Chewy: 83/288 (28.8%; 95% interval 23.9–34.3%). Royal Canin: 50/288 (17.4%; 95% interval 13.4–22.2%).
CONSUMER & RETAIL
Pet Industry Index 2.0: Chewy Leads AI Brand Mentions
Published June 28, 2026 · Updated November 3, 2026
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
of answers named Chewy, the most-named (83 of 288)
tracked brands named at least once (of 54)
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (49 of 53)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 28, 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
83/288 (28.8%)
79/288 (27.4%)
62/288 (21.5%)
49/53 (92.5%)
19/49 (38.8%)
64/288 (22.2%)
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 brands AI engines name
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chewy | 83/288 | 28.8% | 23.9–34.3% |
| 2 | Royal Canin | 50/288 | 17.4% | 13.4–22.2% |
| 3 | Petco | 46/288 | 16.0% | 12.2–20.6% |
| 4 | Embrace Pet Insurance | 45/288 | 15.6% | 11.9–20.3% |
| 5 | The Farmer's Dog | 44/288 | 15.3% | 11.6–19.9% |
| 6 | Amazon | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% |
| 7 | JustFoodForDogs | 40/288 | 13.9% | 10.4–18.4% |
| 8 | Purina Pro Plan | 38/288 | 13.2% | 9.8–17.6% |
| 9 | Lemonade Pet | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
| 10 | PetSmart | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
| 11 | ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | 35/288 | 12.2% | 8.9–16.4% |
| 12 | Hill's Science Diet | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% |
| 13 | Pets Best | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% |
| 14 | Freshpet | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8.0–15.3% |
| 15 | Trupanion | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8.0–15.3% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,459 citations.
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chewy | 83/288 | 28.8% | 23.9–34.3% | 1.1 | 21.5% (62/288) | 3% |
| 2 | Royal Canin | 50/288 | 17.4% | 13.4–22.2% | 2.3 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.3% |
| 3 | Petco | 46/288 | 16% | 12.2–20.6% | 2.7 | 6.6% (19/288) | 0.8% |
| 4 | Embrace Pet Insurance | 45/288 | 15.6% | 11.9–20.3% | 3.6 | 6.6% (19/288) | 0.9% |
| 5 | The Farmer's Dog | 44/288 | 15.3% | 11.6–19.9% | 3.5 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 6 | Amazon | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% | 2.8 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.2% |
| 7 | JustFoodForDogs | 40/288 | 13.9% | 10.4–18.4% | 3.9 | 5.6% (16/288) | 0.7% |
| 8 | Purina Pro Plan | 38/288 | 13.2% | 9.8–17.6% | 2.2 | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 9 | Lemonade Pet | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 3.8 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 10 | PetSmart | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 2.7 | 7.3% (21/288) | 1.1% |
| 11 | ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | 35/288 | 12.2% | 8.9–16.4% | 2.8 | 4.5% (13/288) | 0.5% |
| 12 | Hill's Science Diet | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% | 1.4 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 13 | Pets Best | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% | 3.9 | 3.5% (10/288) | 0.4% |
| 14 | Freshpet | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 4.4 | 5.2% (15/288) | 0.6% |
| 15 | Trupanion | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 4.1 | 2.4% (7/288) | 0.3% |
| 16 | Nom Nom | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% | 4 | 2.4% (7/288) | 0.3% |
| 17 | IAMS | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% | 4.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 18 | Healthy Paws | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 4.4 | 2.4% (7/288) | 0.3% |
| 19 | Spot Pet Insurance | 26/288 | 9% | 6.2–12.9% | 3.7 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 20 | Ollie | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 3.8 | 2.4% (7/288) | 0.3% |
| 21 | Rover | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 1 | 5.9% (17/288) | 0.8% |
| 22 | Tractive | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 1 | 2.1% (6/288) | 0.2% |
| 23 | Wag! | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 2 | 5.2% (15/288) | 0.6% |
| 24 | Whisker | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 1.1 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 25 | BarkBox | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 2.4 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 26 | Litter-Robot | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 1.9 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.2% |
| 27 | Fetch Pet Insurance | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% | 4.7 | 4.2% (12/288) | 0.5% |
| 28 | MetLife Pet Insurance | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% | 4.2 | 4.9% (14/288) | 0.6% |
The full list (continued)
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Nationwide Pet Insurance | 19/288 | 6.6% | 4.3–10.1% | 5.3 | 3.1% (9/288) | 0.4% |
| 30 | Figo Pet Insurance | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4–9.7% | 6.9 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 31 | Super Chewer | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 3.4 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 32 | Pumpkin Pet Insurance | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 6.3 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 33 | PupBox | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 34 | Petcube | 10/288 | 3.5% | 1.9–6.3% | 2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 35 | ORIJEN | 9/288 | 3.1% | 1.7–5.8% | 5.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 36 | Blue Buffalo | 8/288 | 2.8% | 1.4–5.4% | 4.4 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 37 | Fi | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 2.2 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 38 | PEDIGREE | 5/288 | 1.7% | 0.7–4% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 39 | ACANA | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 7.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 40 | KitNipBox | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 4.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 41 | Stella & Chewy's | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 42 | Tractor Supply Company | 2/288 | 0.7% | 0.2–2.5% | 7.5 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 43 | A Pup Above | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 6 | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 44 | Beneful | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 6 | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 45 | Fromm Family Foods | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 46 | ALPO | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 47 | Furbo | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 48 | Kibbles 'n Bits | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 49 | Modern Animal | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 50 | Nutrish | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 51 | Sundays for Dogs | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 52 | Taste of the Wild | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 53 | Wellness | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 54 | Wild Earth | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chewy | 28.8% | 83/288 answers · 95% CI 23.9–34.3% | first-mention position: 1.1; owned-domain citation (62/288): 21.5%; citation share: 3% |
| 2 | Royal Canin | 17.4% | 50/288 answers · 95% CI 13.4–22.2% | first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (5/288): 1.7%; citation share: 0.3% |
| 3 | Petco | 16.0% | 46/288 answers · 95% CI 12.2–20.6% | first-mention position: 2.7; owned-domain citation (19/288): 6.6%; citation share: 0.8% |
| 4 | Embrace Pet Insurance | 15.6% | 45/288 answers · 95% CI 11.9–20.3% | first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (19/288): 6.6%; citation share: 0.9% |
| 5 | The Farmer's Dog | 15.3% | 44/288 answers · 95% CI 11.6–19.9% | first-mention position: 3.5; owned-domain citation (6/288): 2.1%; citation share: 0.2% |
| 6 | Amazon | 14.2% | 41/288 answers · 95% CI 10.7–18.7% | first-mention position: 2.8; owned-domain citation (5/288): 1.7%; citation share: 0.2% |
| 7 | JustFoodForDogs | 13.9% | 40/288 answers · 95% CI 10.4–18.4% | first-mention position: 3.9; owned-domain citation (16/288): 5.6%; citation share: 0.7% |
| 8 | Purina Pro Plan | 13.2% | 38/288 answers · 95% CI 9.8–17.6% | first-mention position: 2.2; owned-domain citation (4/288): 1.4%; 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
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Google AI Overviews were captured through 53 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 49 = 337 answers.
The fifth engine
Trigger rate: 49 of 53 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 49 of 53 searches (92.5%, CI 82.1–97%). The other 4 searches showed no overview. Within the 49 overviews, Chewy was named in 19 (38.8%), Amazon was named in 9 (18.4%), PetSmart was named in 8 (16.3%), Pets Best was named in 8 (16.3%). google.com was the most-cited source, with 88 citations and an appearance in 36 of 49 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chewy | 30.3% | 1 |
| 2 | Royal Canin | 16.9% | 2 |
| 3 | Petco | 15.4% | 3 |
| 4 | Amazon | 14.8% | 6 |
| 5 | The Farmer's Dog | 13.9% | 5 |
| 6 | Embrace Pet Insurance | 13.6% | 4 |
| 7 | PetSmart | 13.4% | 10 |
| 8 | Lemonade Pet | 12.8% | 9 |
| 9 | JustFoodForDogs | 12.5% | 7 |
| 10 | Purina Pro Plan | 12.5% | 8 |
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 | Chewy 100.0% | Amazon 100.0%; Petco 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 2 of 2 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Chewy 100.0% | Amazon 100.0%; Royal Canin 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | Royal Canin 100.0% | Purina Pro Plan 100.0%; Hill's Science Diet 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 1 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | The Farmer's Dog 100.0% | Freshpet 100.0%; Ollie 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Hill's Science Diet 100.0% | Royal Canin 100.0%; Purina Pro Plan 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 2 of 2 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Royal Canin 100.0% | Purina Pro Plan 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 1 searches |
The four engines produced 2,459 citations in total. forbes.com was cited most often, with 73 citations (3%) across 64 answers. Next came chewy.com (66), petmd.com (58), en.wikipedia.org (42), dogster.com (34), petful.com (34).
Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
Google AI Overviews · share of 49 overviews
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,459 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 262 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,295 (52.7%) | 59 (22.5%) |
| Company / brand sites | 490 (19.9%) | 123 (46.9%) |
| General news / business press | 251 (10.2%) | 21 (8%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 206 (8.4%) | 12 (4.6%) |
| Community / social | 87 (3.5%) | 47 (17.9%) |
| Reference | 50 (2%) | 0 (0%) |
| Official / government | 29 (1.2%) | 0 (0%) |
| Research / data providers | 18 (0.7%) | 0 (0%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 12 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) |
| Directories / rankings | 12 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) |
| Health publishers | 9 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) |
How can brands improve their 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. | Chewy's own domains were cited in 21.5% of grounded answers, PetSmart's in 7.3% and Petco's in 6.6%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were forbes.com (in 22.2% of grounded answers), petmd.com (13.9%), en.wikipedia.org (11.8%), petful.com (11.8%) and dogster.com (10.8%). General news and business press supplied 10.2% of citations and review and comparison publishers 8.4%. |
| Check each engine separately. | Gemini named JustFoodForDogs in 20.8% of answers against 9.7% on Perplexity. ChatGPT named Petco in 19.4% of answers against 8.3% on Perplexity. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | AKC Pet Insurance (19 answers), PetMeds (18 answers), Care.com (15 answers), Spot & Tango (14 answers), Hill's Pet Nutrition (13 answers) 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. |
What AI answers
Which brand do AI engines name most often?
Chewy, named in 83 of 288 four-engine answers (28.8%, CI 23.9–34.3%). Royal Canin was second at 50 of 288 (17.4%).
Which brand is named first most often?
Chewy was the first brand named in 79 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 1.1.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 49 of 53 searches (92.5%, CI 82.1–97%). Within those 49 overviews, Chewy was named most often, in 19 (38.8%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,459 four-engine citations, forbes.com was cited most (73 citations, in 64 of 288 grounded answers), followed by chewy.com (66 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Largely. No tracked name differed by more than 12 points between engines.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 53 Google searches · 49 AI Overviews
24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured October 30, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.
| 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) | 53 | 49 shown | 49 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Only 54 tracked brands are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
- Only the tracked brands were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including AKC Pet Insurance (19 answers), PetMeds (18 answers), Care.com (15 answers), Spot & Tango (14 answers), Hill's Pet Nutrition (13 answers).
- 341 of 360 planned results were returned. 19 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
- 53 successful Google searches: 49 overviews shown; 4 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
- All returned chat answers had search sources.
- Unverified own domains are not available, never zero or guessed. Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official organisations; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
- Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
- Orijen and ACANA, one row in the original report, are counted separately. Whistle is not tracked: its service was retired after Tractive bought it. Petplan is counted as Fetch Pet Insurance, its current name. Mentions of Hill's count for Hill's Science Diet only when the product name appears.
- Two Core questions name brands: "Chewy vs Amazon for pet supplies?" and "Hill's vs Royal Canin prescription diet?" Without the first, Chewy is named in about 71 of 276 answers, still the most. Without the second, Royal Canin is named in 38 of 276, below Petco (46).
- Answers came from each engine's API (model IDs above); the consumer apps can answer differently.
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 | Where is the best place to buy pet supplies online? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 02 | Chewy vs Amazon for pet supplies? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 03 | What is the best dog food for senior dogs? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 04 | Is fresh dog food worth it? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 05 | What food do veterinarians recommend for dogs? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 06 | Hill's vs Royal Canin prescription diet? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 07 | What is the best pet insurance? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 08 | What is the best pet insurance for a French bulldog? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 09 | Where can I fill my dog's prescription online? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 10 | What is the best app to find a dog walker or pet sitter? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 11 | What is the best GPS tracker for dogs? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 12 | What is the best automatic litter box? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 13 | What is the best dog toy subscription box? | Pet Industry Index | Core question |
| 14 | Which US pet retailers offer recurring delivery subscriptions? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 15 | Which fresh dog food brands publish nutritional adequacy statements? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 16 | Which dog and cat food brands publish feeding research? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 17 | Which pet insurers publish coverage details for hereditary conditions? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 18 | Which pet insurers offer accident-only policies? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 19 | Which online pet pharmacies require veterinary prescriptions? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 20 | Which online veterinary services offer consultations in the United States? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 21 | Which pet service apps publish sitter screening policies? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 22 | Which dog GPS tracker brands publish battery life and subscription prices? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 23 | Which automatic litter box brands publish safety information? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
| 24 | Which pet subscription services offer products for both dogs and cats? | Pet Industry Index | Added question |
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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.
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