The Gist 100ConsumerOctober 2026
One point separates sunscreen's top two, and assistants take sides
EltaMD appears in 65% of AI answers about sunscreen and La Roche-Posay in 64%. Each leads on two of the four assistants Gist asked, and no other brand passes 39%.
By Gist GEO team · October 2026
Share of AI answers about sunscreen that name each brand
Two names come back far more often than the rest when buyers ask AI assistants about sunscreen. In October 2026 Gist put eight buying questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews and counted 303 answers. EltaMD appears in 65% of them, averaged across the four assistants, and La Roche-Posay in 64%. CeraVe, in third at 39%, sits 25 points behind La Roche-Posay. EltaMD is also the first brand named in 41% of answers, against 21% for La Roche-Posay.
Below those two the field opens up. The answers name 41 sunscreen brands at least once, and nine make this page. A typical answer names 3.8 brands, and 38 of the 303 name none at all. Only three of the nine score above 0 on all eight questions, so most of the list depends on what is asked. Neutrogena, fifth overall at 32%, appears in 92% of answers about drugstore sunscreen and in none about sensitive skin.
The surprise is that the leader changes with the assistant. EltaMD appears in 92% of Claude's answers and 71% of those from Google AI Overviews, but in 30% of ChatGPT's. La Roche-Posay is the most-named brand on ChatGPT, at 54%, and on Perplexity, at 74%. The overall margin of one point is an average of four separate contests, and a brand that checks a single assistant sees only one of them.
The two leaders divide by the kind of question. Asked for the single best sunscreen, the answers name EltaMD in 75% of cases and La Roche-Posay in 35%, a gap of 40 points. Asked which brands to buy, they name La Roche-Posay every time, at 100%, with EltaMD at 83%. La Roche-Posay also leads when a buyer wants three daily sunscreens to try, 90% to 78%. EltaMD's edge shows up in order: it is named first in 41% of answers, 20 points more than its rival. One brand holds the top pick and the other holds the shortlist, and those are different positions to defend.
Add the word drugstore and Neutrogena, fifth overall, moves to first at 92%. La Roche-Posay holds second at 70%, Banana Boat appears at 47%, EltaMD slips to 28% and Supergoop scores 0. Reverse the cue and ask which sunscreens are worth paying more for, and no brand gets past 35%. Supergoop and EltaMD tie at that mark, with La Roche-Posay at 31%. One visible reason: some of Claude's answers tell buyers to pay more only in specific cases, and name budget options instead. The premium position is open, and La Roche-Posay is the only brand in the top three on both questions.
Claude names 6.3 sunscreen brands per answer. ChatGPT names 2.0, with Google AI Overviews at 3.4 and Perplexity at 3.5. The other three assistants share the same five most-named brands. Claude's five swap Supergoop and Neutrogena for Blue Lizard, at 51%, and ISDIN, at 46%. Elsewhere Blue Lizard scores between 11% and 14%, and ISDIN gets 2% from Google AI Overviews and 0 from ChatGPT and Perplexity. CeraVe runs from 72% on Claude to 20% on ChatGPT. For brands like these the overall score mostly describes one assistant, so the split by assistant is the number to watch.
The brands on this page rarely see their own websites cited. The sites of EltaMD, Supergoop and Neutrogena each appear in 2% of answers, and CeraVe's in 3%. La Roche-Posay stands apart at 9%, and ChatGPT is where that shows. It cites the brand's own site in 36% of its answers, behind only the American Academy of Dermatology at 84%. ChatGPT is also where La Roche-Posay leads EltaMD by 24 points, 54% to 30%. The counts prove no cause. But only ChatGPT has sites of brands on this page among its four most-cited sources, which makes it the place to test a brand's own pages.
Who each company is, and how it shows up in the answers
65% of AI answers
EltaMD is a skin care brand that makes sunscreens and other products it describes as professional skin care. Colgate-Palmolive acquired EltaMD in 2018, along with the professional skin care brand PCA Skin.
Part of Colgate-Palmolive
Answers keep returning to one product, UV Clear. They describe it as a face sunscreen for skin that is sensitive or prone to acne, and one that sits well under makeup. It is the first brand named in 41% of answers and reaches 92% on Claude, against 30% on ChatGPT.
64% of AI answers
La Roche-Posay is a skin care brand that makes products for sensitive skin, formulated with thermal water from the spa town of La Roche-Posay in France. Its ranges include Anthélios sun protection. It is part of L’Oréal’s Dermatological Beauty division, and L’Oréal has owned the brand since 1989.
Part of L'Oréal
Its Anthelios line carries the mentions, with answers pointing to Melt-in Milk for the body and to lightweight face fluids for daily wear. No other brand reaches 100% on any question, as it does on brands to buy, and it holds 70% on the drugstore question, where EltaMD has 28%.
39% of AI answers
CeraVe is a skin care brand whose products are developed with dermatologists, and the brand says its formulas contain three ceramides. It was founded in 2005 with a stated mission of providing therapeutic skincare. L’Oréal acquired CeraVe in 2017, and the brand is part of its Dermatological Beauty division.
Since 2005 · Part of L'Oréal
Budget is the word the answers attach here: mineral and hydrating formulas with ceramides, offered as the lower-cost choice for dry or sensitive skin. It ties EltaMD at 82% on the sensitive-skin question and at 57% on the face question, yet it is the first brand named in 2% of answers.
37% of AI answers
Skincare brand built entirely around sunscreen.
Texture is the selling point in the answers. They describe Unseen Sunscreen as a clear, matte formula that can serve as a primer, and Play as a pick for face and body. It reaches 87% on brands to buy and 60% on the best-sunscreen question, and scores 0 on the drugstore and sensitive-skin questions.
32% of AI answers
Mass-market skincare brand.
Wide availability and a light, non-greasy finish are what the answers credit, notably in its Ultra Sheer products. The drugstore question is its ground: it appears in 92% of those answers, 22 points clear of La Roche-Posay. It scores 0 on the sensitive-skin question and 10% on the face question.
22% of AI answers
Mineral sunscreen brand that started in Australia.
Sensitive Mineral is the product the answers name, a plain all-mineral formula they suggest for sensitive skin and for the body. Claude names the brand in 51% of its answers, while the other three assistants name it in 11% to 14%.
18% of AI answers
Skincare brand for sensitive skin.
The answers cast it as a specialist: fragrance-free mineral formulas, and a Facial Moisturizer that several assistants suggest for skin that reacts easily. It appears in 57% of answers on sensitive skin and 48% on what dermatologists recommend, and scores 0 on four of the eight questions.
13% of AI answers
Mass-market sunscreen brand.
Value and outdoor use define its mentions. Answers name Sheer Sensitive as a low-cost pick and point to its sport and mineral formulas for the body. Its 47% on the drugstore question is its high point, and its score on ChatGPT is 0.
12% of AI answers
Spanish dermatological skincare brand.
Lightweight and higher-priced is how answers describe Eryfotona Actinica, the product they name, including when buyers ask what is worth paying more for. Claude accounts for nearly all of its presence: 46% of Claude's answers name the brand, against 2% from Google AI Overviews and 0 from ChatGPT and Perplexity.
The three brands named most for each question Gist asked
| Question | Named most | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| What's the best sunscreen? | EltaMD 75% | Supergoop 60% | Neutrogena 40% |
| Which sunscreen brands do you recommend? | La Roche-Posay 100% | Supergoop 87% | EltaMD 83% |
| What's the best drugstore sunscreen? | Neutrogena 92% | La Roche-Posay 70% | Banana Boat 47% |
| Which sunscreens are worth paying more for? | EltaMD 35% | Supergoop 35% | La Roche-Posay 31% |
| What's the best sunscreen for your face? | CeraVe 57% | EltaMD 57% | Supergoop 50% |
| What's the best sunscreen for sensitive skin? | CeraVe 82% | EltaMD 82% | La Roche-Posay 78% |
| I need a daily sunscreen. Which three should I try first? | La Roche-Posay 90% | EltaMD 78% | Supergoop 45% |
| What sunscreen do dermatologists recommend most? | EltaMD 75% | La Roche-Posay 75% | Vanicream 48% |
Share of each assistant’s answers that name the brand
| Brand | All four | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Claude | Google AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EltaMD | 65% | 30% | 68% | 92% | 71% |
| La Roche-Posay | 64% | 54% | 74% | 81% | 49% |
| CeraVe | 39% | 20% | 30% | 72% | 35% |
| Supergoop | 37% | 20% | 46% | 42% | 38% |
| Neutrogena | 32% | 26% | 29% | 45% | 27% |
| Blue Lizard | 22% | 12% | 14% | 51% | 11% |
| Vanicream | 18% | 12% | 21% | 21% | 16% |
| Banana Boat | 13% | 0% | 25% | 11% | 17% |
| ISDIN | 12% | 0% | 0% | 46% | 2% |
The websites AI cites most on sunscreen, by share of answers
Seven of the twelve most-cited sites are publishers, and each assistant cites a different set. NBC News appears in 44% of answers and cnn.com in 35%, almost entirely through Perplexity and Claude. Claude also cites doctorrogers.com in 57% of its answers and Treeline Review, a review site, in 54%. ChatGPT turns to a health site, the American Academy of Dermatology, in 84% of its answers. Google AI Overviews spreads its citations thinner: Wirecutter at The New York Times leads at 35%, then Allure at 32% and Byrdie at 29%.
Three moves the numbers point to
Earn a place in the publisher coverage that Perplexity and Claude cite. Perplexity cites NBC News in 88% of its answers and Claude in 86%, while the website of EltaMD, the top scorer, appears in 2% of all answers.
Pick one question to own before chasing the overall score. Vanicream sits at 18% overall but reaches 57% on sensitive skin, and no brand passes 35% on which sunscreens are worth paying more for.
Write product pages that state skin type and finish plainly, the details the answers repeat. ChatGPT names 2.0 brands per answer and cites La Roche-Posay's own site in 36% of its answers and CeraVe's in 11%.
Analysis · 4 min read
A typical Claude answer names 7.2 brands, against 3.6 for Google AI Overviews. Claude gives 186 of the 304 brands in a published top ten their highest score, and ChatGPT never names 22 of them. Which brands appear depends on the assistant, and one overall score hides it.
7.2 vs 3.6Brands per answer, Claude vs Google AI Overviews
Analysis · 5 min read
In 15 of 32 categories the most-named brand scores 90 or more. In seven, no brand reaches 75. Business software averages a leader score of 90.7 against 77.3 for consumer categories, so a score needs reading against its own category.
90.7 vs 77.3Average leader score, business vs consumer categories
Gist asks a fixed set of eight buying questions in each category. None of them names a brand. Each question is put to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews ten times, with web search on.
A brand’s score is the share of answers that name it, averaged across the assistants so that each one counts equally. Stores and review sites named in passing are not ranked. Brands named in fewer than one answer in ten are left off.
Measured October 5 to October 6, 2026.
No. It shows which brands AI assistants name when asked, not which products are best. Being named often usually reflects how much has been written about a brand, and where.
The page shows the 10 most-named brands. The free scan checks your own brand on a topic you choose.
Yes. AI answers shift as assistants are updated and as new pages are published. The date at the top shows when this ranking was measured.
See which brands appear in AI recommendations for your category, and where your brand stands among them.
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