--- title: "AI Visibility Index: 32.2% of Top Google Brands Go Unnamed" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-visibility-index-500-brands description: "AI visibility index of 500 brands: 32.2% of the brands that rank most on Google are never named in 56,068 AI answers, and Walmart leads. 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-visibility-index-500-brands&text=32.2%25%20of%20the%20500%20Brands%20That%20Rank%20Most%20on%20Google%20Are%20Never%20Named%20in%20AI%20Answers Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-visibility-index-500-brands Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-visibility-index-500-brands Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-visibility-index-500-brands&title=32.2%25%20of%20the%20500%20Brands%20That%20Rank%20Most%20on%20Google%20Are%20Never%20Named%20in%20AI%20Answers **32.2%** of the 500 brands whose websites rank most often in Google search are not named in a single one of 56,068 AI answers. At the top of the AI Visibility Index, Walmart is named in 1,315 answers, followed by Capital One and American Express. Analysis of 500 brands across 56,068 AI answers · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. **32.2%** of the 500 brands that rank most often on Google are never named in any of 56,068 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features. Copy stat 2. 2. Walmart is the brand AI engines name most, in **1,315** AI answers, followed by Capital One (1,210) and American Express (1,164). Copy stat 3. 3. The typical brand in the AI Visibility Index is named in **6** of 56,068 AI answers, while the top brand is named in 1,315. Copy stat 4. 4. Gemini names PCMag in **443** answers, more than any other brand, while ChatGPT names PCMag in 2. Copy stat 5. 5. ChatGPT names Walmart in **786** answers, the most of any brand on any single AI engine. Copy stat ## Summary A company ranks on the first page of Google for thousands of searches. Its marketing team assumes that visibility carries over into ChatGPT and Google's AI answers. For one in three of the brands that rank most on Google, it does not: AI engines never mention them. AI answers are becoming a front door to brands, and a brand that is never named there is left out of the shortlist before a customer ever searches. Search rankings and AI visibility are different results, and a brand that tracks only one of them cannot see the gap. **32.2%** of the 500 brands in the index are never named in 56,068 AI answers, and the typical brand appears in 6. A small group of retail and finance brands takes most of the attention: Walmart, Capital One and American Express each appear in more than a thousand answers. ## What we measured In September 2026 we took 500 brands, the companies whose websites rank most often across 20,000 Google searches, and looked for each brand name or website in the text of 56,068 AI answers. The answers came from five engines: ChatGPT (14,708), Gemini (14,708), Google AI Mode (10,834), Google AI Overviews (10,834) and Perplexity (4,984). A brand counts as named in an answer when its name or website appears in the answer's text. We counted the number of answers naming each brand, for each engine and in total, and ranked the 500 brands to build the AI Visibility Index. The median brand is the one in the middle of that ranking. ## A third of brands are invisible to AI 32.2% of the 500 brands that rank most often on Google are never named in an AI answer. 161 of the 500 brands are not named in any of the 56,068 answers, and the median brand appears in 6. Every brand in the index ranks often on Google, so the gap is between search visibility and AI visibility, not between well-known and unknown companies. The difference comes from what each system rewards. Google ranks pages that match a search. AI engines name brands that the sources they read describe and recommend, in reviews, roundups, comparisons and news. A brand can rank for thousands of searches and still be absent from that conversation, and in AI answers it then does not exist. ## Retail and finance brands lead the index Walmart is named in 1,315 AI answers, more than any other brand. Capital One (1,210), American Express (1,164) and Target (1,040) are the other brands named in more than a thousand. The top ten mixes retailers (Walmart, Target, Best Buy), card issuers (Capital One, American Express), technology (Microsoft), cars (Toyota) and reviewers (Consumer Reports, Bankrate, PCMag). AI answers naming it by brand Walmart 1,315 Capital One 1,210 American Express 1,164 Target 1,040 Microsoft 932 Best Buy 848 Consumer Reports 794 Toyota 772 Bankrate 711 PCMag 694 Samsung 662 Progressive 611 Good Housekeeping 591 Experian 586 Netflix 580 Source: Suff Digital analysis of 500 brands across 56,068 AI answers · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 These are brands customers ask about directly and brands AI engines use as references. Walmart, Target and Best Buy appear as places to buy; Capital One and American Express as the cards in finance answers; Consumer Reports, Bankrate and PCMag as the reviewers AI engines quote when they explain a recommendation. ## Each AI engine has its own leader ChatGPT names Walmart most, in 786 answers, then Best Buy (465) and Target (455). Gemini's most-named brand is PCMag (443), which ChatGPT names twice. Google AI Mode and AI Overviews both name American Express most, in 315 and 299 answers. Perplexity's top brand is Consumer Reports (123). | AI engine | Most-named brand | Answers | | --- | --- | --- | | ChatGPT | Walmart | 786 | | Gemini | PCMag | 443 | | Google AI Mode | American Express | 315 | | Google AI Overviews | American Express | 299 | | Perplexity | Consumer Reports | 123 | The same brand can be a leader on one engine and nearly absent on another. Good Housekeeping appears in 229 ChatGPT answers and 261 Gemini answers, once on Google AI Mode and never on AI Overviews. Each engine draws on its own mix of sources, so a brand's total can hide a gap on the engine its customers use most. ## What this means for brand marketers Do not assume Google rankings carry over. Every brand in this index ranks often on Google, yet a third are never named by AI. Ask the questions your customers ask on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, count how often your brand appears, and compare it with your competitors. Then check each engine separately, not only the total. A gap on one engine points to the sources that engine prefers, whether that is retailer listings, review publishers or news coverage, and tells you where to earn mentions first. Working with an ai seo company (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/ai-seo-services) lets you track your brand's count on all five engines over time. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: 32.2% of the 500 Brands That Rank Most on Google Are Never Named in AI Answers - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). 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 Plain link 32.2% of the 500 Brands That Rank Most on Google Are Never Named in AI Answers - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-visibility-index-500-brands ## Frequently asked questions ### Which brand does AI mention most? ### How many brands does AI never mention? ### Do different AI engines favor different brands? ### Does ranking on Google mean a brand will appear in AI answers? ## Related studies - AI SEO Brands With the Most Press Coverage Get Named in 13.4x More AI Answers: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/press-coverage-ai-brand-mentions - AI SEO Brands That Block GPTBot Still Get Named by ChatGPT: 31.5 Mentions vs 20.7 for Brands That Allow It: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/blocking-gptbot-ai-recommendations - 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 Gemini Uses Negative Words About 72.6% of Brands vs 57.2% for ChatGPT: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-negative-words-about-brands ## 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-visibility-index-500-brands#article", "headline": "32.2% of the 500 Brands That Rank Most on Google Are Never Named in AI Answers", "description": "32.2% of the 500 brands whose websites rank most often in Google search are not named in a single one of 56,068 AI answers. 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The typical brand is named in 6." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do different AI engines favor different brands?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. ChatGPT names Walmart most, Gemini names PCMag most, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews name American Express most, and Perplexity names Consumer Reports most." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does ranking on Google mean a brand will appear in AI answers?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. All 500 brands in the AI Visibility Index rank often on Google, yet 32.2% of them are never named in an AI answer." } } ] } ] } ] ```