How has Five Blocks evolved over the years?
Quick answer
Five Blocks has evolved through four phases: e-commerce and SEO (2003-2007), digital reputation management (from 2007), Wikipedia and entity optimization (the 2010s), and AI reputation management (from 2023), built on its in-house AIQ platform.
Over twenty-plus years Five Blocks has moved through four phases, each adding a new layer of reputation work as the search and AI landscape changed: e-commerce and SEO, digital reputation management, Wikipedia and entity optimization, and AI reputation management.
Four phases of evolution
- 2003, 2007, E-commerce and online marketing. The firm began as a search company, helping clients be found by customers.
- From 2007, Pivot to reputation management. The same search expertise was applied in the other direction, helping clients shape what was being found about them. Reputation management has been the sole focus since.
- The 2010s: Wikipedia, Wikidata, and entity optimization. As Google moved toward the Knowledge Graph and away from a pure ten-blue-links results page, the work expanded to cover Wikipedia, Wikidata, and entity signals.
- From 2023, AI reputation management. Tracking and influencing what AI answer engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode, say about clients. Five Blocks built AIQ in-house to support this work, the same way IMPACT™ was built to support the search era.
Last reviewed: 19/05/2026
