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Brandi AI Wins a Gold Stevie Award for New Product of the Year for AI Visibility and Generative Engine Optimization

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Top Stevie honor recognizes Brandi AI’s enterprise platform for helping marketing, PR and communications teams measure and improve how brands appear in AI-generated answers

MCLEAN, Va., July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Brandi AI™, the leading enterprise platform for Brand Intelligence, AI visibility, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), today announced it has won a Gold Stevie® Award in the New Product of the Year – Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations Technology category in the third annual Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence.

The Gold Stevie, the competition’s highest level of recognition, honors Brandi AI’s work helping marketing and communications leaders understand, measure and improve how their brands are represented across AI-generated answers.

As consumers and B2B buyers increasingly use platforms such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overview and Perplexity to research companies, compare products, evaluate vendors and form opinions, brand discovery is no longer confined to search results, news coverage, social media or corporate websites. AI-generated answers are becoming a new layer of reputation, visibility, and influence.

For marketing and PR leaders, that shift creates a critical measurement gap. Traditional metrics such as search rankings, website traffic, media impressions and share of voice remain important, but they do not show whether an organization is being cited by AI, how its brand is being described, which messages are being repeated or which competitors are gaining visibility in high-intent conversations.

Launched in October 2025, Brandi AI gives marketing, communications, PR, SEO and digital teams a unified view of how brands appear across AI-generated answers. It measures citation frequency, messaging accuracy, sentiment and competitive share of voice inside AI-generated answers, giving organizations the insight needed to strengthen their visibility where AI-driven discovery is increasingly influencing purchasing decisions. These insights help leaders understand whether their existing content, media coverage, product messaging and digital authority are translating into visibility within AI-driven discovery.

“Marketing and communications leaders are entering an era in which brand perception is increasingly shaped before a buyer visits a website, reads a press release or speaks with a sales team,” said Leah Nurik, CEO of Brandi AI. “AI platforms are answering questions about which companies matter, which products stand out and which organizations can be trusted. Brands need not only visibility into those answers, but clear, directional guidance on what to do to increase the frequency of brand mentions as well as control and effect the narrative that AI returns about their brands because those answers are now the first step in the buyer discovery journey.”

Brandi AI brings together measurement, competitive intelligence and optimization capabilities in a single enterprise platform. Key capabilities include:

AI visibility measurement that tracks how often brands are cited and how they are represented across leading AI platformsCompetitive intelligence through Brandi AI’s proprietary Competitive Market Universe™, revealing which competitors are surfacing, which narratives are resonating and where visibility gaps existSentiment Hub capabilities that show how AI-generated answers position a brand, which attributes shape those perceptions and which sources influence sentiment across prompts, competitors, personas, geographies and stages of the buyer journeyGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO) recommendations that help organizations strengthen existing websites, earned media and product content to improve citation likelihoodOptimization Hub capabilities that make enterprise content more discoverable and citable across multiple AI models, languages and geographies

Brandi AI is used by Fortune 500 companies, global agencies, and high-growth brands across industries to understand how AI-driven discovery is reshaping reputation, sentiment, demand generation, competitive positioning and category leadership.

Customers have reported measurable improvements in AI visibility. A public sector SaaS organization increased its AI visibility sevenfold in two months, while a public relations agency achieved the No. 1 AI visibility position within 60 days.

Earlier in 2026, Brandi AI received the 2026 Intellyx Digital Innovator Award and earned High Performer status in G2’s Summer 2026 Grid® Report for Answer Engine Optimization, with verified users giving the platform 100% ratings for competitive benchmarking and AI visibility reporting, plus top scores across mention tracking, ranking insights, content recommendations, sentiment monitoring, and semantic optimization. Brandi AI also won Gold in the inaugural Best Answer Engine Results in a PR Campaign category in the 2026 Bulldog PR Awards.

The Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence celebrate the accomplishments of individuals, teams and organizations shaping the future of technology across all industry sectors. More than 180 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s honorees.

“We congratulate all of the winners in the third annual Stevie® Awards for Technology Excellence for their outstanding achievements,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “Their innovations are helping shape the future of technology across every industry, and we look forward to celebrating their success on October 28.”

Details about the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence and the list of 2026 Stevie winners are available at http://Tech.StevieAwards.com.

About Brandi AI
Brandi AI™ is the leading platform for enterprise Brand Intelligence, AI visibility and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Built on a powerful intelligence layer, Brandi helps organizations stay visible as online discovery shifts from search engines to AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, revealing where brands stand in this new landscape. Brandi tracks the high-intent questions buyers ask AI and shows whether — and how — a brand is mentioned or cited in AI-generated answers. With this foundation, Brandi AI provides data-driven guidance and optimization tools to help marketers refine existing web content and create new AI-ready content designed to earn brand mentions and citations in AI answer engines. Used by Fortune 500s, global agencies and mid-market brands across B2C and B2B industries, Brandi AI supports CMOs and product marketers in defining category strategy and content, and PR, SEO, and digital marketing teams in driving visibility. For more information, visit mybrandi.ai.

Media contact:
Michael Tebo
Gabriel Marketing Group (for Brandi AI)
Email: michaelt@gabrielmarketing.com

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SOURCE Brandi AI

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Cogent Communications CEO to Present at Three Upcoming Conferences

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WASHINGTON, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.(“Cogent”) (NASDAQ: CCOI), one of the largest Internet service providers in the world, today announced that Dave Schaeffer, Cogent’s Chief Executive Officer, will present at the following conferences:

The KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum is being held at The Montage in Deer Valley, UT. Dave Schaeffer will be presenting on Monday, August 10th at 11:30 a.m. MT.

The TD Cowen 12th Annual Communications Infrastructure Summit is being held at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder, CO. Dave Schaeffer will be presenting on Tuesday, August 11th at 3:45 p.m. MT. 

The Oppenheimer 29th Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference is being held virtually. Dave Schaeffer will be presenting on Wednesday, August 12th at 11:35 a.m. ET.

Investors and other interested parties may access live audio webcasts of the conference presentations by going to the “Events” section of Cogent’s website at www.cogentco.com/events. Replays of the webcasts will be available for 90 days following the presentations.

About Cogent

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI) is a multinational, Tier 1 facilities-based ISP. Cogent specializes in providing businesses with high-speed Internet access, Ethernet transport, and colocation services. Cogent’s facilities-based, all-optical IP network backbone provides services in 306 markets globally.

Cogent is headquartered at 2450 N Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037. For more information, visit www.cogentco.com. Cogent can be reached in the United States at (202) 295-4200 or via email at info@cogentco.com.

Information in this release may involve expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. Some of the factors and risks associated with our business are discussed in Cogent’s registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its other reports filed from time to time with the SEC.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cogent-communications-ceo-to-present-at-three-upcoming-conferences-302837506.html

SOURCE Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.

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75% of Small Business Owners Tapped Personal Credit for Business Expenses, Bluevine Study Finds

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New national survey reveals lack of loan preparation puts personal financial health at risk, contributing to delays or denials for 1 in 4 applicants.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new national survey published today by Bluevine—the largest digital banking platform for small businesses in the U.S.*—reveals that small business financing challenges are often driven by a gap in preparation and financial literacy rather than a lack of available capital. According to the study of more than 800 U.S. small business owners, 25% of their recent business financing applications were delayed or denied due to avoidable application mistakes, driving many founders to compromise their personal financial health.

The findings highlight a critical disconnect: While roughly two-thirds (65%) of SMB owners applied for a business line of credit or term loan in the past 12 months, the vast majority skipped fundamental preparation steps. A striking 73% of respondents admitted they did not research lender approval requirements beforehand, 72% failed to update their financial statements, and 56% did not check their business credit score before hitting submit.

These preparation gaps frequently force owners to rely on personal financing to keep operations afloat, with 75% of small business owners self-reporting that they used personal credit cards or personal loans for business expenses over the last year. This marks a massive jump from Bluevine’s 2025 data, where 49% of owners reported using a personal card to cover business expenses.

“Using personal credit cards for business expenses can create risk beyond utilization,” said Aditya Narula, Senior VP & GM of Lending & Credit at Bluevine. “It can blur personal and business finances, limit the owner’s ability to build business credit, and make tax or cash-flow tracking harder. Over time, it may constrain personal borrowing capacity for a mortgage, car loan, or emergency needs. A stronger application starts before the application itself.”

Additional Key Findings

The Early-Stage Vulnerability: Business owners whose companies are five years old or younger struggle the most with the process. Over half (54%) experienced issues with their most recent application, compared to just 24% of established businesses (six years or older). Furthermore, 44% of newer owners rely on personal credit cards, and 20% utilize personal loans for business needs.The Personal Toll of Mixed Finances: Relying on personal credit is actively harming small business owners’ private lives. Of the 41% of owners who currently use personal credit cards for business expenses, more than 4 in 5 (42%) say it has negatively affected their personal finances, including increasing personal credit utilization (23%), creating household stress or conflict (16%), and lowering personal credit scores (12%).Application Surprises: Among the 37% of SMB owners who ran into roadblocks during their most recent application, 12% were caught off guard by how long processing took, 11% discovered their credit score was lower than expected, and 8% applied without understanding lender requirements.Financing Alleviates Stress: Access to proper business financing remains vital to operational health. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of small business owners state that having a dedicated business line of credit or term loan significantly reduces their stress about covering upcoming expenses or emergencies.

“A prepared application can materially speed up the process because it reduces back-and-forth,” Narula added. “Current P&Ls, recent bank statements, accurate business information, and a clean credit profile help lenders verify your business faster. The biggest unlock is consistency: when documents, revenue, ownership, and credit history tell the same story, decisions move faster.”

For a deeper dive into real-world credit behavior and advice on navigating the application process, read the full findings here.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online by Centiment for Bluevine between May 12, 2026, and May 13, 2026. The results are based on 864 completed surveys from U.S. adults aged 18 and older who were verified as small business owners. The data is unweighted, and the margin of error is approximately ±3% for the overall sample with a 97% confidence level.

* As compared to publicly available data on the number of lifetime customer accounts held by other U.S. banking platforms dedicated to small businesses that offer both checking and lending services, as of June 2026.

About Bluevine

Bluevine is the largest small business banking platform in the U.S., serving as the financial operating system for startups and small businesses. Through a single account, companies can earn more, save more, borrow, and manage their money whenever and wherever they do business – without ever stepping into a branch. Accessible through one dashboard, its product suite integrates high-yield business checking, accounts payable, debit and credit cards, loans, and lines of credit. Since 2013, Bluevine has served over 1 million customers, delivered over $17 billion in loans, and is currently trusted with over $2 billion in managed customer deposits. Bluevine has been named as the Best Online BusinessChecking Account by Nerdwallet for 2026 and recognized as one of CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies in 2026.

Bluevine is backed by leading private and institutional investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, Citi Ventures, ION Crossover Partners, SVB Capital, Nationwide, and M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Arm). Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking Services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC. Lines of credit are issued by Celtic Bank. For more information, please visit bluevine.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

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SOURCE Bluevine

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Ticketbud Expands Credentialing Capabilities for Large, Complex Events

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AUSTIN, Texas, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ticketbud expanded its event ticketing and credentialing capabilities to include credential printing, access control, and on-site badge services, helping large and complex events manage attendee, staff, vendor, and VIP access with greater flexibility, speed, and control.

Ticketbud expands its credential services to include credential printing, access control, and on-site badge services.

After launching and field-testing its new tools at highly attended, high profile events over the last year, Ticketbud has refined its credentialing and ticketing system to better support organizers who need more than standard ticket types. The enhanced credentialing solution allows event teams to manage tickets, credentials, access levels, intake forms, approvals, badge printing, wristbands, and on-site support through one streamlined platform.

“Every event is different, and we needed to build out a robust and customizable system for supporting the many different needs of our growing client base,” said Kayhan Ahmadi, CEO of Ticketbud. “For large, complex events, we’ve added the ability to allow event organizers to take in attendee data to set up access control for all kinds of guests, like notable guests, staff, sponsors, talent and even vendors and production staff. We can print these credentials in advance or even on demand and on site, matching our clients’ needs for flexibility and responsiveness.”

Credentialing can quickly become one of the most complicated parts of event operations, especially for organizers managing large-scale festivals, conferences, venues, sponsor activations and VIP areas across client and production teams, vendors, media, and talent. Ticketbud’s approach brings those moving pieces together, eliminating the need for multiple platforms and third-party services.

With Ticketbud, organizers have the ability to manage both ticket-level access and credential-level access in one place. Credential access can be applied across tickets, badges, and wristbands, equipping the system for the realities of high-volume event operations across multiple venues, access zones, rotating staff, sponsor activations, and tiered VIP experiences.

“The majority of large events use a ticketing software solution for selling tickets to their audience and a completely separate service for staff, security and production credentials at the event. This means that often ticket scanning and credential scanning never talk to each other.” Ahmadi said. “Most frequently, simple generic credentials are printed en masse in advance and are not assigned to a specific individual. We wanted to give event organizers a better solution: Credentials and ticketing as an integration solution.” 

Ticketbud’s credentialing solution also supports customized intake and approval workflows. Organizers can create credential-specific intake forms using Ticketbud’s existing platform to collect names, photos, company information, role type, venue assignment, or other custom fields, and export submissions for review.

Client-side reviewers then approve or deny requests before credentials are printed and distributed, helping event teams maintain tighter control over who receives access to sensitive or restricted areas.

As part of its expanded event services, Ticketbud supports the physical side of credentialing, assisting with wristband ordering and credential printing and production logistics — both in-house or on-site. This gives organizers a more complete, white-glove solution than currently exists in the marketplace.

The credentialing expansion is part of Ticketbud’s broader commitment to providing all-in-one event technology and hands-on support for organizers managing events of every size, from community gatherings to large-scale productions.

About Ticketbud:

Ticketbud is the event organizers ticketing platform, user-friendly for first time organizers, powerful and flexible for large festivals and events. Access all features and ongoing customer support, with complete reporting and data ownership. With early payouts and the flexibility to customize, event organizers worldwide trust Ticketbud. Get a ticketing buddy you can rely on.

Ticketbud and Ticketbud LLC are registered trademarks of Ideabud LLC, in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:                

Kayhan Ahmadi

Email: press@ticketbud.com

512-696-4658

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SOURCE Ticketbud

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