In July 2026, we analyzed 7,460 ChatGPT recommendations across 16 food and beverage categories to compile the EMARKETER AI Visibility Index. This index tracks how often brands are mentioned and how they rank against competitors. This is the first edition for food and beverage. Rank changes on the leaderboard compare July with June 2026, the month we began tracking the industry. The category breakdown below shows nine of the 16 categories in the index.

Retailer-owned brands topped the food and beverage leaderboard. Walmart's Great Value ranked No. 1 overall with a 5% mention rate, holding the top spot from June. Quaker was the highest-ranking manufacturer brand, at 4%.

No brand pulled far ahead of the pack. Every brand from No. 2 through No. 10 posted a mention rate of 3% or 4%. Spread across 16 categories with many distinct brands in each, overall visibility was thin and evenly distributed.

Brands in the protein and nutrition bar category posted leading mention rates. RXBAR had the highest single-category rate among the nine categories, and Quest Nutrition followed at 52%. The category's floor was just as high: No. 5 Kind appeared in 29% of recommendations, the highest fifth-place rate of any category shown.

In condiments and sauces, a health-positioned challenger led the aisle's legacy names by the widest margin of any category shown. Primal Kitchen was 21 percentage points ahead of Heinz, Whole Foods Market, and Kikkoman, each at 13%. That was the largest gap between a category leader and its runner-up among the nine categories shown, just ahead of Gatorade's 20-percentage-point lead in energy and sports drinks.

Savory snacks was the most fragmented category shown. Just 1 percentage point separated No. 1 Lundberg Family Farms (13%) from No. 5 Snyder's of Hanover (12%), and Lundberg posted the lowest top rate of all nine categories.

The top of the overall leaderboard held steady from June to July, while the bottom half turned over. Great Value, Whole Foods Market, Quaker, and Annie's maintained their top four spots. Below them, Kind rose to No. 5 from No. 8, Once Again climbed to No. 9 from No. 13, and Gatorade jumped to No. 10 from No. 21. Trader Joe's took the biggest fall among brands in June's top 10, dropping to No. 21 from No. 5.

About EMARKETER’s AI Visibility Index

Our AI Visibility Index is based on a structured analysis of ChatGPT recommendations. Upcoming reports and articles will also include Google Gemini. Each query uses standardized prompts (e.g., “best chocolate chip cookies” or “organic baby food pouches”) spanning product type, attributes, consumer needs, target audience, and price tier. Prompts are built with EMARKETER analysts and researchers and are validated with search volume, so every brand is measured against the same benchmark.

Want a closer look at the AI Visibility Index? EMARKETER PRO subscribers can access in-depth reports featuring further category breakouts, data cuts, and analysis, while PRO+ subscribers can access the complete data set, including monthly updates across every category cut, in the live dashboard.

To learn more about how EMARKETER’s AI Visibility Index can help your brand, including advisory insights that pinpoint what’s shaping your visibility, visit our AI Visibility Index hub.