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RESEARCH · Published June 15, 2026 · Updated November 11, 2026

Restaurant Chains Index 2.0: Seven Chains Too Close to Call

Chick-fil-A was named most often, but six other chains are within its margin. Chick-fil-A: 58/288 (20.1%; 95% interval 15.9–25.1%). Jersey Mike's: 54/288 (18.8%; 95% interval 14.7–23.7%). Their 95% intervals overlap. McDonald's (52/288), Chipotle (50/288), Taco Bell (44/288), Cava (35/288) and Olive Garden (35/288) are also within the margin.

288

AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity

20.1%

of answers named Chick-fil-A, the most-named (58 of 288)

50

tracked chains named at least once (of 56)

100%

of Google searches showed an AI Overview (57 of 57)

Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 15, 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

58/288 (20.1%)

Chick-fil-A appeared in 58 of 288 four-engine answers (CI 15.9–25.1%). Jersey Mike's appeared in 54 of 288 (18.8%, CI 14.7–23.7%). The intervals overlap, so the two cannot be separated.
02

30/288 (10.4%)

Jersey Mike's was the first chain named in 30 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked chain. Its average first position was 2.1. Chick-fil-A was named first in 12 of 288.
03

5/288 (1.7%)

Qdoba's own domains were cited in 5 of 288 grounded answers, more than any other tracked chain. Cracker Barrel followed at 3 of 288. 48 of 56 tracked chains had 0 of 288.
04

57/57 (100%)

Google AI Overviews appeared on 57 of 57 searches (CI 93.7–100%).
05

18/57 (31.6%)

Chick-fil-A was the chain named most often in AI Overviews, at 18 of 57, followed by McDonald's at 14 of 57 (24.6%). In the four-engine set, Chick-fil-A was named in 58 of 288 answers (20.1%).
06

64/288 (22.2%)

en.wikipedia.org was cited in 64 of 288 grounded four-engine answers, with 149 of 2,084 citations (7.1%). tastingtable.com came second with 118 citations in 97 answers (33.7%).

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 chains AI engines name

Chick-fil-A
20.1%
Jersey Mike's
18.8%
McDonald's
18.1%
Chipotle
17.4%
Taco Bell
15.3%
Cava
12.2%
Olive Garden
12.2%
Texas Roadhouse
10.8%
7 Brew
9.7%
Starbucks
9.7%
Five Guys
9.4%
Panera Bread
9.4%
Sweetgreen
9.0%
Whataburger
8.3%
Dutch Bros
8.0%
#NameNamed inAppearance rate95% interval
1Chick-fil-A58/28820.1%15.9–25.1%
2Jersey Mike's54/28818.8%14.7–23.7%
3McDonald's52/28818.1%14.0–22.9%
4Chipotle50/28817.4%13.4–22.2%
5Taco Bell44/28815.3%11.6–19.9%
6Cava35/28812.2%8.9–16.4%
7Olive Garden35/28812.2%8.9–16.4%
8Texas Roadhouse31/28810.8%7.7–14.9%
97 Brew28/2889.7%6.8–13.7%
10Starbucks28/2889.7%6.8–13.7%
11Five Guys27/2889.4%6.5–13.3%
12Panera Bread27/2889.4%6.5–13.3%
13Sweetgreen26/2889.0%6.2–12.9%
14Whataburger24/2888.3%5.7–12.1%
15Dutch Bros23/2888.0%5.4–11.7%

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 2,084 citations.

#ChainNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
1Chick-fil-A58/28820.1%15.9–25.1%2.30.3% (1/288)0%
2Jersey Mike's54/28818.8%14.7–23.7%2.10% (0/288)0%
3McDonald's52/28818.1%14–22.9%2.40% (0/288)0%
4Chipotle50/28817.4%13.4–22.2%2.30% (0/288)0%
5Taco Bell44/28815.3%11.6–19.9%2.50% (0/288)0%
6Cava35/28812.2%8.9–16.4%2.20.3% (1/288)0%
7Olive Garden35/28812.2%8.9–16.4%2.10% (0/288)0%
8Texas Roadhouse31/28810.8%7.7–14.9%1.40% (0/288)0%
97 Brew28/2889.7%6.8–13.7%1.70.3% (1/288)0%
10Starbucks28/2889.7%6.8–13.7%2.30.3% (1/288)0%
11Five Guys27/2889.4%6.5–13.3%2.50% (0/288)0%
12Panera Bread27/2889.4%6.5–13.3%3.50% (0/288)0%
13Sweetgreen26/2889%6.2–12.9%2.50% (0/288)0%
14Whataburger24/2888.3%5.7–12.1%30% (0/288)0%
15Dutch Bros23/2888%5.4–11.7%20% (0/288)0%
16Dunkin'22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%3.80% (0/288)0%
17In-N-Out Burger22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%2.50% (0/288)0%
18Jimmy John's22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%2.80% (0/288)0%
19Culver's20/2886.9%4.5–10.5%3.80% (0/288)0%
20Wingstop20/2886.9%4.5–10.5%1.60% (0/288)0%
21Wendy's19/2886.6%4.3–10.1%2.50% (0/288)0%
22LongHorn Steakhouse18/2886.3%4–9.7%1.60% (0/288)0%
23Subway17/2885.9%3.7–9.2%3.20% (0/288)0%
24Domino's16/2885.6%3.4–8.8%1.60.3% (1/288)0%
25Jack in the Box16/2885.6%3.4–8.8%2.60% (0/288)0%
26Popeyes16/2885.6%3.4–8.8%1.70% (0/288)0%
27Shake Shack16/2885.6%3.4–8.8%3.90.3% (1/288)0%
28Burger King15/2885.2%3.2–8.4%3.90% (0/288)0%

The full list (continued)

#ChainNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
29Cracker Barrel15/2885.2%3.2–8.4%2.31% (3/288)0.1%
30Chili's14/2884.9%2.9–8%3.30% (0/288)0%
31Dave's Hot Chicken13/2884.5%2.7–7.6%3.80% (0/288)0%
32Little Caesars13/2884.5%2.7–7.6%4.60% (0/288)0%
33Qdoba13/2884.5%2.7–7.6%2.21.7% (5/288)0.4%
34Papa John's12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%2.30% (0/288)0%
35Raising Cane's12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%5.30% (0/288)0%
36Waffle House12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%3.50% (0/288)0%
37Buffalo Wild Wings11/2883.8%2.1–6.7%2.10% (0/288)0%
38Firehouse Subs11/2883.8%2.1–6.7%30% (0/288)0%
39Pizza Hut11/2883.8%2.1–6.7%2.70% (0/288)0%
40Panda Express8/2882.8%1.4–5.4%4.40% (0/288)0%
41Arby's7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%4.10% (0/288)0%
42KFC7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%4.70% (0/288)0%
43Denny's6/2882.1%1–4.5%4.50% (0/288)0%
44Dickey's Barbecue Pit6/2882.1%1–4.5%1.20% (0/288)0%
45IHOP6/2882.1%1–4.5%4.20% (0/288)0%
46Bojangles4/2881.4%0.5–3.5%3.50% (0/288)0%
47Famous Dave's3/2881%0.4–3%1.70% (0/288)0%
48Outback Steakhouse3/2881%0.4–3%40% (0/288)0%
49Applebee's2/2880.7%0.2–2.5%60% (0/288)0%
50Zaxby's1/2880.3%0.1–1.9%30% (0/288)0%
51Cinnabon0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%
52Dairy Queen0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%
53Mendocino Farms0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%
54Slim Chickens0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%
55Sonic Drive-In0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%
56Tropical Smoothie Cafe0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/288)0%

The top eight, side by side

#NameAppearance rateAnswers and intervalOther measures
1Chick-fil-A20.1%58/288 answers · 95% CI 15.9–25.1%first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (1/288): 0.3%; citation share: 0%
2Jersey Mike's18.8%54/288 answers · 95% CI 14.7–23.7%first-mention position: 2.1; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
3McDonald's18.1%52/288 answers · 95% CI 14–22.9%first-mention position: 2.4; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
4Chipotle17.4%50/288 answers · 95% CI 13.4–22.2%first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
5Taco Bell15.3%44/288 answers · 95% CI 11.6–19.9%first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
6Cava12.2%35/288 answers · 95% CI 8.9–16.4%first-mention position: 2.2; owned-domain citation (1/288): 0.3%; citation share: 0%
7Olive Garden12.2%35/288 answers · 95% CI 8.9–16.4%first-mention position: 2.1; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
8Texas Roadhouse10.8%31/288 answers · 95% CI 7.7–14.9%first-mention position: 1.4; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%

The four engines named the leading names at similar rates.

ChatGPT

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Same questions, different answers

McDonald's
23.6%
Chipotle
15.3%
Cava
15.3%
Panera Bread
15.3%
Jersey Mike's
12.5%
Olive Garden
12.5%

Claude

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Chick-fil-A
26.4%
Jersey Mike's
20.8%
Taco Bell
20.8%
Chipotle
19.4%
McDonald's
16.7%
In-N-Out Burger
16.7%

Gemini

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Chick-fil-A
29.2%
Jersey Mike's
22.2%
Chipotle
19.4%
Taco Bell
15.3%
Olive Garden
12.5%
Texas Roadhouse
12.5%

Perplexity

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Chick-fil-A
20.8%
McDonald's
20.8%
Jersey Mike's
19.4%
Chipotle
15.3%
Taco Bell
15.3%
Olive Garden
15.3%

Google AI Overviews were captured through 57 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 57 = 345 answers.

The fifth engine

100%

Trigger rate: 57 of 57 searches

Google AI Overviews appeared on 57 of 57 searches (100%, CI 93.7–100%). The other 0 searches showed no overview. Within the 57 overviews, Chick-fil-A was named in 18 (31.6%), McDonald's was named in 14 (24.6%), Taco Bell was named in 13 (22.8%), Jersey Mike's was named in 12 (21.1%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 51 citations and an appearance in 33 of 57 overviews.

Five-engine rankNameFive-engine rateFour-engine rank
1Chick-fil-A22.0%1
2Jersey Mike's19.1%2
3McDonald's19.1%3
4Chipotle17.7%4
5Taco Bell16.5%5
6Olive Garden12.5%7
7Cava11.3%6
8Texas Roadhouse11.3%8
9Five Guys10.7%11
10Sweetgreen10.1%13

Who each question surfaces first

Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.

QuestionLeaderNextAI Overview
Q01 · 12 answersJersey Mike's 100.0%McDonald's 83.3%; Chick-fil-A 75.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q02 · 12 answersFive Guys 100.0%In-N-Out Burger 83.3%; Burger King 66.7%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q03 · 12 answersPopeyes 100.0%Chick-fil-A 83.3%; KFC 33.3%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q04 · 12 answersWingstop 100.0%Buffalo Wild Wings 91.7%; Popeyes 33.3%AI Overview shown on 1 of 1 searches
Q05 · 12 answersStarbucks 100.0%Dunkin' 75.0%; Dutch Bros 75.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q06 · 12 answersDutch Bros 100.0%7 Brew 91.7%; Starbucks 83.3%AI Overview shown on 2 of 2 searches

The four engines produced 2,084 citations in total. en.wikipedia.org was cited most often, with 149 citations (7.1%) across 64 answers. Next came tastingtable.com (118), eatthis.com (89), mashed.com (59), thetakeout.com (56), allrecipes.com (54).

Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers

Most-cited domains

tastingtable.com
33.7%
en.wikipedia.org
22.2%
eatthis.com
19.1%
thetakeout.com
18.4%
mashed.com
17.4%
thedailymeal.com
14.9%
yahoo.com
13.2%
nrn.com
13.2%
foodrepublic.com
13.2%
smarterranking.com
11.5%

Google AI Overviews · share of 57 overviews

youtube.com
57.9%
facebook.com
29.8%
reddit.com
24.6%
quora.com
14.0%
allrecipes.com
10.5%
tastingtable.com
10.5%
tasteofhome.com
8.8%
eatthis.com
7.0%
businessinsider.com
7.0%
en.wikipedia.org
7.0%

Citation share by source type

Share of all citations by the type of site cited.

Source typeFour AI engines (of 2,084 citations)Google AI Overviews (of 192 citations)
General news / business press728 (34.9%)27 (14.1%)
Other / unclassified618 (29.7%)35 (18.2%)
Reference204 (9.8%)10 (5.2%)
Review / comparison publishers152 (7.3%)4 (2.1%)
Company / brand sites98 (4.7%)10 (5.2%)
Health publishers97 (4.7%)5 (2.6%)
Research / data providers72 (3.5%)0 (0%)
Community / social45 (2.2%)98 (51%)
Trade / specialist press39 (1.9%)0 (0%)
Directories / rankings28 (1.3%)3 (1.6%)
Official / government2 (0.1%)0 (0%)
Institutions / trade bodies1 (0%)0 (0%)

How can chains 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.

StepWhat this study measured
Put your facts on your own domain.Starbucks' own domains were cited in 0.3% of grounded answers, Chick-fil-A's in 0.3% and Cava's in 0.3%.
Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite.The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were tastingtable.com (in 33.7% of grounded answers), en.wikipedia.org (22.2%), eatthis.com (19.1%), thetakeout.com (18.4%) and mashed.com (17.4%). General news and business press supplied 34.9% of citations and reference sites 9.8%.
Check each engine separately.Gemini named Chick-fil-A in 29.2% of answers against 4.2% on ChatGPT. ChatGPT named McDonald's in 23.6% of answers against 11.1% on Gemini.
Watch names outside the tracked list.Del Taco (14 answers), The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill (12 answers), American Customer Satisfaction Index (8 answers), Scooter’s Coffee (7 answers), Habit Burger & Grill (7 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 chain do AI engines name most often?

Chick-fil-A, named in 58 of 288 four-engine answers (20.1%, CI 15.9–25.1%). Jersey Mike's was second at 54 of 288 (18.8%). The intervals overlap, so the two cannot be separated statistically.

Which chain is named first most often?

Jersey Mike's was the first chain named in 30 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.1.

How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?

An overview appeared on 57 of 57 searches (100%, CI 93.7–100%). Within those 57 overviews, Chick-fil-A was named most often, in 18 (31.6%).

Which sources do the engines cite?

Across 2,084 four-engine citations, en.wikipedia.org was cited most (149 citations, in 64 of 288 grounded answers), followed by tastingtable.com (118 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 + 57 Google searches · 57 AI Overviews

24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured October 30 to 31, 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.

EngineModel IDs calledAskedReturnedGrounded
ChatGPTgpt-5-mini727272
Claudeclaude-sonnet-5-5727272
Geminigemini-3.6-flash727272
Perplexitysonar-pro727272
Google AI OverviewsDataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced)5757 shown57

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 56 tracked chains are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
  • Only the tracked chains were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including Del Taco (14 answers), The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill (12 answers), American Customer Satisfaction Index (8 answers), Scooter’s Coffee (7 answers), Habit Burger & Grill (7 answers).
  • Answers were collected over two days, October 30 and 31, 2026. 345 of 360 planned results were returned. 15 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
  • 57 successful Google searches: 57 overviews shown; 0 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
  • All returned chat answers had search sources.
  • No Core question names a tracked name.
  • 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.
  • The tracked chains are the 25 from the original report plus 30 chains added across eleven restaurant types. Each chain counts its own US website.
  • 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.

#QuestionGroupSource
01What is the best fast food chain in the US?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
02What is the best burger chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
03What is the best fast food chicken sandwich?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
04What is the best chicken wing chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
05What is the best coffee chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
06What is the best drive-thru coffee chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
07What is the best pizza chain for delivery?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
08What is the best fast casual restaurant?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
09What is the best Mexican fast food chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
10What is the best Mediterranean chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
11What is the best healthy fast food chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
12What is the best sub sandwich chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
13What is the best chain steakhouse?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
14What is the best value fast food chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Core question
15What is the best fast food chain for breakfast?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
16Which fast food chain has the best fries?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
17What is the best casual dining chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
18What is the best Italian chain restaurant?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
19What is the best salad chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
20What is the best late-night fast food chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
21Which new restaurant chains are growing fastest?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
22What is the best family restaurant chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
23What is the best chain for a quick lunch?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question
24What is the best barbecue chain?US Restaurant Chains Index 2.0Added question

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