Disclaimer and Methodology

This research was conducted by Kat3x SRL for exclusively informational, educational, and market analysis purposes. It does not constitute in any way a commercial, reputational, credit, or financial evaluation of the analyzed companies. The results solely describe the degree of representation of the companies in the responses generated by Artificial Intelligence language models (Large Language Models) and do not express judgments on the quality, reliability, competence, or economic value of the companies themselves.

All data used in this research comes exclusively from publicly accessible sources, in particular:

• Google Maps — public business profiles (company name, address, business category, possible website). Information that any user can freely consult.
• Company websites — publicly accessible content without authentication, login, or restricted access.
• Responses generated by AI models — outputs produced by Google Gemini 2.5 Flash in response to standardized prompts containing exclusively already public information.

No personal data was collected, processed, stored, or analyzed pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). In particular:

• No personal phone numbers
• No personal email addresses
• No data relating to identified or identifiable natural persons
• No sensitive data or data belonging to special categories (Art. 9 GDPR)
• No data from non-public, confidential, or access-protected sources
• No information obtained through scraping of protected areas, private social profiles, or non-public databases

The only information processed is public corporate data referring to legal entities — information freely consultable by anyone on Google Maps and on the companies' own websites.

Kat3x SRL operates in full compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Italian legislation on the protection of personal data (Legislative Decree 196/2003 and subsequent amendments).

This research does not fall within the scope of the GDPR as it does not process personal data. The analyzed data exclusively concerns legal entities (companies, professional firms, commercial activities) and their publicly available information.

In any case, Kat3x SRL has adopted the following precautionary measures:

• No profiling of natural persons has been carried out.
• No personal data database has been created or populated as part of this research.
• Aggregated data is presented in an anonymous and statistical form — no company is identified by name in the public results, except for the few companies classified as "visible" (SOLID/DOMINANT), whose mention is positive and non-harmful.
• No data has been transferred, sold, or shared with third parties.
• The raw scan data is stored on a secure infrastructure and used exclusively for the purposes of this research.

The research uses the CHKCD V06 diagnostic protocol, developed by Kat3x SRL. The protocol operates as follows:

1. Public data collection — Business profiles were collected from Google Maps, limited to public information.
2. AI Querying — For each company, 5 standardized questions were submitted to the Google Gemini 2.5 Flash model, verifying 6 facts per company (company name, location, sector, services, positioning, additional information).
3. Classification — Responses were automatically classified into 5 diagnostic bands (CRITICAL, WEAK, DEVELOPING, SOLID, DOMINANT) according to the Diagnostic Status Index (DSI).
4. Aggregation — Results were aggregated by sector, province, and district, without ever publishing individual data in a harmful form.

• Single model — Tests were conducted on Google Gemini 2.5 Flash. Results could vary significantly on other models (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Mistral). This strengthens — not weakens — the central thesis: AI visibility must be measured transversally.
• Time snapshot — The results capture the situation at the time of scanning (March 2026). Language models are periodically updated and results may change over time.
• Partial sample — Over 6,000 companies were analyzed out of an estimated universe of 224,000 Veneto companies in the considered sectors. The sample is significant, but not exhaustive.
• Model dependence — The DSI classification depends on the quality and consistency of the responses from the queried AI model. Language models are subject to variability, hallucinations, and unpredictable updates.
• No qualitative evaluation — The research exclusively measures the AI representation of the company, not the actual quality of its products, services, or management.

The global context data cited in the research (market statistics, forecasts, trends) come from publicly available third-party sources, including: Gartner, McKinsey, Pew Research, Princeton University, Google Developers, TechCrunch, StatCounter, SE Ranking, PushLeads, Search Engine Land, Marketing Dive, TechXplore, Semrush, Adobe Analytics. Kat3x SRL is not responsible for the accuracy of data produced by third parties and reports them in good faith for informational and contextualization purposes.

Kat3x SRL declines any responsibility for:

• Commercial, strategic, or investment decisions made on the basis of the results of this research.
• Any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions in the data generated by the queried artificial intelligence models.
• Direct or indirect damages resulting from the use or interpretation of the research contents.
• Variations in results due to updates to AI models subsequent to the publication date.

This research does not constitute professional advice of any kind (legal, financial, commercial, technological). For strategic decisions regarding one's digital presence, it is advisable to consult qualified professionals.

Kat3x offers a free AI diagnostic service accessible from the website kat3x.com. When a user voluntarily enters their company data (company name, website, location) to request a diagnosis, they consent to the processing of such information for the purposes of the diagnosis itself and, in an aggregated and anonymous form, to the inclusion of the results in the dataset of this research.

Voluntarily entered data is processed with the same guarantees described in this document. The user can request the removal of their data from the dataset at any time by writing to info@kat3x.com.

Any company cited in the research that considers the reported information inaccurate or harmful can contact Kat3x SRL at info@kat3x.com to request the verification, rectification, or removal of the data concerning them. Requests will be examined and answered within 15 working days.

The CHKCD diagnostic protocol, the SCAN V2 methodology, the Diagnostic Status Index (DSI), and all materials produced as part of this research are the intellectual property of Kat3x SRL. Reproduction, even partial, is permitted only with citation of the source and prior written authorization.

The CHKCD standard is published as an open standard on chkcd.com. The use of the standard is free; the use of the proprietary V06 diagnostic protocol is reserved for Kat3x SRL.