Fifteen categories are settled at the top and seven are open

In 15 of the 32 categories in the October 2026 Gist 100, the most-named brand scores 90 or more. In seven, no brand reaches 75. The other 10 fall between. This article calls the first group settled and the second open. Business software sits at the settled end, with leader scores averaging 90.7 against 77.3 for consumer categories.

A score is the share of AI answers in a category that name the brand, averaged across four assistants. Settled and open describe those counts and nothing else. They do not forecast any brand’s rise or fall, and they do not say how hard a category is to enter.

Business software

1. CRM softwareHubSpot99%
2. Payment processingStripe99%
3. Spend management softwareRamp98%
4. E-commerce platformsShopify98%
5. Business password managers1Password98%
6. Email management softwareGmail96%
7. Accounting softwareQuickBooks94%
8. Website buildersWix93%
9. E-signature softwareDocusign93%
10. AI meeting notetakersFireflies.ai92%
11. Project management softwareAsana88%
12. Social media management toolsBuffer86%
13. Customer support softwareFreshdesk85%
14. Payroll and HR softwareGusto83%
15. Applicant tracking systemsWorkable77%
16. Email marketing platformsActiveCampaign72%

Consumer

1. Electric toothbrushesPhilips Sonicare96%
2. Robot vacuumsRoborock93%
3. Rain jacketsPatagonia92%
4. Dog foodPurina91%
5. LeggingsLululemon90%
6. Running shoesASICS87%
7. Meal kitsHelloFresh85%
8. Carry-on luggageTravelpro80%
9. Reusable water bottlesOwala75%
10. Wireless earbudsSony75%
11. Protein powderOptimum Nutrition69%
12. Coffee makersTechnivorm Moccamaster67%
13. SunscreenEltaMD65%
14. MattressesSaatva62%
15. CookwareAll-Clad59%
16. Bed sheetsBrooklinen51%

Source: The Gist 100, October 2026.

The open end and the settled end

Leader scores run from 51 in bed sheets to 99 in CRM software and payment processing. The seven open categories are bed sheets, cookware, mattresses, sunscreen, coffee makers, protein powder and email marketing platforms. Six of them are consumer categories. The five most settled categories have leaders at 98 or 99: CRM software, payment processing, spend management software, e-commerce platforms and business password managers.

The open end shows two patterns. In cookware, mattresses, sunscreen and email marketing platforms, the top two brands score within three points of each other. In bed sheets and protein powder, the leader sits 15 and 21 points ahead of the second brand and still scores below 75, at 51 and 69.

Scores in the four most open and five most settled categories, as percent of AI answers naming the brand

Three or four brands score 50 or more in each of the five most settled categories, against one or two in the four most open. The last column counts answers that name at least one of the category’s three most-named brands.

Settled and open describe those counts and nothing else.

Business categories sit higher down the list

Business categories average a leader score of 90.7, against 77.3 for consumer categories. The second brand averages 78.5 against 64.5, and the third 69.0 against 51.2. The business edge grows down the list, from 13.4 points at first place to 14.0 at second and 17.8 at third.

The lead over the runner-up barely differs, at 12.2 points in business and 12.8 in consumer. Business categories average 4.4 brands scoring 50 or more, against 2.7 in consumer categories. Both segments name a similar number of different brands overall, 32.9 and 34.1.

Ten of the 15 settled categories are business categories, and all ten have at least two brands scoring 75 or more.

The top-three measures agree too. In seven business categories, 100 percent of answers name at least one of the three most-named brands: social media management tools, e-signature software, accounting software, e-commerce platforms, business password managers, CRM software and payment processing. No consumer category reaches 100 percent. In bed sheets the share is 61 percent. A large share of answers name none of the top three, and 15 percent name all three.

Three shapes among the settled categories

In the first shape, one brand leads by a wide margin. Lululemon scores 90 in leggings and Athleta 50. Roborock scores 93 in robot vacuums and Dreame 56. Those leads, 40 and 37 points, are the widest of the 32 categories. The next widest is 21.

In the second, two brands both score 90 or more. Only business password managers and electric toothbrushes have this. 1Password scores 98 and Bitwarden 92. Philips Sonicare scores 96 and Oral-B 92, a lead of 4 points that leaves the category settled. Keeper, third in password managers, scores 80, so that category also has three brands scoring 75 or more. Suri, third in electric toothbrushes, scores 37.

In the third, a group of brands shares the top. CRM software has four brands scoring 75 or more, led by HubSpot at 99. Accounting software, payment processing and business password managers have three. All four are business categories, and no consumer category has more than two brands at that level.

The share of answers naming all of the top three separates the shapes. It runs from 59 to 72 percent in the four categories with a group at the top. In leggings, robot vacuums and electric toothbrushes, it is 17, 29 and 33 percent.

What to do with this

1. Judge your score against the third brand, not just the leader. Third place averages 69.0 in business categories and 51.2 in consumer ones, a gap of 17.8 points.
2. Name your category’s shape before you set a target. A 40-point lead in leggings, a 4-point lead at 96 and 92 in electric toothbrushes and four brands at 75 or more in CRM software are different things to measure against.
3. Read the answers that skip the top three. In bed sheets, 61 percent of answers name at least one of them, so a large share name other brands. In seven business categories, that share is 100 percent.

Counted from the answers behind the October 2026 Gist 100. How it is made.