TULSA, Okla., October 5, 2026 — Modern Asset Lab today launched Match Protocol™, a proprietary five-layer framework for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) that engineers a business to be found, matched, recommended, trusted and chosen when ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini answer a buyer's question.
The benchmark covered 100 independently owned businesses across 10 industries and 10 metros, up to 32 blind buyer conversations each. AI never recommended 46 percent and never named 32 percent. The average business scored 47.3 of 100, a Ghosted-tier result, and 60 percent landed in that bottom tier.
Clint Rogers, founder of Modern Asset Lab and CEO of Techstars-backed Creativo AI, developed Match Protocol™ with Creativo as its proving ground. The Match Protocol Score™ (match.modernassetlab.com) applies the same methodology to any business.
What the Benchmark Found
AI can read them but will not recommend them. Businesses averaged 80 of 100 on the Found stage and 87 on Trusted, yet 15 on Recommended. A working website is no longer a referral.
Almost none are regularly recommended. While 60 percent strictly failed by landing in the bottom tier, the reality of AI behavior is even starker: 84 of the 100 businesses were recommended three times or fewer out of roughly 30 buyer conversations. Only one business was recommended in more than half of its conversations.
The gaps are fixable. 88 percent have incomplete or missing structured data (24 percent have none) and 66 percent have no FAQ content answering buyer questions; the first and third layers of Match Protocol™ close both.
Fast Facts
- Sample: one business per industry per metro — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, dental, med spa, personal injury/family law, auto repair, restaurants, CPA/accounting and landscaping — across 10 metros in all four U.S. Census regions, randomly selected from candidate pools rather than top search results. At n=100, results are directional rather than nationally representative.
- Tiers: Ghosted (0–49), Friend Zone (50–69), Second Date (70–84) and The One (85–100).
- Weighting: Recommended, whether AI actually recommends the business, carries 35 percent of the score, and the overall score is capped by how often AI recommends the business. A business AI never names cannot score above 49.
Why AI Search Needs a Standard
AI search is a matchmaker: when a buyer asks an AI engine for a recommendation, it selects the safest, most verifiable match. Ahrefs reported in June 2025 that AI search visitors were 0.5 percent of its traffic but 12.1 percent of sign-ups, converting 23 times better than organic visitors (source). Businesses had no standard way to measure whether AI recommends them; Match Protocol™ provides one.
How the Match Protocol Score™ Is Derived
The Score asks all four engines the questions real buyers ask, never naming the business, counts who AI recommends, and weights five stages, each mapped to the layer that improves it, into a 0-to-100 score:
Stage
What it asks
Weight
Layer
Found
Can AI read you?
20%
M — Machine-Readable Architecture
Matched
Does AI name you for the right buyer questions?
20%
A — Algorithmic Alignment
Recommended
Does AI recommend you?
35%
T — Targeted Extraction
Trusted
Can AI verify you?
15%
C — Citation & Corroboration
Chosen
Is your site built to convert the human?
10%
H — Human Handoff
The lowest stage shows which layer to deploy first. Full methodology: modernassetlab.com/match-protocol. Benchmark findings: modernassetlab.com/benchmark.
Founder Quote
"When your ideal customer asks ChatGPT or Google AI a question, the AI is a matchmaker scanning for the safest, most authoritative match. The benchmark confirms it: most businesses have never been introduced," said Rogers. "Match Protocol™ aligns the algorithmic math with human trust so that when AI plays matchmaker, it chooses you, and when the human clicks, they are ready to buy."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Match Protocol™?
Match Protocol™ is a five-layer framework for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), developed by Clint Rogers and owned by Modern Asset Lab. It makes a business machine-readable, aligned, extractable, corroborated and conversion-ready so ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini recommend it.
How is the Match Protocol Score™ calculated?
The Match Protocol Score™ asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini the questions buyers ask, never naming the business, and weights five stages: Found 20 percent, Matched 20, Recommended 35, Trusted 15 and Chosen 10 — into one 0–100 score, capped by how often AI recommends the business. A business AI never names cannot score above 49.
How is Match Protocol™ different from traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO optimizes pages for keyword rankings and backlinks. Match Protocol™ optimizes a business as an entity — structured data, extractable answers, third-party corroboration and conversion path so an AI engine selects and recommends it. SEO earns a position; Match Protocol™ earns the recommendation.
About Modern Asset Lab
Modern Asset Lab is a Tulsa, Oklahoma, client acquisition agency and creator of Match Protocol™, the Match Protocol Score™ and the Match Protocol™ Benchmark. Founded by Clint Rogers. modernassetlab.com
About Creativo AI
Creativo AI is a Techstars-backed AI creative operating system led by Clint Rogers, U.S. Army veteran and author of Grow Rich With AI, and the first implementation of Match Protocol™. creativo.ai
Media Contact
Clint Rogers, Founder, Modern Asset Lab
press@modernassetlab.com
modernassetlab.com
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