurement leaders, the message is clear: vendor selection increasingly begins with what AI knows about a firm—not what that firm says about itself. As this trend accelerates, rankings like Semrush’s will become essential barometers of a consulting firm’s true market presence.