AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI seem to be extremely inconsistent when recommending brands and products. Rankings change almost every time, and the same brand rarely tops the list twice, according to a sample of nearly 3,000 AI prompts. For marketers who invest heavily in AI visibility, this could be a wake-up call.
The illusion of consistency
AI tools are increasingly being used to promote brands and products, but research by SparkToro—conducted in collaboration with Gumshoe.ai—reveals a troubling trend: the systems are fundamentally inconsistent. A large-scale experiment involving 600 volunteers and nearly 3,000 prompts shows that AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI almost never generate the same list of recommendations.
