Modern Asset Lab Launches Match Protocol™ After Benchmark Finds AI Ghosts 8 in 10 Small Businesses

The Match Protocol™ Benchmark put 100 U.S. small businesses through up to 32 blind buyer conversations with ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini; the Match Protocol Score™ grades any business on the same method.

TULSA, Okla., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 U.S. small businesses across 10 industries and 11 metro areas, with an average of 27.8 buyer conversations answered per business. AI never recommended 36 of the 100 and never named 31. The average business scored 50.9 of 100, and 80 of the 100 landed in the Ghosted tier.

Clint Rogers, founder of Modern Asset Lab and CEO of Techstars-backed Creativo AI, developed Match Protocol™ with Creativo AI 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 in the benchmark averaged 80 of 100 on the Found stage and 88 on Trusted, yet 18 on Recommended. A working website is no longer a referral.

- Almost none are regularly recommended. Eighty of the 100 landed in the bottom tier, and 62 were recommended three times or fewer across an average of 27.8 buyer conversations. Only 8 were recommended in more than half of their respective conversations.

- No industry escaped. Among industries large enough to quote, plumbing averaged highest at 56.6 and HVAC at 54.9; dental practices scored under 60 in 10 of 11 cases, auto repair in 9 of 10 and roofing in 9 of 11.

Fast Facts

- Sample: HVAC, plumbing, roofing, dental, med spa, personal injury/family law, auto repair, independent restaurants, CPA/accounting and landscaping, across 11 metro areas in the South, West and Midwest. At n=100, results are directional rather than nationally representative.

- Tiers: Ghosted (0–59), Friend Zone (60–69), First Date (70–79), Going Steady (80–89) and The One (90–100). In the benchmark: 80 Ghosted, 13 Friend Zone, 5 First Date, 2 Going Steady.

- Five layers: Machine-Readable Architecture, Algorithmic Alignment, Targeted Extraction, Citation & Corroboration and Human Handoff (M-A-T-C-H).

How the Match Protocol Score™ Is Derived

The Score asks all four engines the questions real buyers ask, never naming the business, and weights five stages, each mapped to the layer that improves it, into a 0-to-100 score

Business owners can see their free Match Protocol Score™ at match.modernassetlab.com

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 the top AI engines recommend it.

How is the Match Protocol Score™ calculated?

The Match Protocol Score™ asks the top AI engines questions buyers ask, never naming the business, and weights five stages — Found, Matched, Recommended, Trusted and Chosen — into one 0–100 score. Recommended carries the most weight, so a business that AI never recommends cannot leave the Ghosted tier.

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 inside a generated answer. 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, U.S. Army veteran, author of Grow Rich With AI and CEO of Techstars-backed Creativo AI (creativo.ai). modernassetlab.com

Media Contact

Clint Rogers, Founder, Modern Asset Lab

[email protected] 

(918) 922-9294 (Text Only)

modernassetlab.com

SOURCE Modern Asset Lab

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