Mentioning a Budget Changes ChatGPT's Top Product Pick 87.4% of the Time

    Adding "on a budget" to a product question changes the first product ChatGPT recommends 87.4% of the time, the biggest effect of six wording changes and 33 points above the 54.6% change from asking the same question twice.

    Top pick changed by wording change
    Same question asked twice
    54.6%
    On a budget
    87.4%
    Detailed version
    76.8%
    Adds "2026"
    65.4%
    Typo
    58.8%
    "Top" instead of "best"
    57.5%
    Adds "please"
    56.5%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 6,992 ChatGPT answers to 500 product questions · ChatGPT with web search, September 2026

    Plain question by website
    nerdwallet.com
    8.3%
    rtings.com
    10.4%
    tomsguide.com
    9.7%
    consumerreports.org
    7.8%
    itechguides.com
    5%
    goodhousekeeping.com
    4.8%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 6,992 ChatGPT answers to 500 product questions · ChatGPT with web search, September 2026

    Source: Mentioning a Budget Changes ChatGPT's Top Product Pick 87.4% of the Time - Suff Digital