The verdict in three sentences
Before contacting a licensed fintech or digital asset firm in Amsterdam, a corporate treasurer, family office or platform increasingly puts its questions to AI assistants like ChatGPT, and the answer names some firms, ignores others or misstates their regulatory status. What makes the difference is consistent, verifiable public information: exact licence status, services, custody, team and mentions by credible third parties. On the market, a diagnostic costs roughly EUR 3,000 to 9,000 in 2026 and ongoing work is priced monthly, measured by a dated record of the answers to the same questions.
What buyers actually ask AI assistants
The questions below are realistic examples of queries from buyers of digital financial services in the Netherlands. They rarely concern returns: they concern status, custody and fees.
| Question put to the AI | Who asks it | What the answer draws on |
|---|---|---|
| Which digital asset custodians are authorised under MiCA in the Netherlands? | Corporate treasurer | Public registers, firms' licence pages, specialist press |
| Is this Amsterdam firm supervised by the AFM? | CFO, in-house lawyer | Regulatory page of the site, the authority's register |
| Which provider runs an OTC desk for a Dutch foundation? | Family office, foundation | Service pages, third-party articles, sector directories |
| Which Amsterdam payment institution handles marketplace payouts over SEPA Instant? | E-commerce platform | Product documentation, case studies published with consent |
| What fees does a crypto custodian charge institutional clients in the EU? | Asset manager | Public fee pages, third-party comparisons |
| How does this firm segregate client assets? | Head of risk | Custody and security pages, published audit reports |
| Has this firm had a security incident? | Due diligence team | Press, announcements, status pages |
Two lessons. First, the AI often repeats what is easiest to find, not what is most recent: an old registration with De Nederlandsche Bank can still be cited after your status has changed. Second, a supervision question leaves no room for approximation, and an institutional buyer who reads something wrong about your licence will not call back.
Why some firms appear and others do not
AI assistants like ChatGPT build answers from what is published, consistent and repeated elsewhere. In this sector, the gaps come down mainly to six factors:
- Consistency: same legal name, same status, same services on the site, registers, LinkedIn and directories.
- Clear factual pages: a regulatory page quoting licence references exactly as held, a custody and security page, a fees page.
- Third-party mentions: financial press, industry associations, conference speaking slots, partners who cite you.
- Structured data: organisation details marked up so engines read them without ambiguity.
- Freshness: visible dates, updates whenever status or offer changes.
- Reviews where allowed: for a regulated activity, testimonials must stay within the applicable promotion rules.
The promotion framework is strict. The EU MiCA regulation governs marketing communications on crypto-assets, the AFM supervises financial firms in the Netherlands, and the GDPR (AVG in Dutch), enforced by the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, applies to any prospect data. All content must stay factual, carry risk warnings and promise no returns. This is not legal advice: content review belongs to your compliance team.
What the work covers and what it costs on the market
This is an emerging market: offers vary widely, and the rates below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical quotes by European agencies and consultants, not from a study.
| Workstream | Content in broad terms | 2026 ballpark (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial diagnostic | Record of current AI answers to 30 to 60 questions, gaps and errors | 3,000 to 9,000 |
| Fixing public information | Regulatory, custody, fees and team pages, consistency of external profiles | 4,000 to 15,000 |
| Structured data | Organisation, services and FAQ markup | 1,500 to 5,000 |
| PR and third-party mentions | Commentary, bylines, sector presence | 2,500 to 8,000 per month |
| Tracking and dated record | Same questions asked again monthly or quarterly | 1,000 to 3,500 per month |
| Compliance review of content | In-house or external firm | Variable, often in-house |
Kolonell takes on this kind of work on quote, after a diagnostic. No serious provider can promise that an AI will recommend your firm: you improve the quality of the information available and you measure.
How to measure without fooling yourself
| Indicator | Method | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Share of answers naming the firm | Same questions, same wording, dated record | Monthly or quarterly |
| Accuracy of the regulatory status cited | Comparison with the official register | Every record |
| Accuracy of services and fees | Comparison with public pages | Every record |
| Competitors named in your place | Named list per question | Quarterly |
| Sources visible in answers | Pages and media picked up | Quarterly |
| Inbound enquiries mentioning an AI | How did you hear about us field | Ongoing |
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The dated record is the only honest proof: it shows what the answers said on one date, then on another, with no extrapolation.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Grachten Custody B.V., a digital asset custodian in Amsterdam, puts 40 standard questions to AI assistants like ChatGPT. In the first record it is named in 6 answers out of 40, or 15%, and 3 of those 6 answers describe an outdated regulatory status. Budget under consideration: a diagnostic at EUR 6,000 (market assumption) then six months of fixes and tracking at EUR 3,500 per month (market assumption), so 6,000 + 21,000 = EUR 27,000. As a reference point, if a single institutional client represents EUR 40,000 in annual custody fees (assumption), the stake lies first in correcting the 3 wrong answers, before any question of volume.
FAQ
How much does an AI visibility diagnostic cost for a fintech in Amsterdam?
As a 2026 ballpark, EUR 3,000 to 9,000 depending on the number of questions tested, often 30 to 60. At Kolonell this work is on quote.
Can anyone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend our firm?
No. You can make public information accurate, consistent and picked up by third parties, then track change through a dated record; the answer remains the AI's.
Do MiCA rules apply to content written with AI assistants in mind?
Any content published by a digital asset firm remains a communication subject to the applicable rules, whoever ends up reading it. Your compliance team should review it; this stays general.
How quickly do the answers change?
Page fixes can be picked up within a few weeks, while third-party mentions often take 3 to 6 months. A quarterly record gives a reliable reading.
Should we publish in Dutch and English?
In Amsterdam, English covers most institutional buyers, but Dutch foundations and SMEs also ask in Dutch. Testing 10 to 20 questions in each language clarifies the need.
Find out how AI assistants describe your firm. A dated record of what AI assistants like ChatGPT say today about your status, services and fees, with the gaps to fix. Request a diagnostic quote: reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
