--- title: "AI Answer Brand Order: First Brand Gets 9% Fewer Words" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words description: "AI answer brand order study: the first brand named gets 9.1% fewer words than the brands after it, 30 against 33, across 15,102 answers. Read the study." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Ffirst-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words&text=The%20First%20Brand%20in%20an%20AI%20Recommendation%20Gets%209%25%20Fewer%20Words%20Than%20the%20Brands%20After%20It Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Ffirst-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Ffirst-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Ffirst-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words&title=The%20First%20Brand%20in%20an%20AI%20Recommendation%20Gets%209%25%20Fewer%20Words%20Than%20the%20Brands%20After%20It The brand an AI engine names first in a product recommendation gets **9.1% fewer** words than the brands named after it, 30 words against 33 on average. On Perplexity the first brand gets 18.4 words against 26.3 for the rest. Analysis of 15,102 AI product recommendations naming three or more brands · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. The first brand named in an AI product recommendation gets **9.1% fewer** words than the brands named after it, 30 words on average against 33. Copy stat 2. 2. The first brand in an AI product recommendation gets more words than the average later brand in **40.8%** of answers, fewer than half. Copy stat 3. 3. The median first brand in an AI product recommendation gets **21** words, against about 28 for the brands named after it. Copy stat 4. 4. In AI product recommendations, the brand named fifth gets **36.2** words on average, the most of any position, against 30 for the brand named first. Copy stat 5. 5. Google AI Overviews is the one AI engine that gives the first brand more words than the rest, **34.9** against 30.3. Copy stat ## Summary Ask an AI engine for the best robot vacuum and the answer lists five models. The first gets a line or two: a strong all-rounder, good value. The fourth gets a paragraph explaining who it suits, what makes it different and why you might pick it over the rest. That matters to anyone tracking how AI engines present their brand. Most AI visibility reports record position: whether you were named, and whether you came first. But the words an answer spends on a brand are its sales pitch. A brand with a longer write-up gets more of its features, strengths and use cases in front of the reader. Being named first does not buy the longest pitch. The first brand in an AI product recommendation gets **9.1% fewer** words than the brands named after it, 30 against 33 on average, and gets more words than the later brands in 40.8% of answers. Word counts climb further down the list, peaking at 36.2 words for the fifth brand. ## What we measured On September 23, 2026 we asked 2,000 "best product or service" questions in 20 categories, from home appliances to insurance, to five AI engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews (the AI summary above Google's search results). We kept the 15,102 answers that named at least three brands. For each brand, we counted the words an answer wrote about it: every word from the point the brand is first named until the next brand is first named. Position is the order in which brands are first named, so the first brand is the one the answer names first. We then averaged the word counts by position and by AI engine. The median is the middle value: half of first brands get more words, half fewer. ## Brands named later get longer write-ups 9.1% fewer words go to the first brand in an AI product recommendation than to the brands after it. The first brand averages 30 words, against 33 for brands in later positions. The median shows the same gap, 21 words for the first brand against about 28 for the rest. The first brand gets more words than the average later brand in 40.8% of answers, so in most AI recommendations the lead pick gets no more words than the average brand after it. Average words by position in the answer 1st brand 30 2nd brand 28.8 3rd brand 32.5 4th brand 33.4 5th brand 36.2 6th brand 34 Source: Suff Digital analysis of 15,102 AI product recommendations naming three or more brands · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026 The pattern is not a straight line. The second brand gets the fewest words, 28.8, then counts climb to 36.2 at the fifth position. AI engines tend to open with a short verdict on the top picks and give fuller explanations to the options further down the list, where a brand is often described by who it suits and how it differs from the picks above it. ## Google AI Overviews is the one engine that favors the first brand 34.9 words go to the first brand in a Google AI Overview, against 30.3 for the brands after it. On four of five AI engines the first brand gets fewer words than later ones. The gap is widest on Perplexity, where the first brand gets 18.4 words against 26.3 for the rest, 30% fewer, and on ChatGPT, 17.8 against 22.8. On those two engines the first brand gets under 20 words on average. First brand (words) by AI engine ChatGPT 17.8 Gemini 36.2 Google AI Mode 37 Google AI Overviews 34.9 Perplexity 18.4 | AI engine | First brand (words) | Later brands (words) | | --- | --- | --- | | ChatGPT | 17.8 | 22.8 | | Gemini | 36.2 | 43.8 | | Google AI Mode | 37 | 41.3 | | Google AI Overviews | 34.9 | 30.3 | | Perplexity | 18.4 | 26.3 | Google AI Overviews reverses the pattern, giving the first brand 34.9 words against 30.3 for the rest. Gemini and Google AI Mode write the longest brand descriptions overall, at 36 to 44 words per brand, about twice what ChatGPT and Perplexity write. The same brand can therefore get a two-line mention on ChatGPT and a full paragraph on Gemini for the same question. ## What this means for marketers tracking AI visibility Measure more than rank. The average first brand gets about 30 words and the median first brand 21. A brand in third or fourth place can get a longer, more persuasive description than the first pick. When you track AI answers, record what is said about your brand and how much, alongside where you appear. Give AI engines material for a fuller write-up. The words an answer uses about you come from the sources it reads, so clear product pages and review coverage that spell out who your product suits, what it does better and what it costs give the engine more to say, wherever you land in the list. Then check the answers themselves: ask each engine the "best" questions your customers ask and compare your write-up with your competitors'. Working with an ai seo company (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/ai-seo-services) that tracks both your position and what AI engines say about you shows where a fuller description would help. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: The First Brand in an AI Recommendation Gets 9% Fewer Words Than the Brands After It - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). The First Brand in an AI Recommendation Gets 9% Fewer Words Than the Brands After It. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words Plain link The First Brand in an AI Recommendation Gets 9% Fewer Words Than the Brands After It - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the first brand in an AI answer get the most detail? ### Which AI engine gives the first brand the most words? ### How often does the first brand get the longest description in an AI answer? ### How many words does ChatGPT write about each brand it recommends? ## Related studies - AI SEO 53.7% of AI Product Recommendations Name Brands Without Linking to Any of Them: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-brands-named-not-linked - AI SEO AI Recommends 93% of Brands Without Mentioning a Single Downside: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommendations-mention-downsides - 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 AI Confuses 1 in 14 Top Brands at Least Once When Asked What They Are: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-confuses-brand-names ## 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/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words#article", "headline": "The First Brand in an AI Recommendation Gets 9% Fewer Words Than the Brands After It", "description": "The brand an AI engine names first in a product recommendation gets 9.1% fewer words than the brands named after it, 30 words against 33 on average. 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On Perplexity the first brand gets 18.4 words against 26.3 for the rest.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words", "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, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/first-brand-ai-answer-fewer-words#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does the first brand in an AI answer get the most detail?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. The first brand in an AI product recommendation gets 30 words on average against 33 for the brands named after it, 9.1% fewer (September 2026)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which AI engine gives the first brand the most words?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Google AI Overviews, the one AI engine where the first brand gets more words (34.9) than the brands named after it (30.3)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How often does the first brand get the longest description in an AI answer?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The first brand in an AI product recommendation gets more words than the average later brand in 40.8% of answers, fewer than half." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many words does ChatGPT write about each brand it recommends?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "ChatGPT gives the first brand in a product recommendation 17.8 words on average and the brands after it 22.8 words, against 36.2 and 43.8 words on Gemini." } } ] } ] } ] ```