Walmart receives 16.2% of the links to US retailers in AI shopping answers, more than Best Buy (13.1%) and Amazon (11.8%). ChatGPT, the engine that links to stores most, sends nearly a quarter of its retailer links to Walmart.
Analysis of 8,920 retailer links in AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.Walmart receives 16.2% of all links to US retailers in AI shopping answers, ahead of Best Buy at 13.1% and Amazon at 11.8%.
- 2.ChatGPT sends 23.9% of its retailer links to Walmart, and it produces 5,708 of the 8,920 retailer links in AI shopping answers, nearly two in three.
- 3.Google AI Overviews sends 47.8% of its retailer links to Amazon, and Perplexity 34%, the two AI engines where Amazon leads by far.
- 4.Chewy receives 56.2% of retailer links in AI answers about pet products, and Dick's Sporting Goods 55.8% in AI answers about fitness products.
- 5.ChatGPT links to a retailer in 43.3% of its answers to "what is the best..." questions, against 2.8% for Gemini.
Summary
A shopper asks ChatGPT for the best air fryer. The answer shows product cards, each with a price and a store, and across ChatGPT's answers the store on those cards is most often Walmart. Ask Google the same question and the AI Overview at the top of the results is more likely to link to Amazon.
The links in an AI answer decide which store a shopper visits next, and the retailer on the other end gets the sale. For retailers, that makes AI engines a new traffic source to win; for brands, it shows which retailers need their products in stock and fully described.
Walmart, not Amazon, gets the most retailer links in AI shopping answers: 16.2%, against 13.1% for Best Buy and 11.8% for Amazon. The reason is ChatGPT, which produces most retailer links and favors Walmart, while Amazon leads on Google AI Overviews and Perplexity.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we asked five AI engines, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews (the AI summary above Google's search results), 2,000 questions of the form "What is the best [product or service]?" across 20 categories, from pets and health to electronics and home. That produced 17,524 answers.
In every answer we counted each link to one of about 100 major US retailers, both in the sources the engine cited and on ChatGPT's product cards, the shopping tiles that show a product, a price and the store selling it. That gave 8,920 retailer links. A retailer's share is its part of all retailer links, overall, for each engine and for each product category.
Walmart gets the most retailer links, Amazon comes third
Walmart has 1,447 retailer links, Best Buy 1,171, Amazon 1,050 and Target 883. The four big general retailers take just over half of all retailer links between them, and specialists fill the rest: Chewy with 6.6%, Home Depot 5.4% and Dick's Sporting Goods 5.3%.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 8,920 retailer links in AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026
Counted by answers instead of links, the race is closer. Amazon appears in 5.2% of all AI shopping answers, Walmart in 4.8%, Best Buy in 4.2% and Target in 3.3%. Amazon shows up in slightly more answers, but Walmart collects more links in total, because ChatGPT's product cards often list Walmart several times in one answer.
Each AI engine has its own favorite store
ChatGPT dominates retail linking. It produces 5,708 of the 8,920 retailer links through its product cards and links to a retailer in 43.3% of its "best" answers, against 2.8% for Gemini. ChatGPT sends 23.9% of its retailer links to Walmart, 14.4% to Best Buy and 12.6% to Target.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 8,920 retailer links in AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026
| AI engine | Retailer links | Top retailer | Top retailer's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 5,708 | Walmart | 23.9% |
| Perplexity | 1,193 | Amazon | 34% |
| Google AI Overviews | 967 | Amazon | 47.8% |
| Google AI Mode | 819 | Amazon | 21.7% |
| Gemini | 233 | Ulta | 19.3% |
The other engines tell a different story. Google AI Overviews gives Amazon 47.8% of its retailer links, nearly half, and Perplexity 34%. Google AI Mode also leads with Amazon at 21.7%, followed by Chewy. Gemini produces 233 retailer links in all, led by Ulta and Best Buy. The store a shopper lands on depends on which engine they asked: on ChatGPT the path runs through Walmart, Best Buy and Target, and on Google and Perplexity it runs through Amazon.
Specialists win their own aisles
Within a category, one specialist often takes half the links. Chewy receives 56.2% of retailer links in AI answers about pet products, Dick's Sporting Goods 55.8% in fitness, and Best Buy 54.9% in phones and 52.5% in electronics. Amazon's strongest category is health, where it takes 63% of retailer links.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 8,920 retailer links in AI answers to 2,000 "best product" and "best service" questions · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026
| Category | Top retailer | Share of category retailer links |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Amazon | 63% |
| Pets | Chewy | 56.2% |
| Fitness | Dick's Sporting Goods | 55.8% |
| Phones | Best Buy | 54.9% |
| Electronics | Best Buy | 52.5% |
| Gaming | Best Buy | 45.8% |
| Outdoor | Home Depot | 42% |
| Kids | Target | 38.4% |
| Kitchen | Walmart | 37.4% |
| Beauty | Ulta | 33.6% |
| Home | Walmart | 25.4% |
| Apparel | Dick's Sporting Goods | 23.2% |
Ulta leads beauty at 33.6%, Target leads kids at 38.4% and Home Depot leads outdoor at 42%. AI engines treat the specialist as the natural place to buy in its category, so a shopper asking about dog food or running shoes is sent to the store known for that aisle rather than to a general marketplace.
What this means for retailers and brands
Retailers should track AI engines one at a time. ChatGPT's product cards produce most retailer links, and they pull from retailer product data, so complete, accurate listings with prices, stock and reviews decide whether your store appears on those cards. On Google's AI features and Perplexity, Amazon's lead means other retailers need the strongest category and product pages to be cited alongside it.
Brands should make sure their products are in stock and well described at the retailer that leads their category in AI answers: Chewy for pet brands, Dick's Sporting Goods for fitness, Best Buy for electronics and phones, and Amazon for health. Our ecommerce seo services track which retailers AI answers send your shoppers to.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-retailer-links-walmart-amazon-target">AI Shopping Answers Link to Walmart More Than Amazon, 16.2% vs 11.8% of Retailer Links - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). AI Shopping Answers Link to Walmart More Than Amazon, 16.2% vs 11.8% of Retailer Links. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-retailer-links-walmart-amazon-target
AI Shopping Answers Link to Walmart More Than Amazon, 16.2% vs 11.8% of Retailer Links - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-retailer-links-walmart-amazon-target
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