What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (small businesses) on 2026-10-22

Claude (Anthropic) with web search claude-opus-5 asked 2026-10-22

Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

The question asked, verbatim: best business formation services for small businesses

Brands named, in the order the engine gave

1. Northwest Registered Agent recommended
   Northwest Registered Agent - my default recommendation for most small businesses.
2. Bizee mentioned
   Bizee (formerly Incfile) - the best genuinely cheap option.
3. LegalZoom mentioned
   LegalZoom - worth the premium only if you want legal advice attached.
4. ZenBusiness mentioned
   ZenBusiness - fast (1-day processing on some tiers) and a decent compliance dashboard for annual reports and franchise tax reminders.
5. Tailor Brands mentioned
   Tailor Brands - only if you want logo, website, and branding bundled with the filing.
6. Rho mentioned
   - The 6 Best LLC Formation Services in 2026 - Rho (https://www.rho.co/blog/best-llc-formation-services)

Sources the engine cited

Is one of these your site? Its page lists every recorded answer that cited it, with the questions, the pages and the dates, and carries the alert for the next citation.

The answer, as recorded

Here's who I'd actually name, in order: **1. Northwest Registered Agent** - my default recommendation for most small businesses. $39 + state filing fee, $125/year for registered agent, and that price is fixed rather than a teaser rate. Two things make it stand out: it doesn't bury upsells in the checkout flow, and it uses its own address on public filings instead of putting your home address in a searchable state database - which matters a lot if you're running a business out of your house. Support is actual people who know filing rules. **2. Bizee (formerly Incfile)** - the best genuinely cheap option. $0 formation + state fee, and it includes a full year of registered agent service, which the other $0 tiers don't all do. Renewal runs roughly $119-$149/year. Good if you want to spend as close to nothing as possible in year one and are comfortable managing compliance deadlines yourself. **3. LegalZoom** - worth the premium only if you want legal advice attached. Their Pro and Premium tiers include 30 days of unlimited 30-minute attorney consults, which is useful if you have partners, an operating agreement to negotiate, or an unusual ownership structure. Overpriced if all you need is a filing. **4. ZenBusiness** - fast (1-day processing on some tiers) and a decent compliance dashboard for annual reports and franchise tax reminders. One caveat: the $0 Starter plan does *not* include a registered agent, and their RA service is the most expensive of the group - around $99 first year then $199/year. Price out the full bundle before committing. **5. Tailor Brands** - only if you want logo, website, and branding bundled with the filing. As a pure formation service it's not the best value; as a "get me a business and a brand in one afternoon" package it's reasonable. Two things I'd tell you regardless of which you pick: - **Compare total recurring cost, not the headline price.** The $0 tiers are loss leaders; the money is in the registered agent renewal and compliance add-ons. Advertised formation prices span $0-$399 and the annual cost is where providers diverge most. - **Consider just filing directly with your Secretary of State.** It's often a 20-minute online form, and you pay only the state fee. The formation service is really buying you a registered agent and compliance reminders - so if you want those, buy them; if you don't, you may not need any of these companies. One caution on sourcing: this category is heavily affiliate-monetized, and several "best LLC service" comparison pages are owned or operated by the companies being ranked (ZenBusiness, for example, hosts its own head-to-head comparison pages). Treat ranked listicles in this space skeptically, including the ones below. Sources: - [The Best LLC Services in 2026 - StateRequirement](https://staterequirement.com/llc/best-llc-services/) - [The 6 Best LLC Formation Services in 2026 - Rho](https://www.rho.co/blog/best-llc-formation-services) - [The Cheapest Way to Form an LLC in 2026: True Costs Compared - Rho](https://www.rho.co/blog/cheapest-way-to-form-an-llc) - [How to Compare LLC Formation Services in 2026 - Zenind](https://www.zenind.com/help/post/how-to-compare-llc-formation-services-in-2026-pricing-compliance-and-support) - [Best LLC Formation Services - TRUiC](https://truicbusinessideas.com/best-llc-formation-services)

Near this answer

The same question, recorded on other dates: 2026-10-20, 2026-10-19, 2026-10-16, 2026-10-14, 2026-10-12, 2026-10-11, 2026-10-09, 2026-10-07, 2026-10-03, 2026-10-02, 2026-09-30.

business formation services, asked for other audiences: startups (asked 2026-10-22).

Other categories with a recorded answer: accounting firms, business coaching services, compliance consulting firms, contract review services.

Play this answer: which brand was named first?

Markdown edition · JSON record · the question page, with every recording · Answer Watch · AEO Watch

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.