Something quietly shifted in how people shop. Before they open a browser tab or type into a search bar, a growing number of consumers are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google’s AI: “What’s the best laptop under €500?” or “Where should I buy a PlayStation 5 right now?” The AI answers. A brand gets mentioned — or it doesn’t.
We wanted to know exactly which brands are winning and losing that moment. So we ran 25,352 prompts across 12 countries, in local languages, across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode. The AI generated 73,809 responses citing 377,293 sources. Here’s what we found.
Amazon leads — but it’s not the dominance you’d expect
Amazon is the most recommended ecommerce-adjacent brand globally, appearing in 7.5% of all AI responses. That sounds significant until you realise what it means: in 9 out of every 10 AI shopping responses, Amazon isn’t mentioned at all. The ecommerce landscape in AI is genuinely fragmented — no single brand owns the conversation.
2026 Ecommerce AI Visibility Index – Global
That fragmentation is actually the most important finding. Unlike, say, PC & Computers where Lenovo appears in 1 of every 2 AI responses, ecommerce is a wide open field. There’s enormous room for brands outside the global giants to capture AI visibility if they move now.
The leaderboard has some genuinely unexpected names
Here’s the global top 10, ranked by AI visibility score:
# | Brand | Visibility Score | Sentiment | AI Strongest On | Top Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7.5% | 84% | Gemini (11%) | Media | |
2 | 5.4% | 94% | Gemini (6%) | Mobile Phones | |
3 | 3.6% | 98% | Gemini (4%) | Office Furniture | |
4 | Sony | 3.4% | 95% | Gemini (4%) | Video Game Consoles |
5 | Apple | 3.4% | 93% | Gemini (4%) | Tablet Computers |
6 | Decathlon | 2.6% | 98% | ChatGPT (2%) | Sporting Goods |
7 | Xiaomi | 2.2% | 96% | Gemini (3%) | Mobile Phones |
8 | Lenovo | 2.0% | 96% | ChatGPT (2%) | Laptops |
9 | ASUS | 1.9% | 96% | ChatGPT (2%) | Laptops |
10 | LG | 1.9% | 95% | Gemini (2%) | Televisions |
IKEA at #3 — ahead of Sony and Apple — is the finding that stopped us. A furniture and home goods brand, ranking third in global AI ecommerce visibility with 98% positive sentiment (the joint highest of anyone in the top 10). AI consistently recommends IKEA for office furniture, home setup, and lifestyle shopping in a way that outpaces dedicated electronics giants. For a brand often considered “offline-first,” that’s a remarkable AI footprint.
What people are actually asking AI about ecommerce
The intent funnel shows how 25,352 prompts break down by buyer stage:
Recommendation leads with 7,510 prompts — “What should I buy?” is the dominant AI shopping behaviour
Comparison is second at 6,012 — people use AI to shortlist, not just discover
Transaction sits at 4,505 — a meaningful chunk of prompts are close-to-purchase questions
Agentic reaches 3,131 — AI-driven autonomous shopping actions are already forming at scale
That last number matters. 3,131 agentic prompts means people are already asking AI to do shopping tasks on their behalf — “find me the cheapest option and order it.” This is early but it’s real, and it’s growing. Brands that aren’t visible in AI responses today will be invisible when agentic commerce becomes mainstream.
The source AI trusts most: Reddit
Across 377,293 URL citations, reddit.com leads with 22,038 citations — more than any product page, review site, or brand website. AI models learn what to recommend partly from what communities discuss. If your brand isn’t talked about positively in forums and communities, that gap shows up directly in your AI visibility score.
What this means for ecommerce brands
The ecommerce AI visibility landscape is still forming. Amazon’s 7.5% lead is smaller than you’d expect from the world’s largest retailer. Every brand in positions 2-10 is within striking distance of each other. This is one of the few industries where a mid-size brand with a strong community presence and well-structured product content can realistically challenge global giants for AI recommendation share — if they act now.
→ Check where your brand stands in the Ecommerce AI Visibility Index. Get your free AI visibility report
Methodology: Opttab ran 25,352 industry-specific prompts across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode in 12 countries (NL, UK, DE, US, BE, FR, IT, PT, TR, AE, ES, AT) in local languages, June 2026. Visibility score = brand mentions as a percentage of total AI responses in the category.
