A description such as user-friendly can be strongly associated with one brand or shared among close competitors. We wanted to identify which brand associations are concentrated and which remain contested.

We examined 3,618,541 descriptors attached to 145,001 brands in ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode answers from May 24 through July 19, 2026. We compared how descriptive terms were distributed among brands within their markets.

Some associations are firmly attached to one brand. Others remain close: Pipedrive and HubSpot were separated by 3.7 points on “user-friendly” in CRM software. Those contested associations give a brand team something specific to work on.

Start with the associations where the gap is close

Pipedrive accounted for 27.5% of “user-friendly” uses in CRM and sales pipeline software, compared with HubSpot’s 23.8%. In payroll and HRIS software, Rippling led “all-in-one” with 31.8%, followed by Gusto at 27.1%.

The table shows close contests with at least fifty observed uses. Choose an association that matters to your buyers, then inspect the questions and product evidence behind it.

“User-friendly” in CRM and sales pipeline software

Pipedrive27.5%
HubSpot23.8%
0%10%20%30%

May 24–July 19, 2026 · share of 80 observed uses of this phrase in the category. Other brands account for the remaining uses.

Contested words: top two brands within 5 points

Choose a phrase and category to compare the two leading brands.

Share (%) · 2 results

SigNoz21.2%
OpenSearch17.8%
0%10%20%30%

Explore the data (2 rows)


open-source · Log Management & Observability Platforms	SigNoz	Leader	21.2	146
open-source · Log Management & Observability Platforms	OpenSearch	Runner-up	17.8	146

Pairs with at least 50 uses where the gap between the top two brands is under 5 percentage points, ordered by pair uses.

Explore HubSpot’s current AI visibility

Some associations already have a clear leader

Carta accounted for 95.3% of “industry standard” uses in cap table and equity management software. Semrush led “all-in-one” in SEO and competitive intelligence tools at 77.8%; Wise led “cheapest” in international money transfers at 77.5%.

These are the words used in the sampled answers, not independent judgments about the products. They show how strongly a message is attached to a brand within the observed category.

Where one brand leads the association

Share (%) · Top 10 of 14

industry standard · Carta · Cap Table & Equity Management Software95.3%
user-friendly · WeMod · PC Game Trainers and Mod Managers80.5%
all-in-one · Semrush · SEO & Competitive Intelligence Tools77.8%
open-source · Lago · Subscription and Usage-Based Billing Platforms77.5%
cheapest · Wise · International Money Transfer Services77.5%
cost-effective · Amazon · Email and Messaging Delivery Platforms75.8%
gold standard · Patagonia · Sustainable Clothing Brands72.5%
easiest · FanDuel · Online Sports Betting Apps71.4%
most popular · PrizePicks · Sports Betting and Fantasy Platforms68.2%
fastest · Nord Security · Consumer VPN Services63.3%
0%50%100%

Explore the data (14 rows)


industry standard	Cap Table & Equity Management Software	Carta	95.3	86
user-friendly	PC Game Trainers and Mod Managers	WeMod	80.5	87
all-in-one	SEO & Competitive Intelligence Tools	Semrush	77.8	54
open-source	Subscription and Usage-Based Billing Platforms	Lago	77.5	89
cheapest	International Money Transfer Services	Wise	77.5	40
cost-effective	Email and Messaging Delivery Platforms	Amazon	75.8	33
gold standard	Sustainable Clothing Brands	Patagonia	72.5	40
easiest	Online Sports Betting Apps	FanDuel	71.4	42
most popular	Sports Betting and Fantasy Platforms	PrizePicks	68.2	22
fastest	Consumer VPN Services	Nord Security	63.3	30
best overall	Online Stock & Options Brokers	Fidelity Investments	60.3	63
enterprise-grade	Edge Security and DDoS Platforms	Akamai	52.9	51
budget-friendly	Meal Kit Delivery Services	EveryPlate	52.9	87
scalable	Payroll and HRIS Software	ADP	51.5	33

For each phrase, the largest observed leading-brand count among categories where one brand has at least half the uses. Categories have a public index page. Share is the brand’s percentage of phrase uses.

Specific attributes tell you more than generic praise

A majority brand appeared in 27.6% of the selected buyer-decision phrase/category pairs, compared with 3.3% of generic-praise pairs. Words such as “excellent” and “good” were spread across many brands.

A useful positioning review asks what the product is good for. Track the capability, tradeoff or buyer fit behind a phrase, rather than chasing more positive adjectives.

Associations with a majority leader

Buyer-decision phrases27.6%170 of 615
Generic praise3.3%80 of 2,451
0%10%20%30%

Share of phrase/category pairs where one brand accounts for at least half the observed uses.

Choose an association your product can support

Look for a buyer-relevant attribute where your product has evidence and the current lead is unsettled. Compare your own explanation with the pages and examples AI uses for the leading brands.

Strengthen the substance: clear capabilities, specific proof and consistent explanations of who the product suits. Then watch whether the association appears across repeated buyer questions. A close share gap identifies a place to investigate, not a guaranteed easy win.

Being cited is not enough: how to monitor sentiment in AI answers

Study scope

The analysis uses fifteen selected buyer-decision descriptors and ten generic praise words. Phrase/category pairs need at least twenty uses; the contested examples need at least fifty and a top-two gap under five points. Extraction confidence is at least 0.7.

Descriptors are exact normalized phrases, so synonyms remain separate. Categories come from the prompt’s primary category, and brands are consolidated to parent records. A majority means at least half of observed phrase uses, not market share. The window ends July 19 because later descriptor coverage thins.

How we measured

We analyzed 3,618,541 brand descriptors attached to 145,001 brands in 369,855 answers to 16,894 organic prompts on ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode from May 24 through July 19, 2026.

phrase-and-category pairs had a lead under five points: 151 of 615
of selected phrase-and-category pairs had a majority brand: 27.6%
170 of 615

Get the data

Dataset CSVThe metrics behind every figure in this report.

Sources

Valchanova: Positioning, The Battle for Your Mind (Ries & Trout book notes) · accessed August 29, 2026
Peec: Brand perception documentation · accessed August 29, 2026
Profound: AI search brand sentiment analysis · accessed August 29, 2026
Yoast: How AI is shaping brand perception · accessed August 29, 2026

What words does AI use to describe brands?

Most brand descriptions were positive, and much of the praise was shared across brands.

Do ChatGPT and Google use the same words for brands?

The engines usually used different words and phrases to describe the same brand in matched answers.

Does AI praise brands even when it ranks them lower?

Praise was common even for brands ranked fourth or lower, so positive wording alone did not signal first choice.

AI recommendation white space: questions no brand owns

Many buyer questions had no consistent first-choice brand, leaving different openings in each industry.

AI competitor analysis: who AI pairs your brand with

The brand most often named alongside yours usually had a different closest partner in AI answers.

Why does AI recommend a brand?

AI cited reputation more often for first choices than lower-ranked brands. Price was the first choice's most common reservation.

Does AI describe brands the way their homepages do?

Most of the words AI used to describe brands never appeared on their homepages.