Generative AI platforms favor a small group of dominant brands

A report from e-commerce platform CommerceV3 reveals that generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity tend to recommend a small group of dominant brands. The analysis of over 1 million shopping prompts in the U.S. found that AI platforms filled 75% of recommendation slots with the same handful of brands, leaving 78% of e-commerce brands unmentioned in their respective categories.

Brand absence rates varied by platform: Perplexity showed a 74% absence rate, Gemini 81%, and ChatGPT 76%. Absence was most prevalent in problem-solving and broad recommendation prompts. Categories with established editorial ecosystems, such as beauty and consumer electronics, saw lower absence rates compared to specialty categories like grocery or hobby.

In response to these visibility challenges, Tradedoubler has introduced AI visibility services powered by EMNA AI. This tool aims to help brands and agencies measure and improve how they appear in AI-generated answers by leveraging publisher content and insights to close visibility gaps.