Industry report · Data as of 1. October 2026
E-commerce & Retail
AI models recommend Paypal 39 times in this vertical, but the brand does not appear in classic web search.
Shopify is the most cited brand by AI assistants, though it does not lead in classic web search results. Although the queries frequently request operational partners like logistics providers, fulfillment services, and agencies, the AI responses show a distinct categorical mismatch. Software products such as e-commerce platforms and payment gateways overwhelmingly dominate the top results, leaving actual service providers largely overshadowed.
25 Queries Sample: 325 AI models: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity
What stands out in this industry
Achtung.app derives every observation directly from the collected numbers. It describes visibility in AI answers, not product quality.
-
Channel consensus
None of the 10 most-named AI brands is among the 10 most visible brands in web search. Each channel has its own leaders.
-
Largest channel asymmetry
Shopify is named 57× in AI answers and appears 2× in classic web search. AI models weight the brand more heavily than Google does.
-
Web search only
131 domains appear in classic web search but are named by no AI model. Mostly comparison portals, trade media, and established industry sites.
-
Stability
5 of the 10 most-named AI brands appear in at least two thirds of the model runs for their queries. The others may be missing on the next query; repeatable visibility is not a given, even at the top.
The 10 most visible brands in AI answers
Ranked by AI prominence, a consolidated 0–100 visibility score: how often a brand is named, across how many AI models, at what position, and in what sentiment. Two further factors (recommendation strength, momentum) cannot be measured here and remain hidden. How the score is calculated
-
Shopify achieves broad visibility across all four AI platforms, appearing in 48% of queries while also securing an average classic web search ranking of 6.5. It is the only brand in this group to maintain a strong presence in both AI and traditional search results. Notably, alongside 26 positive mentions, it is the only measured brand to record a negative sentiment instance.
-
Omnisend demonstrates an AI-exclusive presence, appearing in 4% of queries across all four platforms while remaining outside the top 10 in classic web search. It maintains a perfect 100% run consistency and an average AI answer position of 1.9. The brand's sentiment profile is exclusively positive, recording 12 positive mentions with zero neutral or negative evaluations.
-
Klaviyo generates visibility entirely through AI assistants, featuring in 8% of queries across all four platforms but failing to reach the top 10 in classic web search. It maintains a solid 71% run consistency and an average AI position of 2.4. The brand's mentions skew heavily positive, recording 12 positive evaluations compared to just five neutral ones.
-
WooCommerce is visible in 16% of queries across all four AI platforms, but it does not rank within the top 10 for classic web search. It holds a 79% run consistency with an average AI answer position of 2.9. Unlike most top brands in this dataset, its AI mentions lean heavily toward neutral sentiment, with 22 neutral categorizations against 16 positive ones.
-
Xentral relies exclusively on AI assistants for its visibility, appearing in 8% of queries across all four platforms while remaining absent from the classic web search top 10. Although its run consistency is relatively low at 46%, it secures a very high average AI answer position of 1.4. The brand's sentiment is predominantly neutral, gathering eight neutral mentions compared to three positive ones.
| # | Brand | Prominence |
|---|---|---|
| 6 New |
Dhl
dhl.com |
63.2 |
| 7 New |
Adobe
adobe.com |
62.7 |
| 8 New |
Dhl
dhl.de |
62.5 |
| 9 New |
Shopware
shopware.com |
62.3 |
| 10 New |
Billbee
billbee.io |
62.0 |
Your brand not in the top 10? The free scan shows whether ChatGPT and Gemini recommend it.
Start free scanPast measurements
How the current top brands ranked across previous measurement cycles. Achtung.app re-collects each industry report monthly and keeps earlier snapshots archived.
| Brand | July 2026 | Current |
|---|---|---|
|
Shopify
shopify.com |
#1 | #1 |
|
Omnisend
omnisend.com |
#7 | #2 |
|
Klaviyo
klaviyo.com |
#5 | #3 |
|
WooCommerce
woocommerce.com |
#3 | #4 |
|
xentral
help.xentral.com |
– | #5 |
|
Dhl
dhl.com |
– | #6 |
|
Adobe
adobe.com |
– | #7 |
|
Dhl
dhl.de |
– | #8 |
|
Shopware
shopware.com |
– | #9 |
|
Billbee
billbee.io |
– | #10 |
– = not in the top 10 of that measurement cycle.
Same brands, different visibility
Brands present in both channels, normalized to the per-channel peak and sorted by asymmetry. A long AI bar next to a short web-search bar means the brand is named disproportionately often by AI models even though it barely appears in organic web-search results. The reverse holds too.
Normalized per channel to the peak · sorted by |Δ|
Normalized per channel to the peak · sorted by |Δ|
AI top 10 vs. web-search top 10
On the left, the brands named most often in AI answers; on the right, the brands most visible in classic web-search results. Pink lines connect brands that appear in both top-10 lists.
10 AI only 0 in both 10 web search only
-
1
57 mentions
-
2
41 mentions
-
3
PayPal stable39 mentions
-
4
WooCommerce stable38 mentions
-
5
Stripe stable35 mentions
-
1
OMR⌀ rank 3.1 · 8 hits
-
2
Haendlerbund⌀ rank 3.3 · 6 hits
-
3
Fuer-Gruender⌀ rank 5.2 · 5 hits
-
4
Bergisch-Ecommerce⌀ rank 2.0 · 3 hits
-
5
HubSpot⌀ rank 2.3 · 3 hits
stable Brands named in at least two thirds of a query's model runs on average, across the queries they appear in.
Where web search and AI diverge
Brands only one of the two channels knows. For one side that is a gap in AI visibility, for the other a gap in classic web search.
Visible in web search, absent from AI answers
| Brand | Web hits |
|---|---|
|
OMR
omr.com |
8 |
|
Haendlerbund
haendlerbund.de |
6 |
|
Fuer-Gruender
fuer-gruender.de |
5 |
|
Bergisch-Ecommerce
bergisch-ecommerce.de |
3 |
|
E-Commerce-Magazin
e-commerce-magazin.de |
4 |
Visible in AI answers, absent from web search
| Brand | AI mentions |
|---|---|
|
PayPal
paypal.com |
39 |
|
WooCommerce
woocommerce.com |
38 |
|
Klarna
klarna.com |
34 |
|
Adyen
adyen.com |
26 |
|
Dhl
dhl.de |
23 |
One-off hits are excluded: a brand appears here from two mentions in the respective channel onwards. GEO gap in the glossary
How stable are the AI mentions?
AI models do not answer deterministically. Achtung.app runs every query multiple times per model and measures how reliably a brand is named.
| Classification | Brands |
|---|---|
|
Stable
appears reliably in at least two thirds of model runs
|
23 |
|
Borderline
appears in one to two thirds of model runs; plan for it with care
|
70 |
|
Drift
appears only sporadically; may be missing on the next run
|
249 |
Based on 342 brands with a recorded run consistency. Run consistency in the glossary
The queries Achtung.app tracked
25 brand-free queries, each put to every AI model and to classic web search.
The queries ask for: 17× products 5× service providers 2× marketplaces 1× media outlet
| Query | AI top |
|---|---|
| onlineshop baukasten kostenlos | Ecwid 7× |
| versandservice geschenke weihnachten | Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) 6× |
| Zahlungsanbieter Shop | Mollie 13× |
| beste E-Commerce Plattform KMU | Shopify 12× |
| Dropshipping Anbieter Deutschland | BigBuy 11× |
| Warenwirtschaftssystem kleiner Online-Shop | JTL-Wawi 9× |
| CRM für Einzelhandel | Zoho CRM 7× |
| Retourenmanagement Software | 8returns 7× |
| Versanddienstleister Vergleich E-Commerce | DPD 12× |
| Zahlungsanbieter für Online-Shops | Klarna 20× |
| Fulfillment Dienstleister DACH | byrd 6× |
| Produktdatenmanagement System | PLM 9× |
| Kundenbindungsprogramme E-Commerce | Shopify 5× |
| Shopware Alternative Vergleich | WooCommerce 12× |
| Logistikpartner für Mode Online-Shop | DHL 9× |
| Betrugsprävention Online-Zahlungen | 3-D Secure 4× |
| E-Mail Marketing Tools E-Commerce | Klaviyo 12× |
| Kassensystem für Einzelhandel Filialen | Tillhub 6× |
| Preisvergleichsportal Anbindung | idealo 9× |
| Business Intelligence E-Commerce | shopify.com 2× |
| Agentur für Amazon Optimierung | AMZELL 6× |
| Nachhaltige Verpackungslösungen E-Commerce | PLA 4× |
| Mobile Commerce Strategien | iDEAL 2× |
| ERP System für E-Commerce Mittelstand | Xentral 10× |
| Kundenbewertungs-Tools Online-Shop | Trusted Shops 9× |
Consensus = how many of the AI top-3 brands also appear in the classic web search top 3.
Brands compared
Every brand with at least one AI mention, ranked by AI prominence. The order measures visibility, not quality.
| # | Brand | Prominence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Shopify
shopify.com Product
|
76.7 |
| 2 |
Omnisend
omnisend.com Product
|
68.4 |
| 3 |
Klaviyo
klaviyo.com Product
|
66.4 |
| 4 |
WooCommerce
woocommerce.com Product
|
65.3 |
| 5 |
xentral
help.xentral.com Product
|
65.2 |
| 6 |
Dhl
dhl.com Service provider
|
63.2 |
| 7 |
Adobe
adobe.com Product
|
62.7 |
| 8 |
Dhl
dhl.de Service provider
|
62.5 |
| 9 |
Shopware
shopware.com Product
|
62.3 |
| 10 |
Billbee
billbee.io Product
|
62.0 |
| 11 |
Mailchimp
mailchimp.com Product
|
61.7 |
| 12 |
Wix
wix.com Product
|
60.7 |
| 13 |
PayPal
paypal.com Product
|
60.4 |
| 14 |
Dpd
dpd.com Service provider
|
59.8 |
| 15 |
Myhermes
myhermes.de Service provider
|
59.6 |
| 16 |
weclapp
weclapp.com Product
|
59.2 |
| 17 |
HubSpot
hubspot.com Product
|
59.2 |
| 18 |
Brevo
brevo.com Product
|
58.5 |
| 19 |
Namox
namox.de Service provider
|
58.2 |
| 20 |
Voyado
voyado.com
|
58.2 |
| 21 |
Ecwid
ecwid.com Product
|
57.9 |
| 22 |
Idealo
idealo.de Marketplace / directory
|
57.2 |
| 23 |
Gls-Group
gls-group.com Service provider
|
57.1 |
| 24 |
Stripe
stripe.com Product
|
56.8 |
| 25 |
Bigbuy
bigbuy.eu Marketplace / directory
|
56.8 |
| 26 |
Gambio
gambio.de Product
|
56.3 |
| 27 |
Klarna
klarna.com Product
|
55.5 |
| 28 |
Drip
drip.com Product
|
55.2 |
| 29 |
Mollie
mollie.com Product
|
54.9 |
| 30 |
Emvco
emvco.com
|
54.8 |
| 31 |
Ups
ups.com Service provider
|
54.6 |
| 32 |
8returns
8returns.com Product
|
54.2 |
| 33 |
DieGeschenkkorbmacher
diegeschenkkorbmacher.de Product
|
53.9 |
| 34 |
Prusa3D by Josef Prusa
prusa3d.com
|
53.9 |
| 35 |
billiger.de
billiger.de Marketplace / directory
|
53.8 |
| 36 |
Fedex
fedex.com Service provider
|
51.9 |
| 37 |
Trustpilot
trustpilot.com
|
51.6 |
| 38 |
Adsmasters
adsmasters.de
|
51.6 |
| 39 |
Reviews
reviews.io
|
51.4 |
| 40 |
Trustedshops
business.trustedshops.de Service provider
|
51.2 |
| 41 |
Salesforce
salesforce.com Product
|
51.2 |
| 42 |
Apps
apps.shopify.com
|
51.1 |
| 43 |
Zoho
zoho.com Product
|
50.9 |
| 44 |
Mbe
mbe.de
|
50.9 |
| 45 |
BigCommerce
bigcommerce.com Product
|
50.7 |
| 46 |
Tillhub
portal.tillhub.com Product
|
50.5 |
| 47 |
eKomi
ekomi.com
|
50.5 |
| 48 |
Jtl-Software
jtl-software.de Product
|
50.1 |
| 49 |
Fashion-Logistics
fashion-logistics.de
|
50.0 |
| 50 |
Plentyone
plentyone.com
|
49.8 |
| 51 |
JTL
jtl-software.com Product
|
49.1 |
| 52 |
Commercetools
commercetools.com
|
48.8 |
| 53 |
ActiveCampaign
activecampaign.com
|
48.8 |
| 54 |
Getbyrd
getbyrd.com Service provider
|
48.6 |
| 55 |
MailerLite
mailerlite.com
|
48.3 |
| 56 |
Buxtrade
buxtrade.de Enterprise
|
48.2 |
| 57 |
Amzell
amzell.de Service provider
|
48.2 |
| 58 |
Syncee
syncee.com
|
48.2 |
| 59 |
Judge
judge.me
|
48.2 |
| 60 |
PAYONE
payone.com Product
|
48.1 |
| 61 |
No-Border
no-border.eu Service provider
|
47.7 |
| 62 |
Sage Group
sage.com
|
47.7 |
| 63 |
Magento
magento.com Product
|
47.5 |
| 64 |
Cideon Software & Services
cideon.com
|
47.4 |
| 65 |
Pimcore
pimcore.com
|
47.4 |
| 66 | PDM-System | 47.4 |
| 67 |
Verbraucherzentrale
verbraucherzentrale.de
|
47.4 |
| 68 |
Encharge
encharge.io
|
47.4 |
| 69 |
FSC
fsc.org
|
47.4 |
| 70 |
Freewebstore
freewebstore.com
|
47.4 |
| 71 |
Valuezon
valuezon.de
|
47.2 |
| 72 |
Fiege
fiege.com
|
47.0 |
| 73 |
Godaddy
godaddy.com
|
46.9 |
| 74 |
Fillhub
fillhub.de
|
46.3 |
| 75 |
Gomonta
gomonta.com
|
46.3 |
| 76 |
Shopiza
shopiza.io
|
46.2 |
| 77 |
Smile
smile.eu
|
46.0 |
| 78 |
Spocket
spocket.co Marketplace / directory
|
45.8 |
| 79 |
Stacvalley
stacvalley.de
|
45.8 |
| 80 |
Millerbecker
millerbecker.de
|
45.5 |
| 81 |
Adyen
adyen.com Product
|
45.3 |
| 82 | PBAT | 45.1 |
| 83 |
Dropshipping
dropshipping.de Marketplace / directory
|
45.0 |
| 84 |
Sog
sog.de
|
44.7 |
| 85 |
Mhdirekt
mhdirekt.com
|
44.7 |
| 86 |
Bsi-Software
bsi-software.com
|
44.6 |
| 87 |
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
microsoft.com
|
44.6 |
| 88 |
Re-Toern
re-toern.de
|
44.6 |
| 89 |
Printful
printful.com Service provider
|
44.5 |
| 90 |
Google Kundenbewertungen
google.de
|
43.9 |
| 91 |
Vario-Software
vario-software.de
|
43.5 |
| 92 |
Gallay
gallay.de Product
|
43.3 |
| 93 |
Tshirtking
tshirtking.de Enterprise
|
43.1 |
| 94 |
Easyrma
easyrma.de Product
|
41.6 |
| 95 |
Monta
monta.com
|
41.6 |
| 96 |
SAP
sap.com
|
41.2 |
| 97 |
Returnless
returnless.com
|
41.2 |
| 98 |
tricoma
tricoma.de
|
41.2 |
| 99 |
GLS
gls-pakete.de
|
41.2 |
| 100 |
Haufe X360
haufe-x360.de Product
|
40.9 |
Showing 100 of 342 brands with an AI mention. The complete dataset is available as PDF, CSV or JSON. Δ = web-search prominence minus AI prominence, only for brands present in both channels. The category (service provider, product, marketplace, media outlet) is classified only for the most-mentioned brands; it stays empty for the rest.
Check your own brand
How visible is your brand?
See, for free, whether ChatGPT and Gemini recommend your brand in E-commerce & Retail.
Complete brand ranking, AI citations per model, and methodology. Direct download, no email required.
Download PDFMethodology
Achtung.app sends typical German-language queries for each industry to classic web search and to the active AI models. Queries are brand-free, so results show which brands surface organically. Both channels receive identical prompts so answers can be compared directly. Every brand named in the responses is extracted and consolidated on its canonical domain. The classic-web-search source is Brave Search, a Google-independent organic index.
3 runs per AI model per query; classic web search via a single top-10 fetch. Models queried: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity. Platforms and infrastructure (e.g. Google Analytics, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok) are excluded from the brand list because they are marketing channels, not competitors.
How Achtung.app collects, evaluates and what the method cannot do is set out in full in the methodology. Terms such as AI prominence, run consistency and GEO gap are explained in the glossary.
Frequently asked questions about this report
AI prominence is a 0–100 score built from four measured factors: in how many queries the brand is named (coverage), how many of the evaluated AI platforms cite it (breadth), where it appears in the answers (position), and how the mentions read (sentiment). Only measured values go in — no estimates.
This report is based on answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity. Each query was asked multiple times per platform; the details are in the methodology note above.
The numbers come from the collection run of 1. October 2026. Achtung.app re-collects this report monthly; the ranking and texts are fully recomputed each time.
No. The ranking measures how visible a brand is in AI answers, not the quality of its products or services. A high AI prominence means AI assistants name the brand frequently and prominently when users ask questions in this field.
The report only lists brands that appeared in the AI answers or in the classic web search top 10 for the tested queries. If a brand is missing, it was not named for this query set; that says nothing about other topic areas. Pure platform and infrastructure domains are deliberately excluded.
Yes. The published figures and rankings are licensed under CC BY 4.0: you may share and reuse them as long as you credit Achtung.app as the source and link to this page.
More industry reports
Who shows up in which industry in AI answers — Achtung.app measures it.
How to cite
If you use numbers from this report, please cite it like this:
Achtung.app (2026): E-commerce & Retail — Oktober 2026. Industry report, data as of October 2026. https://achtung.app/branche/ecommerce. License: CC BY 4.0.
Data in this report is published under CC BY 4.0 · Attribution: Achtung.app · Download the raw data: CSV · JSON