Walmart was the grocer that ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity named most often. Walmart appeared in 197 of 288 answers (68.4%) measured on October 28, 2026. Costco came next at 151 of 288 (52.4%). Walmart was named first more often than any other grocer, in 40 of 288 answers. Google AI Overviews appeared on 63 of 72 searches (87.5%).
RESEARCH · Published April 27, 2026 · Updated October 29, 2026
Grocery Index 2.0: Walmart Named in 68.4% of Answers
288
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
68.4%
of answers named Walmart, the most-named (197 of 288)
25
tracked grocers named at least once (of 25)
87.5%
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (63 of 72)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published April 27, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
01
197/288 (68.4%)
Walmart appeared in 197 of 288 four-engine answers (CI 62.8–73.5%). Costco appeared in 151 of 288 (52.4%, CI 46.7–58.1%). The intervals do not overlap.
02
40/288 (13.9%)
Walmart was the first grocer named in 40 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked grocer. Average first position: 3.3.
03
63/72 (87.5%)
Google AI Overviews appeared on 63 of 72 searches (CI 77.9–93.3%). On the other 9, no overview was shown.
04
32/63 (50.8%)
Walmart was the grocer named most often in AI Overviews, at 32 of 63, followed by Costco at 31 of 63 (49.2%). In the four-engine set, Walmart was named in 197 of 288 answers (68.4%).
05
49/288 (17%)
supermarketnews.com was cited in 49 of 288 grounded four-engine answers, with 71 of 2,420 citations (2.9%). grocerydive.com came second with 69 citations in 53 answers (18.4%).
06
35/288 (12.2%)
Walmart's own domains were cited in 35 of 288 grounded answers (12.2%), more than any other tracked name. Kroger followed at 29 of 288. In Google AI Overviews, Kroger's site was cited in 6 of 63 overviews. 7 tracked names had no own-site citation.
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which grocers AI engines name
Walmart
68.4%
Costco
52.4%
Kroger
49.3%
ALDI
45.5%
Whole Foods Market
43.4%
Trader Joe's
40.6%
Target
40.3%
H-E-B
35.1%
Publix
34.7%
Wegmans
24.7%
Albertsons
23.3%
Amazon Fresh
18.8%
Sam's Club
18.8%
Safeway
18.1%
Meijer
12.8%
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 197/288 | 68.4% | 62.8–73.5% |
| 2 | Costco | 151/288 | 52.4% | 46.7–58.1% |
| 3 | Kroger | 142/288 | 49.3% | 43.6–55.1% |
| 4 | ALDI | 131/288 | 45.5% | 39.8–51.3% |
| 5 | Whole Foods Market | 125/288 | 43.4% | 37.8–49.2% |
| 6 | Trader Joe's | 117/288 | 40.6% | 35.1–46.4% |
| 7 | Target | 116/288 | 40.3% | 34.8–46.0% |
| 8 | H-E-B | 101/288 | 35.1% | 29.8–40.7% |
| 9 | Publix | 100/288 | 34.7% | 29.5–40.4% |
| 10 | Wegmans | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20.0–29.9% |
| 11 | Albertsons | 67/288 | 23.3% | 18.8–28.5% |
| 12 | Amazon Fresh | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% |
| 13 | Sam's Club | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% |
| 14 | Safeway | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14.0–22.9% |
| 15 | Meijer | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the official domains of each name (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,420 citations.
| # | Grocer | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 197/288 | 68.4% | 62.8–73.5% | 3.3 | 12.2% (35/288) | 1.5% |
| 2 | Costco | 151/288 | 52.4% | 46.7–58.1% | 4.5 | 8.3% (24/288) | 1% |
| 3 | Kroger | 142/288 | 49.3% | 43.6–55.1% | 3.4 | 10.1% (29/288) | 1.3% |
| 4 | ALDI | 131/288 | 45.5% | 39.8–51.3% | 3.8 | 4.9% (14/288) | 0.6% |
| 5 | Whole Foods Market | 125/288 | 43.4% | 37.8–49.2% | 4.5 | 9.4% (27/288) | 1.1% |
| 6 | Trader Joe's | 117/288 | 40.6% | 35.1–46.4% | 4.7 | 3.1% (9/288) | 0.4% |
| 7 | Target | 116/288 | 40.3% | 34.8–46% | 4.6 | 8.3% (24/288) | 1% |
| 8 | H-E-B | 101/288 | 35.1% | 29.8–40.7% | 4.7 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 9 | Publix | 100/288 | 34.7% | 29.5–40.4% | 5.4 | 4.5% (13/288) | 0.5% |
| 10 | Wegmans | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20–29.9% | 5.4 | 3.8% (11/288) | 0.5% |
| 11 | Albertsons | 67/288 | 23.3% | 18.8–28.5% | 5 | 5.9% (17/288) | 0.7% |
| 12 | Amazon Fresh | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 13 | Sam's Club | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% | 4.6 | 3.1% (9/288) | 0.4% |
| 14 | Safeway | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14–22.9% | 5.7 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 15 | Meijer | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 6.1 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 16 | Sprouts Farmers Market | 34/288 | 11.8% | 8.6–16% | 5.7 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 17 | BJ's Wholesale Club | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 4.1 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 18 | WinCo Foods | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 5.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 19 | Hy-Vee | 30/288 | 10.4% | 7.4–14.5% | 6.2 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 20 | Market Basket | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 4.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 21 | The Fresh Market | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 3.6 | 2.8% (8/288) | 0.3% |
| 22 | ShopRite | 15/288 | 5.2% | 3.2–8.4% | 5.9 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 23 | Harris Teeter | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 6.4 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 24 | Stop & Shop | 10/288 | 3.5% | 1.9–6.3% | 8.9 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 25 | Food Lion | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 8.3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 68.4% | 197/288 answers · 95% CI 62.8–73.5% | first-mention position: 3.3; owned-domain citation (35/288): 12.2%; citation share: 1.5% |
| 2 | Costco | 52.4% | 151/288 answers · 95% CI 46.7–58.1% | first-mention position: 4.5; owned-domain citation (24/288): 8.3%; citation share: 1% |
| 3 | Kroger | 49.3% | 142/288 answers · 95% CI 43.6–55.1% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (29/288): 10.1%; citation share: 1.3% |
| 4 | ALDI | 45.5% | 131/288 answers · 95% CI 39.8–51.3% | first-mention position: 3.8; owned-domain citation (14/288): 4.9%; citation share: 0.6% |
| 5 | Whole Foods Market | 43.4% | 125/288 answers · 95% CI 37.8–49.2% | first-mention position: 4.5; owned-domain citation (27/288): 9.4%; citation share: 1.1% |
| 6 | Trader Joe's | 40.6% | 117/288 answers · 95% CI 35.1–46.4% | first-mention position: 4.7; owned-domain citation (9/288): 3.1%; citation share: 0.4% |
| 7 | Target | 40.3% | 116/288 answers · 95% CI 34.8–46% | first-mention position: 4.6; owned-domain citation (24/288): 8.3%; citation share: 1% |
| 8 | H-E-B | 35.1% | 101/288 answers · 95% CI 29.8–40.7% | first-mention position: 4.7; owned-domain citation (6/288): 2.1%; citation share: 0.2% |
The four engines named the leading names at similar rates.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
Walmart
75.0%
Costco
62.5%
Kroger
59.7%
Whole Foods Market
51.4%
Trader Joe's
45.8%
ALDI
43.1%
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Walmart
70.8%
Kroger
59.7%
Costco
54.2%
ALDI
52.8%
Whole Foods Market
44.4%
Target
41.7%
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Walmart
65.3%
Kroger
54.2%
Target
51.4%
Trader Joe's
50.0%
Costco
47.2%
Whole Foods Market
47.2%
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Walmart
62.5%
Costco
45.8%
ALDI
41.7%
H-E-B
38.9%
Whole Foods Market
30.6%
Trader Joe's
29.2%
Google AI Overviews were captured through 72 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 63 = 351 answers.
The fifth engine
88%
Trigger rate: 63 of 72 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 63 of 72 searches (87.5%, CI 77.9–93.3%). The other 9 searches showed no overview. Within the 63 overviews, Walmart was named in 32 (50.8%), Costco was named in 31 (49.2%), Kroger was named in 30 (47.6%), ALDI was named in 22 (34.9%). facebook.com was the most-cited source, with 20 citations and an appearance in 14 of 63 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 65.2% | 1 |
| 2 | Costco | 51.9% | 2 |
| 3 | Kroger | 49.0% | 3 |
| 4 | ALDI | 43.6% | 4 |
| 5 | Whole Foods Market | 41.6% | 5 |
| 6 | Trader Joe's | 37.9% | 6 |
| 7 | Target | 37.0% | 7 |
| 8 | H-E-B | 33.9% | 8 |
| 9 | Publix | 33.6% | 9 |
| 10 | Wegmans | 24.8% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Trader Joe's 100.0% | Publix 100.0%; H-E-B 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Costco 100.0% | Walmart 100.0%; ALDI 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | The Fresh Market 91.7% | Whole Foods Market 75.0%; Wegmans 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | Costco 100.0% | Whole Foods Market 100.0%; Trader Joe's 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 2 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Trader Joe's 100.0% | Costco 91.7%; Walmart 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Costco 100.0% | Kroger 66.7%; Walmart 58.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,420 citations in total. supermarketnews.com was cited most often, with 71 citations (2.9%) across 49 answers. Next came grocerydive.com (69), tastingtable.com (58), yahoo.com (46), walmart.com (33), consumerreports.org (32).
Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
tastingtable.com
19.1%
grocerydive.com
18.4%
supermarketnews.com
17.0%
yahoo.com
13.9%
consumerreports.org
11.1%
walmart.com
10.8%
reddit.com
9.4%
wholefoodsmarket.com
8.7%
nbcnews.com
8.3%
kroger.com
8.3%
Google AI Overviews · share of 63 overviews
facebook.com
22.2%
youtube.com
22.2%
reddit.com
22.2%
foodandwine.com
12.7%
consumerreports.org
11.1%
kroger.com
7.9%
10best.usatoday.com
6.3%
finance.yahoo.com
6.3%
m.yelp.com
4.8%
fortune.com
4.8%
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited. Source types were reclassified on October 29, 2026. 'Company / brand sites' now covers only the official sites of companies, brands and schools; publishers, directories, trade bodies and other sites have their own types, and sites that could not be placed are 'Other / unclassified'.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,420 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 178 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| General news / business press | 682 (28.2%) | 34 (19.1%) |
| Company / brand sites | 612 (25.3%) | 31 (17.4%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 347 (14.3%) | 11 (6.2%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 299 (12.4%) | 7 (3.9%) |
| Community / social | 98 (4%) | 64 (36%) |
| Research / data providers | 81 (3.3%) | 5 (2.8%) |
| Health publishers | 72 (3%) | 5 (2.8%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 66 (2.7%) | 4 (2.2%) |
| Reference | 59 (2.4%) | 3 (1.7%) |
| Official / government | 41 (1.7%) | 4 (2.2%) |
| Directories / rankings | 37 (1.5%) | 10 (5.6%) |
| Other / unclassified | 23 (1%) | 0 (0%) |
| General news / sports media | 3 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) |
How can a grocer improve its AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | Walmart's own domains were cited in 12.2% of grounded answers, Kroger's in 10.1% and Whole Foods Market's in 9.4%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were tastingtable.com (in 19.1% of grounded answers), grocerydive.com (18.4%), supermarketnews.com (17.0%), yahoo.com (13.9%) and consumerreports.org (11.1%). General news and business press supplied 28.2% of citations and review and comparison publishers 14.3%. |
| Check each engine separately. | ChatGPT named Kroger in 59.7% of answers against 23.6% on Perplexity. Gemini named Target in 51.4% of answers against 27.8% on Perplexity. |
| Do not ignore video and community sites. | Community and social sites supplied 36.0% of Google AI Overview citations against 4.0% in the four chat engines. facebook.com was cited in 22.2% of overviews, youtube.com in 22.2% and reddit.com in 22.2%. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | Lidl (25), H Mart (22), Instacart (19), Patel Brothers (19), Kirkland Signature (17) were named often but were not tracked. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
Frequently asked questions
Which grocer do AI engines name most often?
Walmart, named in 197 of 288 four-engine answers (68.4%, CI 62.8–73.5%). Costco was second at 151 of 288 (52.4%).
Which grocer is named first most often?
Walmart was the first grocer named in 40 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 3.3.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 63 of 72 searches (87.5%, CI 77.9–93.3%). Within those 63 overviews, Walmart was named most often, in 32 (50.8%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,420 four-engine citations, supermarketnews.com was cited most (71 citations, in 49 of 288 grounded answers), followed by grocerydive.com (69 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Only in part. Walmart was named on every engine, from 62.5% on Perplexity to 75.0% on ChatGPT. The widest gap among tracked names was Kroger, from 23.6% on Perplexity to 59.7% on ChatGPT.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 72 Google searches · 63 AI Overviews
24 questions, each asked 3 times on each engine, measured October 28, 2026. Market: United States, English. The destination site was not mentioned to any engine. Gemini answers were produced by gemini-3.6-flash; every Gemini answer in this report used that one model. All 72 Gemini answers had search sources. Grocers count as named when they appear in the answer text; products and name variants roll up to the tracked name. Longer names take precedence over shorter overlapping ones, and common words count only in context. Unicode apostrophes and dashes are normalized.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 72 | 63 shown | 63 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the grocer ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the grocer first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the grocer's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the grocer's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Measured on one day, October 28, 2026. Each engine answered 24 questions 3 times. Answers came from each engine's API (model IDs above); the consumer apps can answer differently.
- Only 25 tracked grocers were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including Lidl (25), H Mart (22), Instacart (19), Patel Brothers (19), Kirkland Signature (17).
- AI Overview figures are based on only 63 overviews, so estimates for individual grocers are less precise than the four-engine figures.
- Reports describe what the engines said, attributed to the engines. They make no judgement about the people or organizations named and are not legal or financial advice.
- Some answers were asked again on October 28, 2026 after a storage error. The earlier texts are kept in the evidence archive and are not used in the counts.
- One question, "Is Costco worth it for a family of four?", names a retailer, so those counts include up to 12 answers to it. Without it, Walmart and Costco are still the top two.
- Intervals treat each answer as independent, so they understate uncertainty for the 24 repeated questions.
- Corrected October 29, 2026: own-domain citation now uses each name's official domains (subdomains included), listed in the evidence file entity_rollups.csv. Names without a resolvable official site count zero.
Appendix: The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What is the best grocery store in the US? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 02 | Where can I buy the cheapest groceries? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 03 | Which grocery store has the best produce? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 04 | Where is the best place to buy organic groceries? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 05 | Which grocery store has the best store brand? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 06 | Is Costco worth it for a family of four? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 07 | What is the best grocery delivery service? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 08 | Which grocery stores have the best online pickup? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 09 | Which grocery chain has the best customer service? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 10 | Where should I shop for groceries on a tight budget? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 11 | Where can I buy international foods and ingredients? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 12 | What groceries should I buy if I am taking a GLP-1 medication? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Core question |
| 13 | Which US grocery retailers publish unit prices for online orders? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 14 | Which warehouse clubs offer grocery delivery and pickup? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 15 | Which grocery chains carry certified organic private-label products? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 16 | Which grocery retailers offer low-cost private-label pantry staples? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 17 | Which grocery delivery platforms disclose service fees and membership costs? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 18 | Which regional grocery chains are named in national customer-satisfaction surveys? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 19 | Which grocery stores publish nutrition information for their private-label products? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 20 | Which grocery retailers offer prepared meals and meal kits? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 21 | Which US grocery chains specialize in international ingredients? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 22 | Which grocery retailers publish food-allergy and ingredient information online? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 23 | Which grocery chains offer high-protein private-label foods? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
| 24 | Which sources compare US grocery prices using a published shopping basket? | The US Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index 2026 | Added question |
About 5W
5W is an independent PR, creative and AI Visibility agency founded in 2003, and we get you in the chatbox. All of our work is done in house, including media relations, site building and content. Learn more about our GEO practice or write to info@5wpr.com.
More 5W research: 5W Private Label AI Advantage, 5W Food & Beverage Media Retrieval Index and the Functional Beverages Index.
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