Research · measured 26 September 2026 · published 27 September 2026
Which brands does ChatGPT recommend?
I asked ChatGPT 350 shopping questions that never mention a brand across five US product categories, and counted which brands its 700 answers named. Some of the largest brands barely appear.
API approximation of ChatGPT; results vary.OpenAI API with web search, measured 26 Sep 2026Ranges are 95%
- HexClad (cookware) and Hawaiian Tropic (sunscreen) were not named in any of 120 answers each (range 0–6%), despite being large brands.
- BodyArmor was named in 1 of 120 answers about electrolyte powders, although its powder was reported to have sold $120 million in its first year.
- Mid-size brands led three categories: LMNT in electrolyte powders, Fly By Jing in chili crisp and Califia Farms in coffee creamer.
Five US categories
For each category I listed 8 to 11 well-known brands with a public size signal (revenue, retail reach, funding or acquisition price) and wrote 60 shopping questions that name no brand. Each question was asked twice: 120 answers per category. Brands marked in orange are large or widely sold but rarely named.
Cookware
All-Clad was named most often. HexClad, which reports more than $550 million in annual revenue, was not named in any of the 120 answers (range 0–6%). Calphalon wasn't named either, though I couldn't source a size figure for it.
- All-Clad34% 23%–47%
- Lodge23% 14%–35%
- Le Creuset20% 12%–32%
- Staub10% 5%–20%
- T-fal9% 4%–19%
- GreenPan9% 4%–19%
- Made In8% 4%–18%
- Caraway6% 2%–15%
- Our Place2% 0%–9%
- Calphalon0% 0%–6%
- HexClad0% 0%–6%
Size signals behind this
- HexClad: HexClad reports more than $550 million in annual revenue and a roughly $1 billion valuation (Shopify case study, July 2025). Source
- All-Clad: Groupe SEB bought All-Clad for US$250 million in 2004, when All-Clad Group sales were US$105 million (2004 figure; SEB does not break out current brand sales). Source
Electrolyte powders
LMNT led. BodyArmor was named in 1 of 120 answers, although its Flash I.V. powder was reported to have sold $120 million in its first year. Gatorade, the largest brand here overall, was rarely named for powders; its reported size is mostly ready-to-drink sports drinks.
- LMNT43% 32%–56%
- Skratch Labs25% 16%–37%
- Liquid I.V.18% 11%–30%
- Pedialyte18% 10%–29%
- Nuun18% 10%–29%
- Ultima Replenisher10% 5%–20%
- DripDrop8% 3%–17%
- Gatorade7% 3%–16%
- Cure4% 1%–13%
- BodyArmor1% 0%–7%
- Waterboy0% 0%–6%
Size signals behind this
- BodyArmor: CNN (via KVIA) reported in May 2025 that BodyArmor's Flash I.V. electrolyte powder did $120 million in sales in its first year. Source
- Gatorade: Food Dive reported in September 2024 that Gatorade is a $6 billion-plus brand controlling more than 70% of the US sports drink market as it launched its Hydration Booster electrolyte powder. Source
- LMNT: Drink LMNT, Inc.'s SEC Form C-AR reports net sales of $206.3 million for fiscal 2023, up from $78.7 million in 2022, derived primarily from the United States. Source
Sunscreen
La Roche-Posay was named most often. Hawaiian Tropic was not named in any of the 120 answers (range 0–6%), though its owner says it and Banana Boat together hold a leading share of US sun care. Banana Boat and Neutrogena were each named in about 1 in 11 answers.
- La Roche-Posay29% 19%–42%
- Supergoop!17% 9%–28%
- EltaMD16% 9%–27%
- Blue Lizard14% 8%–25%
- Black Girl Sunscreen12% 6%–22%
- Neutrogena9% 4%–19%
- Banana Boat9% 4%–19%
- Coppertone7% 3%–16%
- Sun Bum4% 1%–13%
- Hawaiian Tropic0% 0%–6%
Size signals behind this
- Hawaiian Tropic: Edgewell's FY2024 10-K says Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat combined hold a leading market share position in U.S. sun care. Source
- La Roche-Posay: L'Oreal says La Roche-Posay became the world's third-largest skincare brand across all channels in 2024, with strong contributions from North America. Source
Chili crisp
Fly By Jing and Lao Gan Ma were named in roughly half and four in ten answers. Lee Kum Kee, whose chili crisp is in more than 2,600 Walmart stores, was rarely named.
- Fly By Jing49% 37%–61%
- Lao Gan Ma42% 30%–54%
- Momofuku22% 14%–35%
- S&B16% 9%–27%
- Trader Joe's7% 3%–16%
- Lee Kum Kee5% 2%–14%
- Mama Teav's3% 1%–11%
- Xi'an Famous Foods0% 0%–6%
Size signals behind this
Coffee creamer
Califia Farms and Coffee mate led. Silk, which Danone described in 2022 as America's No. 1 plant-based creamer, was rarely named.
- Califia Farms33% 23%–46%
- Coffee mate25% 16%–37%
- Nutpods22% 14%–35%
- Chobani21% 12%–33%
- International Delight19% 11%–31%
- Oatly12% 6%–22%
- Starbucks8% 3%–17%
- Laird Superfood8% 3%–17%
- Land O Lakes6% 2%–15%
- Silk3% 1%–11%
- Dunkin'1% 0%–7%
Size signals behind this
- Silk: Danone North America said in February 2022 that Silk was America's No. 1 plant-based creamer brand based on national sales data through November 28, 2021. Source
- Califia Farms: Califia Farms raised a $225 million Series D in January 2020 and was the third-biggest US plant-based milk company per Euromonitor (Food Dive). Source
Method
- What was asked. ChatGPT through the OpenAI API (gpt-6-luna) with web search on and a US location. No system prompt, and no question named a brand. 60 questions plus 10 controls per category, two runs each. Controls are left out of the charts.
- How answers were scored. An answer "names" a brand if it contains the brand or a known variant of its name, checked against the stored answer text. Each question counts once (its share of runs naming the brand); ranges are 95% (Wilson), counting questions.
- Size signals come from the public sources linked under each category. Some are company-wide, global or a few years old, so they show scale, not US sales of this exact product.
- Limits. This is an API approximation of ChatGPT. The ChatGPT app can answer differently (its own model settings, memory and location). It is one day's measurement, answers vary between runs, and only the listed brands were counted.
- This is independent research. None of the brands named were involved or paid for anything.
Curious whether AI shopping assistants can read your own store? Check your store.