Distributors & compounders
For distributors and compounders: be the source for “where do I get it” and “what's equivalent.”
Distributor PDFs and line cards show up in AI answers more often than most distributors realize. In our pilot, distributors' copies of supplier datasheets were cited on spec questions, and in our audit a distributor often hosted the only crawlable copy of a flagship grade's data.
Questions engineers ask AI
From our pilot question set
- “Where can I buy a UL 94 V-0 polycarbonate grade in small quantities?”
- “What is an equivalent to this discontinued TPE grade?”
- “Which distributors stock medical-grade TPU in the US?”
What AI cites today
What our pilot found
52 engineering questions put to ChatGPT and Claude on October 14, 2026, with every cited source traced.
Your copy of the datasheet may be the one engines read
On a flame-retardant polycarbonate question, both engines cited distributors' copies of supplier datasheets. In our audit, distributors and service bureaus hosted crawlable datasheets where suppliers' own were script-delivered or unreachable.
Who gets cited on these questions
Share of cited URLs by source type, ChatGPT and Claude pooled
Table view
| Supplier pages | Manufacturers & service providers | Patents | Academic papers | Trade press, databases & reference | Other | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering polymers | 49% (45) | 12% (11) | 4% (4) | 3% (3) | 8% (7) | 24% (22) | 92 |
What we do
How we change the answer
- Line-card and grade cross-reference pages, with equivalence guidance checked for accuracy.
- Regional availability and lead-time pages.
- Technical content partnerships with your suppliers.
What you get
- Share of Answer on sourcing and equivalence questions
- Source Map across your suppliers' categories
- A cross-reference and availability content program
Start with evidence
See what AI tells engineers about your materials.
We'll run 25 of your customers' questions across three engines and show you who gets named, which sources get cited, and what's wrong. Free, in five business days.