AI Signaling Moves Beyond GCW's Own Clients
Remember when we first looked at GCW's SignlLabs and the idea of helping brands show up inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity? Well, Global Communication Works is taking the next step. Instead of keeping its AI Signaling playbook inside the agency walls, GCW is now opening SignlLabs up for licensing to PR firms, ad agencies, web developers, marketing consultants and even in-house communications teams.
That changes the story quite a bit. Rather than every agency trying to figure out the AI recommendation game from scratch, they can now license a methodology GCW says it has already tested across its own client campaigns.
From AI Visibility to AI Recommendations
The interesting part here is that SignlLabs isn't simply chasing another version of SEO. The goal is figuring out whether AI platforms actually understand, trust and recommend a brand when buyers start asking questions. GCW's Maturity Method™ puts a number behind that idea, producing a Signaling Maturity Score™ from 0 to 100 across six areas: Foundation, Endorsement, Alignment, Presence, Warmth and Constancy.
And instead of tossing ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity into one big average, SignlLabs scores each engine separately. That makes sense when you think about it. Looking great on one platform doesn't help much if another one suddenly stops mentioning your brand altogether.
A Ready-Built AI Playbook
For agencies, this might be the biggest piece of the announcement. Licensees aren't just getting a fancy dashboard and being sent on their way. GCW says the package includes its scoring framework, buyer-query methodology, measurement process, reporting templates and team training. In other words, the company is trying to turn what it learned building SignlLabs into something another agency can actually plug into its own client work.
"Licensing SignlLabs means they stop guessing. They get a number, they get the six things that move it, and they get a re-score that proves whether the work actually worked." - Erika Hanafin Austria
Why This Expansion Matters
For those of us watching how AI changes marketing, search and brand discovery, this is where things start getting more interesting. GCW isn't just selling AI Signaling as another agency service anymore. It's positioning the methodology itself as something other firms can adopt.
If AI recommendations continue influencing which companies people research, trust and ultimately buy from, figuring out how brands earn those recommendations could become an increasingly valuable piece of the marketing puzzle. The full release below breaks down how the SignlLabs licensing model works and what participating firms receive.
Global Communication Works Opens SignlLabs™, Its Proprietary AI Signaling Practice, for License to PR Firms, Ad Agencies, and Web Development Firms
Licensees gain a ready-built methodology for earning client visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity, without building an AI Signaling practice from scratch
NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2026 -- Global Communication Works (GCW), the strategic public relations and communications agency, today announced that SignlLabs™, its proprietary AI Signaling practice, is now available for license to any organization responsible for how a brand is understood and recommended, including public relations firms, advertising agencies, web development and digital shops, marketing consultancies and in-house communications teams.
The license gives licensees a complete, tested methodology for measuring and improving how AI platforms describe, trust and recommend their clients. Clients and executive teams are asking the same question: do we show up in AI. Until now, the people being asked have had to reverse-engineer an answer or guess at one. The SignlLabs license replaces the guess with a scored instrument, and it moves the goal from being visible to being recommended.
"Any team responsible for a brand's reputation can now license SignlLabs, whether that is an agency, a consultancy or an in-house department, and give its clients or its own company a measurable path to being recommended by AI instead of trying to reverse-engineer one," said Brad Ginsburg, Partner and President at GCW. "This is not about protecting a competitive advantage. It is about setting the standard the whole industry can build on."
SignlLabs measures a brand's presence and recommendation strength across the five answer engines buyers now use to decide who to hire and what to buy: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Perplexity. The practice was built from the ground up for how AI systems compose answers, rather than adapted from existing search tactics, and it has been running across GCW's own client campaigns before being opened to outside licensees.
At the center of the license is the Maturity Method™, GCW's proprietary measurement framework. It produces a Signaling Maturity Score™ from 0 to 100 across six weighted dimensions: Foundation, Endorsement, Alignment, Presence, Warmth and Constancy. Scores map to a five-stage maturity ladder that runs from Unseen to The Answer, and every engine is scored separately and never blended, because an average conceals the one platform that stopped recommending a brand.
"Every agency I talk to is getting the same question from clients: are we showing up in AI?," said Erika Hanafin Austria, lead of SignlLabs. "Most of them are guessing at the answer. Licensing SignlLabs means they stop guessing. They get a number, they get the six things that move it, and they get a re-score that proves whether the work actually worked. It took a year and five industries to calibrate this. No agency should have to repeat that."
The distinction matters because the mechanics have changed. Search engine optimization earns rankings. Answer Engine Optimization earns snippets. AI Signaling earns the recommendation itself, and the sources that drive it are overwhelmingly earned rather than owned.
Licensees receive the Maturity Method™ framework and scoring rubric, the Intent Category Framework™ that determines which buyer questions get tested, the query protocol and measurement approach, reporting templates, and team training. GCW will continue to support licensees as the AI platforms evolve, keeping the methodology current as recommendation behavior changes.
The license is available to organizations of any size and in any category. Interested parties can contact GCW directly to discuss terms.
For more information about the SignlLabs license, visit signllabs.ai or contact Erika Hanafin Austria at erika@signllabs.ai.
About Global Communication Works (GCW)
GCW is a strategic public relations agency serving clients across women's health, consumer packaged goods, wellness and lifestyle, real estate, law and energy. Services span earned media, crisis and reputation management, influencer strategy, film and production, events, media training and AI Signaling. For more information, visit gcw.agency.
About SignlLabs
SignlLabs™ is GCW's proprietary AI Signaling practice, built to help brands earn visibility and recommendations across leading AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Co-Pilot, and Perplexity. The practice pairs its Signaling Maturity Score™ framework with strategic growth advisory and is available for license by public relations firms, advertising agencies and web development companies for use with their own clients. For more information, visit signllabs.ai.
Media & Licensing Inquiries Contact:
Brad Ginsburg
Global Communication Works (GCW)
brad@gcw.agency
