Referral and partner programs · November 2026 Edition
Smile.io vs Ambassador
Zero of fourteen models named Smile.io first on the direct prompt; one named Ambassador. Smile.io was named by ten of the fourteen models and Ambassador by eleven and Smile.io carries 12 labels and Ambassador 19, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share12%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate17%16%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#8A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels1219A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Smile.io reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Referral Rock was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. PartnerStack vs Smile.io · PartnerStack vs Ambassador · Referral Rock vs Smile.io
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the referral and partner programs page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Smile.ioFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAmbassador
Direct011 against Ambassador
Paraphrase00
Comparative00
Budget-constrained601 against Ambassador
Scale-constrained00
Negative002 against Smile.io · 1 against Ambassador
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Smile.io and Ambassador stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | ||||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | ||||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | ||
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | ||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | |||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | ||||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Smile.io Ambassador first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Smile.io on the left and Ambassador on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Smile.io and Ambassador stood in it.
Ambassador first, Smile.io not the choice
1 of 14 modelsSmile.io was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.MiniMax M2.5Ambassador, Referral Factory alternatives: UpPromote
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, Cello, Referral Factory
Perplexity SonarReferral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, GrowSurf, Referral Factory
Qwen 3.7 FlashPartnerStack alternatives: Ambassador, FirstPromoter, Referral Factory
GLM 4.7 FlashXPartnerStack, Referral Factory alternatives: Ambassador, FirstPromoter, Referral Rock
Muse Glimmer 30BReferral Factory, Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, PartnerStack
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniPartnerStack alternatives: Friendbuy, Referral Rock
Gemini 3.5 FlashPartnerStack alternatives: Influitive, Referral Factory, Referral Rock, SaaSquatch
Grok 4.20Referral Factory alternatives: Cello, FirstPromoter, GrowSurf, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Mistral SmallPartnerStack alternatives: GrowSurf, Referral Factory, Referral Rock
DeepSeek V4 FlashReferral Factory alternatives: Cello, Friendbuy, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Llama 4 MaverickReferral Factory, Referral Rock
Kimi K2Referral Rock alternatives: FirstPromoter, PartnerStack, Referral Factory
GPT-6 LunaReferral Rock alternatives: PartnerStack, impact.com Advocate
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Smile.io leads by three points.
Smile.io3%#– of 9Ambassador0%#– of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Enterprise
The order flips: Ambassador leads at enterprise.
Ambassador16%#1 of 14Smile.io0%#– of 14What the models said about Smile.io
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Noted for billing complaints (charges after cancellation) and poor customer service.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Best Overall (Free Plan): Smile.io ... widely considered the best option for small businesses because it offers a genuine free plan” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“Best Overall Free Option for E-Commerce: Smile.io ... widely considered the best starting point for small e-commerce businesses” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Ambassador
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Ambassador (lock-in/pricing practices)” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“often seen as more complex/expensive and scores lower on ease-of-use compared to Referral Factory” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · soft negative
“Ambassador or Referral Factory would be the strongest choices” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
PartnerStack vs Smile.ioPartnerStack vs AmbassadorReferral Rock vs Smile.ioReferral Rock vs AmbassadorReferral Factory vs Smile.ioReferral Factory vs AmbassadorSmile.io vs Viral LoopsSmile.io vs ReferralCandySmile.io vs FirstPromoterViral Loops vs AmbassadorReferralCandy vs AmbassadorFirstPromoter vs AmbassadorAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full referrals standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.