--- title: "AI Brand Consensus: Engines Agree on 2 of Top 3 in 70%" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands description: "AI brand consensus study: in 14 of 20 categories, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity share at least two of the same top 3 brands. See the data." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-same-top-three-brands&text=AI%20Engines%20Agree%20on%20at%20Least%20Two%20of%20the%20Top%20Three%20Brands%20in%2070%25%20of%20Product%20Categories Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-same-top-three-brands Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-same-top-three-brands Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-same-top-three-brands&title=AI%20Engines%20Agree%20on%20at%20Least%20Two%20of%20the%20Top%20Three%20Brands%20in%2070%25%20of%20Product%20Categories In **14 of 20** product and service categories, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity each put at least two of the same three brands in their own top three. In four categories, all four engines have exactly the same top three. Analysis of AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions in 20 categories · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. In **70%** of product and service categories, 14 of 20, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity each have at least two of the category's top three brands in their own top three. Copy stat 2. 2. In **4** of 20 categories, health, home, software and travel, all four AI engines have exactly the same top three brands. Copy stat 3. 3. **68%** of AI answers to "what is the best..." questions name at least one of their category's three most-mentioned brands, on average across 20 categories. Copy stat 4. 4. **84.6%** of AI answers about the best gaming products name one of the category's top three brands, the most concentrated of 20 categories. Copy stat 5. 5. In beauty, **40.8%** of AI answers name one of the category's top three brands, the least concentrated category, where more brands share the attention. Copy stat ## Summary Ask ChatGPT which business software is best and the answers keep naming Zoho, HubSpot and Pipedrive near the top. Ask Gemini, Google AI Mode or Perplexity and the same three names come back. The order may change from answer to answer, but the shortlist does not. For a brand, that shortlist is the real prize in AI search. A brand in it shows up whichever assistant a customer uses; a brand outside it has to break into a list that four different engines have settled on. Knowing how settled your category is tells you whether you are defending a place or fighting for one. In **14 of 20** categories, 70%, every engine shares at least two of the same top three brands, and in four categories all four engines agree exactly. On average, 68% of answers in a category name one of its top three brands. ## What we measured In September 2026 we asked five AI engines, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, 2,000 questions of the form "What is the best [product or service]?", about 100 in each of 20 categories, from software and pets to beauty and gaming. In every answer we recorded which brands were mentioned. A category's top three are the three brands mentioned in the most answers across all engines. We then built a separate top three for each of four engines, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity, and checked how many of the category's top three each one shared. Concentration is the share of a category's answers that name at least one of its top three brands. ## Seven categories in ten share one shortlist 70% of product and service categories have the same core top three brands on ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity. In 14 of 20 categories, each engine's own top three includes at least two of the overall top three. In four of them the four engines agree exactly. In software, Zoho, HubSpot and Pipedrive make up the top three on every engine, and in travel, where most questions are about credit cards, it is Chase, Capital One and Capital One's Venture card. Health and home complete the four. The engines read many of the same review sites, comparison articles and forums, so when those sources agree on a category's leaders, every engine repeats them. The first pick may move between answers, but the brands around it are stable, which makes a place on the shortlist more durable than any single top spot. ## Two in three AI answers name a top three brand On average, 68% of answers in a category name at least one of its top three brands, about two answers in three. Gaming (84.6%), streaming (83.6%), finance (82.8%) and cars (80.2%) are the most concentrated. Beauty (40.8%), home (40.9%) and office (43.6%) are the least, with attention spread across many more brands. Answers naming a top-three brand by category Gaming 84.6% Streaming 83.6% Finance 82.8% Cars 80.2% Kitchen 78.2% Web hosting and services 77.2% Software 76% Electronics 75.2% Phones 64.4% Outdoor 63.1% Health 58.1% Fitness 55.1% Office 43.6% Home 40.9% Beauty 40.8% Source: Suff Digital analysis of AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions in 20 categories · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 Concentration and agreement are different things. Six categories miss the two-of-three test: beauty, finance, fitness, gaming, kitchen and outdoor. In gaming and finance, answers are highly concentrated, but each engine favors its own set of leaders. Home is the reverse: the engines agree exactly on the top three, yet those brands appear in only 40.9% of answers because home questions cover many different kinds of product. ## What this means for brand marketers If you are in your category's top three, you are likely to appear on every major AI engine, even as your exact position changes from one answer to the next. Protect that place by keeping your coverage current in the review and comparison sites AI engines draw on, and by tracking whether any engine starts to drop you. If you are outside the top three, pick your ground. In a concentrated category such as gaming or finance, look for the engine whose shortlist differs from the rest and win there first. In a spread-out category such as beauty, home or office, more brands get named, so strong reviews and roundup placements can win a place in the answer quickly. An ai seo company (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/ai-seo-services) can map your category's shortlist on each AI engine and show where you stand. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: AI Engines Agree on at Least Two of the Top Three Brands in 70% of Product Categories - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). AI Engines Agree on at Least Two of the Top Three Brands in 70% of Product Categories. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands Plain link AI Engines Agree on at Least Two of the Top Three Brands in 70% of Product Categories - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands ## Frequently asked questions ### Do different AI engines recommend the same brands? ### In which categories do all AI engines agree completely? ### How often does an AI answer name one of the top three brands in its category? ### Which AI engines recommend the same software brands? ## Related studies - AI SEO AI Names Chase First in 51.9% of Travel Answers, the Strongest Lead in 20 Categories: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-favorite-brands-by-category - AI SEO ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity Name the Same Best Brand Only 25% of the Time: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-gemini-perplexity-best-pick - AI SEO 32.2% of the 500 Brands That Rank Most on Google Are Never Named in AI Answers: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-visibility-index-500-brands - AI SEO Ask ChatGPT Twice and Its Top Pick Changes 56.3% of the Time vs 82.7% for Gemini: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-changes-top-pick ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization", "name": "Suff Digital", "alternateName": "Suff Digital Marketing", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "contentUrl": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "caption": "Suff Digital" }, "image": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo" }, "description": "Suff Digital is a full-stack digital marketing agency that turns websites into predictable revenue engines, SEO, paid media, content, CRO, and web design built around revenue, not vanity metrics.", "slogan": "Digital marketing built for what's next.", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "foundingDate": "2022", "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "contactType": "sales", "areaServed": "US", "availableLanguage": [ "en" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Nashville", "addressRegion": "TN", "postalCode": "37219", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/suff-digital/", "https://www.instagram.com/suffdigital/", "https://www.youtube.com/@suffdigitalmarketing", "https://www.tiktok.com/@suffdigital" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Search Engine Optimization", "Pay-Per-Click Advertising", "Paid Social Advertising", "Conversion Rate Optimization", "Web Design", "Digital PR", "Link Building", "Website Migration", "Website Maintenance and Support", "Technical SEO", "Local SEO", "AI Search Optimization" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "Suff Digital Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/ppc" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Paid Social Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/paid-social" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/cro" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Web Design", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/web-design" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Digital PR & Link Building", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Migration", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Maintenance & Support", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-maintenance" } } ] } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "name": "Suff Digital", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands#article", "headline": "AI Engines Agree on at Least Two of the Top Three Brands in 70% of Product Categories", "description": "In 14 of 20 product and service categories, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity each put at least two of the same three brands in their own top three. 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In four categories, all four engines have exactly the same top three.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands", "creator": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-24", "dateModified": "2026-09-24", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "measurementTechnique": "Answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-same-top-three-brands#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do different AI engines recommend the same brands?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Mostly, at the shortlist level. In 14 of 20 product and service categories, 70%, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity each have at least two of the same three brands in their top three (September 2026)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "In which categories do all AI engines agree completely?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Health, home, software and travel. In these four categories, ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity all have exactly the same top three brands." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How often does an AI answer name one of the top three brands in its category?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In 68% of AI answers to \"what is the best...\" questions on average, rising to 84.6% in gaming and falling to 40.8% in beauty." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which AI engines recommend the same software brands?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "All of them. Zoho, HubSpot and Pipedrive make up the top three software brands on ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity." } } ] } ] } ] ```