Home / AI Shelf Award
The AI Shelf Award
Which CPG brands AI assistants put on the shelf when a shopper asks for a recommendation: the top 10 per category, from published studies, with the method and the date of each.
Short answer
In 4 categories with public data, these are the brands AI assistants name most often in answers to shopping questions. A brand is on the list only when a named study or a repeatable prompt check puts it in the top 10. Each list links to its source.
How a brand gets on the shelf
- Published evidence only. A third-party study or a prompt check anyone can repeat, with its prompts, assistants and sample size stated. We don’t rank brands ourselves and we don’t estimate missing places.
- Top 10 in a category. Ranked by the study’s own measure, usually the share or count of AI answers that name the brand. Ties stay ties. Where a study publishes fewer than 10, we show only what it published.
- Shopper questions. Category prompts like “best sunscreen for face”, asked the way a shopper would ask them.
- US shoppers. US prompts and US brand sites. Store brands link to their brand page on the retailer’s own site.
- Dated. Every list carries the source’s date. The as-of date moves when we re-check; the ranks move only when new evidence is published.
Sunscreen
- Source
- 5W (5WPR), “SPF and Sun Protection AI Citation Benchmark 2026” (opens in a new tab), Oct 9, 2026
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity
- Sample
- 480 answers
- Method
- 60 sunscreen shopping prompts (such as “best sunscreen for face” and “best drugstore sunscreen”), each run twice on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity: 480 answers. Ranked by appearance rate, the share of answers that name the brand.
| Rank | Brand | Share of answers naming the brand |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Roche-Posay (opens in a new tab) | 60.4% of answers |
| 2 | EltaMD (opens in a new tab) | 59.8% of answers |
| 3 | Supergoop! (opens in a new tab) | 50.8% of answers |
| 4 | Neutrogena (opens in a new tab) | 47.5% of answers |
| 5 | CeraVe (opens in a new tab) | 39% of answers |
| 6 | Blue Lizard (opens in a new tab) | 18.8% of answers |
| 7 | Coppertone (opens in a new tab) | 17.5% of answers |
| 8 | Sun Bum (opens in a new tab) | 16.9% of answers |
| 9 | Banana Boat (opens in a new tab) | 16.7% of answers |
| 10 | ISDIN (opens in a new tab) | 15.6% of answers |
La Roche-Posay and EltaMD are statistically tied.
Laundry detergent
- Source
- Brandlight, “CPG AI Visibility Index 2026 (June 2026 snapshot)” (opens in a new tab), Jun 1, 2026
- Sample
- 1,345 answers
- Method
- 269 unbranded US shopping prompts per category, each run on 5 AI engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot): 1,345 answers. Brands ranked by how many answers mention them.
| Rank | Brand | Answers mentioning the brand |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tide (opens in a new tab) | 621 mentions |
| 2 | OxiClean (opens in a new tab) | 505 mentions |
| 3 | Seventh Generation (opens in a new tab) | 303 mentions |
| 4 | Arm & Hammer (opens in a new tab) | 290 mentions |
| 5 | Up & Up (opens in a new tab) | 286 mentions |
| 6 | Persil (opens in a new tab) | 235 mentions |
| 7 | Gain (opens in a new tab) | 110 mentions |
| 8 | Blueland (opens in a new tab) | 75 mentions |
| 9 | Downy (opens in a new tab) | 64 mentions |
| 10 | Biokleen (opens in a new tab) | 55 mentions |
Category: laundry detergents and stain treatment.
Paper towels
- Source
- Brandlight, “CPG AI Visibility Index 2026 (June 2026 snapshot)” (opens in a new tab), Jun 1, 2026
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot
- Sample
- 1,345 answers
- Method
- 269 unbranded US shopping prompts per category, each run on 5 AI engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot): 1,345 answers. Brands ranked by how many answers mention them.
| Rank | Brand | Answers mentioning the brand |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bounty (opens in a new tab) | 836 mentions |
| 2 | Brawny (opens in a new tab) | 576 mentions |
| 3 | Scott (opens in a new tab) | 439 mentions |
| 4 | Viva (opens in a new tab) | 415 mentions |
| 5 | Up & Up (opens in a new tab) | 326 mentions |
| 6 | Kirkland Signature (opens in a new tab) | 282 mentions |
| 7 | Sparkle (opens in a new tab) | 221 mentions |
| 8 | Seventh Generation (opens in a new tab) | 193 mentions |
| 9 | Who Gives A Crap (opens in a new tab) | 124 mentions |
| 10 | Great Value (opens in a new tab) | 115 mentions |
Protein bars
- Source
- EMARKETER, “EMARKETER data shows protein bars rank high in ChatGPT recommendations” (opens in a new tab), Aug 17, 2026
- Assistants
- ChatGPT
- Sample
- Sample size not published
- Method
- Standardized US shopping prompts run in ChatGPT for the July 2026 AI Visibility Index. Ranked by mention rate, the share of answers that name the brand. Only the top five were published.
| Rank | Brand | Share of ChatGPT answers naming the brand |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RXBAR (opens in a new tab) | 56% of answers |
| 2 | Quest Nutrition (opens in a new tab) | 52% of answers |
| 3 | Barebells (opens in a new tab) | 39% of answers |
| 3 | Clif (opens in a new tab) | 39% of answers |
| 5 | KIND (opens in a new tab) | 29% of answers |
Only the top five are public. Barebells and Clif tie for third.
What isn’t here yet
Amazon Rufus, Walmart Sparky and Alexa+ don’t publish recommendation data, and we haven’t found an independent study of them with a stated method. When one appears, it goes on this page with its source.
The same data is available as JSON. Want to see where your own brand stands? Paste one of the example prompts into ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, and keep the answers as your baseline.