New awards live or die on one question: can you trust them?

Entrants will ask: Who runs them, who backs them and who decides the winners all matter.

Here’s the story behind the UK AI Search Awards, and why we think this partnership is the right one.

A long term partnership for the Search Awards

Diginius has been the headline sponsor of the Search Awards for 5 years. They’ve watched the programme from the inside, seen how the judging works, and understood what the industry expects. The UK AI Search Awards are our first joint venture, a unique step that cements our long-term relationship.

Two different strengths, one clear purpose

Don’t Panic Projects builds and runs industry awards. That means entry kits, judging criteria, conflict of interest processes and the unglamorous work that makes an award trustworthy and respected. The Search Awards portfolio traces back to the original UK Search Awards, created to define ethical search and stop black hat behaviours.

Diginius builds the software marketing teams use to see what’s actually happening. Diginius Insight pulls PPC advertising and lead data into one place for agencies and businesses. Their world is measurement, evidence and proving what worked.

Measurement and evidence are important for awards, and particularly here. Proving AI search performance is the hard problem in this field, and the awards reward people who solve it. A partner whose business is built on measurement understands why evidence counts. 

Why AI Search Awards now

We didn’t rush an AI awards programme out when ChatGPT arrived. We waited for the practice to mature and for experts to emerge who could judge it properly. Now they have, and we wanted a partner who takes the same view: recognition should follow real work, not hype.

What the partnership means for integrity

Diginius has no role in judging, scoring or category decisions. Judges are independent, assess entries against published criteria and declare conflicts of interest. A partner adds resources, credibility and industry reach. The result and trophy win still have to be earned by producing outstanding work.

That’s the point of building this inside an established portfolio. The same standards, processes and safeguards used across our portfolio of awards, that go beyond search and into agency, digital excellence, paid media and culture, still apply here. Our guides on How Winners are Chosen and Behind the Scenes with Judges explain how that works in practice.

What it means for entrants

A programme with an experienced organiser, a partner invested in measurement, and judges who know the field gives your win somewhere to stand. When you tell a client or your board you’ve won a UK AI Search Award, the question “who decides that?” has a relevant and impressive answer.

See what’s being celebrated

The UK AI Search Awards recognise brands, agencies and technologies delivering real visibility and results across the AI landscape.