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AI VISIBILITY INDEX

Acne Treatments AI Citation Benchmark 2026

La Roche-Posay Leads Acne AI Search Visibility

AI answers analyzed
480
La Roche-Posay appearance rate, the category leader
60%
Brands named across the study
25
Answers carrying retrieval evidence
98.1%

Acne AI Search Visibility Findings

La Roche-Posay and CeraVe capture the highest visibility in AI search results for acne queries. The data reveals a tight race at the top of the category. The engines rely heavily on clinical and dermatological authority to answer consumer questions about acne treatments.

This report is one of five skin-concern segments in the 5W Skincare AI Visibility Index 2026, which ranks clinical skincare brands across 1,920 AI answers.

The Visibility Leaderboard

La Roche-Posay appears in 60 percent of all tallied answers. CeraVe follows closely at 56.7 percent. Neutrogena and Differin secure the third and fourth positions. The differences among the top tier are slight.

Appearance rate is the share of the 480 returned AI answers in which each brand was named.

AI visibility leaderboard

Appearance rate — top 15

1
La Roche-Posay
60%
2
CeraVe
56.7%
3
Neutrogena
50.2%
4
Differin
47.1%
5
Paula’s Choice
39.4%
6
The Ordinary
31.7%
7
PanOxyl
28.3%
8
Proactiv
18.3%
9
Cetaphil
18.3%
10
The American Academy of Dermatology
15%
11
Murad
15%
12
Galderma
13.8%
13
COSRX
12.1%
14
Hero Cosmetics
11.3%
15
Vanicream
9.2%
#BrandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalAvg position
1La Roche-Posay288/48060%55.6%–64.3%2.6
2CeraVe272/48056.7%52.2%–61%3
3Neutrogena241/48050.2%45.8%–54.7%5
4Differin226/48047.1%42.7%–51.6%3.4
5Paula’s Choice189/48039.4%35.1%–43.8%5
6The Ordinary152/48031.7%27.7%–36%6.3
7PanOxyl136/48028.3%24.5%–32.5%4.9
8Proactiv88/48018.3%15.1%–22%7.5
9Cetaphil88/48018.3%15.1%–22%6.1
10The American Academy of Dermatology72/48015%12.1%–18.5%4.7
11Murad72/48015%12.1%–18.5%7.2
12Galderma66/48013.8%11%–17.1%2.5
13COSRX58/48012.1%9.5%–15.3%7.1
14Hero Cosmetics54/48011.3%8.7%–14.4%6.6
15Vanicream44/4809.2%6.9%–12.1%6.7

The 95 percent confidence intervals for La Roche-Posay (55.6 to 64.3 percent) and CeraVe (52.2 to 61 percent) overlap. The difference in visibility between the two brands is within the margin of this sample. CeraVe and Neutrogena also share overlapping intervals. This indicates a competitive upper tier where no single brand entirely monopolizes the answers.

Brand Profiles

60%

La Roche-Posay

60% appearance rate. La Roche-Posay holds the first rank with a confidence interval of 55.6 to 64.3 percent. ChatGPT names the brand in 88.3 percent of its answers. Gemini mentions it far less frequently at 20.8 percent. The brand secures an average first mention position of 2.6 and achieves an owned-domain citation rate of 13.2 percent.

56.7%

CeraVe

56.7% appearance rate. Ranking second, CeraVe shows a confidence interval of 52.2 to 61 percent. The brand performs best on ChatGPT (80.8 percent) and Perplexity (74.2 percent). It appears on average at position 3 in the answers. Its owned-domain citation rate sits at 11.5 percent.

50.2%

Neutrogena

50.2% appearance rate. Neutrogena ranks third with a confidence interval of 45.8 to 54.7 percent. ChatGPT names the brand in 82.5 percent of answers. Gemini only includes it 20.8 percent of the time. The brand appears at an average position of 5 and earns a 3.4 percent owned-domain citation rate.

47.1%

Differin

47.1% appearance rate. Differin secures the fourth spot with a confidence interval of 42.7 to 51.6 percent. Perplexity includes the brand in 64.2 percent of answers. Gemini features it in just 25 percent. The brand appears at an early average position of 3.4 and generates a 3.8 percent owned-domain citation rate.

39.4%

Paula's Choice

39.4% appearance rate. Paula's Choice ranks fifth with a confidence interval of 35.1 to 43.8 percent. ChatGPT names the brand in 85 percent of answers. Claude entirely ignores the brand, returning a 0 percent appearance rate. The brand sits at an average position of 5 and achieves a 7.2 percent owned-domain citation rate.

31.7%

The Ordinary

31.7% appearance rate. The Ordinary holds the sixth rank with a confidence interval of 27.7 to 36 percent. ChatGPT and Perplexity feature the brand in over 48 percent of answers. Gemini and Claude include it in less than 14 percent. The brand appears at an average position of 6.3 with a 3 percent owned-domain citation rate.

28.3%

PanOxyl

28.3% appearance rate. PanOxyl ranks seventh with a confidence interval of 24.5 to 32.5 percent. Perplexity leads mentions at 40.8 percent. ChatGPT trails at 19.2 percent. The brand appears at an average position of 4.9 and secures a 2.1 percent owned-domain citation rate.

18.3%

Proactiv

18.3% appearance rate. Proactiv sits at rank eight with a confidence interval of 15.1 to 22 percent. Perplexity names it in 40 percent of answers. Claude features it just 0.8 percent of the time. The brand appears at an average position of 7.5 and earns a 1.9 percent owned-domain citation rate.

Where the engines disagree

The generative models return highly fractured results for specific brands. A brand dominating one engine often barely registers on another.

Each cell uses that engine's own answer count as its denominator, so engines can be compared row by row.

Appearance rate by engine

Perplexity (sonar-pro) rate

01
La Roche-Posay
79.2%
02
CeraVe
74.2%
03
Neutrogena
62.5%
04
Differin
64.2%
05
Paula’s Choice
61.7%
06
The Ordinary
48.3%
07
PanOxyl
40.8%
08
Proactiv
40%
09
Cetaphil
32.5%
10
The American Academy of Dermatology
0%
11
Murad
20.8%
12
Galderma
20.8%
BrandPerplexity (sonar-pro) rateChatGPT (OpenAI) rateGemini (Google) rateClaude (Anthropic) rate
La Roche-Posay79.2%88.3%20.8%51.7%
CeraVe74.2%80.8%26.7%45%
Neutrogena62.5%82.5%20.8%35%
Differin64.2%52.5%25%46.7%
Paula’s Choice61.7%85%10.8%0%
The Ordinary48.3%53.3%13.3%11.7%
PanOxyl40.8%19.2%21.7%31.7%
Proactiv40%27.5%5%0.8%
Cetaphil32.5%28.3%6.7%5.8%
The American Academy of Dermatology0%14.2%45.8%0%
Murad20.8%31.7%5%2.5%
Galderma20.8%25.8%8.3%0%

Paula's Choice demonstrates the sharpest divergence. ChatGPT names the brand in 85 percent of its 120 answers. Claude, drawing from the same prompt set, mentions Paula's Choice zero times. This gap reflects differing retrieval priorities and model weights. The American Academy of Dermatology shows a similar pattern. Gemini includes the organization in 45.8 percent of its 120 answers. Perplexity and Claude omit it entirely. Proactiv appears frequently on Perplexity (40 percent) but is nearly absent on Claude (0.8 percent). Brands cannot assume visibility on one platform translates to the others.

Demand clusters

Consumer intent dictates which brands the engines recommend. The clusters show distinct leadership patterns based on the type of acne query.

The same answers regrouped by the demand cluster each prompt was sampled for; cluster rates use that cluster's own answer count.

Leaders by demand cluster

Leader rate

01
Primary use case
62.5%
02
Price and value
87.5%
03
Everyday and mainstream choice
83.3%
04
Beginners and first purchase
75%
05
Where to buy
54.2%
06
Gifting and occasions
62.5%
07
Specific need or condition
70.8%
08
Comparison and evaluation
62.5%
09
Trust and recommendation
66.7%
10
Ownership and maker attribution
58.3%
11
Quality and premium tier
70.8%
12
Durability and longevity
54.2%
13
Specialist / advanced use
54.2%
14
General best-in-category
83.3%
15
Emerging and new entrants
43.8%
Demand clusterAnswersLeading brandLeader rateRunners-up
— Other demand —
Primary use case24CeraVe62.5%La Roche-Posay 58.3%, Differin 58.3%, Neutrogena 45.8%
Price and value24CeraVe87.5%Differin 75%, La Roche-Posay 70.8%, Neutrogena 70.8%
Everyday and mainstream choice24La Roche-Posay83.3%CeraVe 79.2%, Differin 79.2%, Neutrogena 70.8%
Beginners and first purchase24CeraVe75%La Roche-Posay 70.8%, Neutrogena 70.8%, Differin 70.8%
Where to buy24La Roche-Posay54.2%Differin 50%, CeraVe 45.8%, Neutrogena 41.7%
Gifting and occasions24La Roche-Posay62.5%CeraVe 54.2%, Neutrogena 50%, Paula’s Choice 41.7%
Specific need or condition24La Roche-Posay70.8%CeraVe 70.8%, Paula’s Choice 54.2%, Neutrogena 50%
Comparison and evaluation24CeraVe62.5%La Roche-Posay 58.3%, Neutrogena 50%, Differin 50%
Trust and recommendation24La Roche-Posay66.7%Differin 62.5%, CeraVe 54.2%, Neutrogena 54.2%
Ownership and maker attribution24Differin58.3%Neutrogena 54.2%, La Roche-Posay 50%, CeraVe 50%
Quality and premium tier24La Roche-Posay70.8%CeraVe 54.2%, Paula’s Choice 45.8%, Differin 41.7%
Durability and longevity24La Roche-Posay54.2%Differin 50%, CeraVe 45.8%, Neutrogena 37.5%
Specialist / advanced use24La Roche-Posay54.2%CeraVe 54.2%, Differin 50%, Paula’s Choice 45.8%
General best-in-category24CeraVe83.3%Neutrogena 83.3%, La Roche-Posay 79.2%, Differin 79.2%
Emerging and new entrants16Hero Cosmetics43.8%Paula’s Choice 25%, CeraVe 18.8%, Curology 18.8%
— Acne —
best salicylic acid cleanser for acne8La Roche-Posay100%CeraVe 100%, Neutrogena 87.5%, Paula’s Choice 50%
best products for acne prone skin8La Roche-Posay75%CeraVe 75%, Neutrogena 75%, The Ordinary 62.5%
best spot treatment for cystic acne8Mario Badescu62.5%La Roche-Posay 50%, The Ordinary 37.5%, The American Academy of Dermatology 37.5%
best benzoyl peroxide treatment8La Roche-Posay75%CeraVe 75%, Neutrogena 75%, PanOxyl 75%
best moisturizer for acne prone skin8La Roche-Posay75%CeraVe 75%, Neutrogena 75%, Vanicream 62.5%
best non-comedogenic sunscreen8La Roche-Posay50%CeraVe 50%, Neutrogena 50%, Paula’s Choice 12.5%
best face wash for oily acne prone skin8CeraVe75%Neutrogena 75%, La Roche-Posay 62.5%, PanOxyl 62.5%
best treatment for hormonal acne8Differin37.5%Galderma 37.5%, CeraVe 25%, The American Academy of Dermatology 25%
best products for teenage acne8La Roche-Posay62.5%CeraVe 62.5%, Neutrogena 62.5%, Differin 62.5%
best niacinamide serum for acne8La Roche-Posay62.5%Paula’s Choice 37.5%, COSRX 37.5%, The Inkey List 37.5%
best products for back acne (bacne)8Neutrogena62.5%CeraVe 50%, Paula’s Choice 50%, PanOxyl 50%
differin vs adapalene which is better8La Roche-Posay62.5%Differin 62.5%, Galderma 37.5%, Neutrogena 25%
best azelaic acid product for acne8The Ordinary62.5%La Roche-Posay 50%, Paula’s Choice 50%, The Inkey List 50%
best oil-free moisturizer for acne8Neutrogena75%CeraVe 50%, La Roche-Posay 37.5%, Paula’s Choice 25%
best products for maskne8CeraVe75%La Roche-Posay 62.5%, Differin 50%, Neutrogena 37.5%
best acne patches8COSRX100%Hero Cosmetics 100%, Cetaphil 25%, PanOxyl 12.5%

La Roche-Posay and CeraVe dominate general acne routine queries. Differin commands queries specific to retinoids and adapalene. PanOxyl performs best when prompts request benzoyl peroxide face washes. The engines match specific chemical actives to the brands most historically associated with them.

Citations and sources

Engines cite medical publications and news outlets far more often than brand domains.

Share of the 471 answers with retrieval evidence that cited a URL on the brand's own website.

Owned-domain citation rate

01
La Roche-Posay
13.2%
02
CeraVe
11.5%
03
Neutrogena
3.4%
04
Differin
3.8%
05
Paula’s Choice
7.2%
06
The Ordinary
3%
07
PanOxyl
2.1%
08
Proactiv
1.9%
09
Cetaphil
0.6%
10
The American Academy of Dermatology
23.8%
11
Murad
3.4%
12
Galderma
6.2%

Publishers cited as evidence, counted once per answer rather than once per link.

Most-cited publishers

Answer penetration

01
nbcnews.com
58.6%
02
dermapproved.com
30.6%
03
aad.org
23.8%
04
healthline.com
17.8%
05
vogue.com
17.6%
06
consumerhealthdigest.com
17%
07
whowhatwear.com
15.5%
08
topconsumerreviews.com
14.6%
09
dermatologist-reviews.com
14.4%
10
health.usnews.com
13.6%
11
northstardermatology.com
13.4%
12
mayoclinic.org
13.4%
PublisherAnswers citing itAnswer penetration
nbcnews.com276/47158.6%
dermapproved.com144/47130.6%
aad.org112/47123.8%
healthline.com84/47117.8%
vogue.com83/47117.6%
consumerhealthdigest.com80/47117%
whowhatwear.com73/47115.5%
topconsumerreviews.com69/47114.6%
dermatologist-reviews.com68/47114.4%
health.usnews.com64/47113.6%
northstardermatology.com63/47113.4%
mayoclinic.org63/47113.4%

NBC News serves as the primary source, cited in 58.6 percent of the 471 answers with retrieval evidence. DermApproved follows at 30.6 percent. The American Academy of Dermatology earns citations in 23.8 percent of answers. Brand domains struggle to compete with publishers for citations. La Roche-Posay leads owned citations at 13.2 percent, followed by CeraVe at 11.5 percent. Most brands secure fewer than 4 percent.

Who is winning and who is at risk

The data separates the category into clear winners and brands facing structural visibility risks.

Winners

  • La Roche-Posay: Achieves a 60 percent appearance rate and the highest owned-domain citation rate (13.2 percent) among product brands.
  • CeraVe: Secures a 56.7 percent appearance rate and appears early in answers with an average position of 3.
  • Differin: Maintains a 47.1 percent appearance rate and an average position of 3.4, showing strong associations with specific active ingredients.

At risk

  • Paula's Choice: Carries a 39.4 percent total appearance rate but falls to 0 percent on Claude, exposing the brand to single-engine dependency.
  • The Ordinary: Shows a 31.7 percent appearance rate but drops below 14 percent on both Gemini and Claude.
  • Proactiv: Records an 18.3 percent appearance rate and sits at an average position of 7.5, putting it low in the generated lists.

Structural findings

The top four brands command the majority of the visibility. La Roche-Posay, CeraVe, Neutrogena, and Differin all clear a 47 percent appearance rate. Below this tier, visibility drops quickly. The engines heavily prefer third-party publishers for retrieval evidence. NBC News and DermApproved provide the backbone for most generated answers. Brands generally fail to serve as their own reference sources.

What changed for this category

The measurement window reveals severe platform divergence. Engines relying on different retrieval tools produce completely different brand lists for identical prompts. Paula's Choice benefits massively from OpenAI's web search tool but gains zero traction through Anthropic's setup.

The GEO playbook

Brands in the acne segment need specific actions to improve AI visibility.

  • Audit single-engine failures: Paula's Choice shows 0 percent visibility on Claude. Brands must test prompts across all engines and optimize technical content for the specific crawlers ignoring them. Success is measured by appearance rate growth on the lagging engine.
  • Target publisher mentions: NBC News appears in 58.6 percent of cited answers. Brands need to secure independent reviews on the exact domains the models already trust. Success is measured by a rise in third-party citations referencing the brand.
  • Connect to active ingredients: Differin scores highly on retinoid queries. Brands should structure their site data to explicitly link product names to clinical actives like benzoyl peroxide. Success is measured by cluster appearance rates for ingredient-specific prompts.
  • Publish clinical data: The engines cite the AAD in 23.8 percent of answers. Brands lacking clinical authority fall behind. Publish open-access clinical trial results on the owned domain. Success is measured by an increase in owned-domain citation rate.
  • Improve answer position: Clean and Clear averages position 9.3. Brands buried at the bottom of lists must optimize for "best overall" attributes rather than niche use cases. Success is measured by a lower average first mention position.

What this means for brands in the category

AI visibility in the acne segment requires dermatological credibility. Generative engines do not recommend skincare products based purely on consumer popularity. They look for clinical backing, active ingredients, and endorsements from medical authorities. A brand that fails to connect its products to specific dermatological outcomes will lose visibility to competitors that do. The reliance on NBC News and DermApproved shows that engines outsource the evaluation step to trusted publishers. Brands must win those publishers to win the engines.

Methodology and integrity

This report analyzes generative engine outputs for the acne skincare category. The index tests consumer-intent prompts across multiple engines to determine which brands appear in the answers.

How this study was measured

  • Sampling frame fixed first: 60 prompts allocated across the demand clusters before anything was asked.
  • Same questions put to every engine: Perplexity (sonar-pro), ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), Claude (Anthropic), 2 trial(s) each.
  • 480 answers returned of 480 attempted, 471 with retrieval evidence.
  • Product lines rolled up to parent brands using a registry fixed before scoring.
  • Appearance rate reported with a 95% Wilson interval; citation metrics counted only on answers with evidence.

The data originates from 60 consumer-intent prompts measured twice per engine across Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. This generated 480 attempted answers, all of which returned successfully. The appearance rate denominator is 480 returned answers. The citation and source metrics use a denominator of 471 answers with retrieval evidence. The measurement captures the exact state of the generative outputs on the tested date.

Frequently asked questions

Which brand appears most often in acne AI searches?

La Roche-Posay leads the category with a 60 percent appearance rate across the tested engines. CeraVe follows closely at 56.7 percent.

Do the engines agree on which brands are best?

No. The engines diverge sharply on specific brands. ChatGPT includes Paula's Choice in 85 percent of its answers, while Claude includes it in none.

Where do the AI engines get their acne information?

The engines primarily cite publishers and medical associations. NBC News is cited in 58.6 percent of answers with retrieval evidence, and DermApproved appears in 30.6 percent.

Does the American Academy of Dermatology appear in results?

Yes. The AAD is named directly in 15 percent of all answers and serves as a cited source in 23.8 percent of the answers containing retrieval evidence.

Are brands cited as sources for their own products?

Rarely. La Roche-Posay leads the owned-domain citation rate at 13.2 percent. Most brands secure owned-domain citations in fewer than 4 percent of answers.

Charts and data tables

These are not brands in the category, so they are measured the same way but kept out of the brand leaderboard.

Aggregators and comparison sites, tracked separately

Appearance rate — top 3

1
Dermstore
1.7%
2
Sephora
0.4%
3
Ulta
0.2%
#EntityAppearance rateAnswers95% interval
1Dermstore1.7%8/4800.8%–3.3%
2Sephora0.4%2/4800.1%–1.5%
3Ulta0.2%1/4800%–1.2%

Methodology appendix

#PromptClusterShape
1best products for acne prone skinneed_1medium
2best salicylic acid cleanser for acneneed_2medium
3best benzoyl peroxide treatmentneed_3medium
4best spot treatment for cystic acneneed_4medium
5best moisturizer for acne prone skinneed_5medium
6best non-comedogenic sunscreenneed_6medium
7best face wash for oily acne prone skinneed_7medium
8best treatment for hormonal acneneed_8medium
9best products for teenage acneneed_9medium
10best niacinamide serum for acneneed_10medium
11best products for back acne (bacne)need_11medium
12best azelaic acid product for acneneed_12medium
13differin vs adapalene which is betterneed_13medium
14best oil-free moisturizer for acneneed_14medium
15best products for maskneneed_15medium
16best acne patchesneed_16medium
17best acne treatmentsgeneral_bestshort
18best acne skincare brandsgeneral_bestshort
19Which acne treatment brands are best overall for clearing breakouts?general_bestlong
20everyday acne skincareeverydayshort
21best daily acne routine brandseverydaymedium
22Which acne brands work well for an affordable everyday routine?everydaylong
23affordable acne treatment brandsvalue_priceshort
24best budget acne skincarevalue_priceshort
25Which acne treatment brands offer the best value without sacrificing effective ingredients?value_pricelong
26best treatments for breakoutsuse_caseshort
27brands for acne and clogged poresuse_casemedium
28Which skincare brands are most effective for treating recurring facial acne breakouts?use_caselong
29acne products for beginnersbeginnershort
30best first acne routinebeginnershort
31Which acne skincare brands are easiest for a beginner to start using safely?beginnerlong
32where to buy acne treatmentsretailmedium
33best stores for acne skincareretailmedium
34Which acne treatment brands are safest to buy from authorized retailers rather than marketplaces?retaillong
35acne skincare gift setsgiftingshort
36best acne gifts for teensgiftingmedium
37Which acne skincare brands make thoughtful, beginner-friendly gifts for someone with breakouts?giftinglong
38acne products for sensitive skinspecific_needmedium
39best acne brands for oily skinspecific_needmedium
40Which acne treatment brands are best for adult acne with sensitive, easily irritated skin?specific_needlong
41best acne brand comparisoncomparisonshort
42compare leading acne treatment brandscomparisonmedium
43Which acne skincare brands perform best for salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and adapalene options?comparisonlong
44most trusted acne skincare brandstrustmedium
45dermatologist recommended acne brandstrustmedium
46Which acne treatment brands have the strongest dermatologist support and clinical evidence?trustlong
47who makes acne treatment brandsownershipmedium
48acne brands and parent companiesownershipmedium
49Which leading acne skincare brands are made by established pharmaceutical or skincare companies?ownershiplong
50highest quality acne treatmentspremium_qualityshort
51premium clinical acne skincare brandspremium_qualitymedium
52Which acne treatment brands offer the highest-quality formulas and strongest ingredient transparency?premium_qualitylong
53long lasting acne productsdurabilityshort
54acne treatments that last longestdurabilitymedium
55Which acne skincare brands offer products that stay stable and effective through regular use?durabilitylong
56advanced acne treatment brandsspecialistshort
57best clinical acne active brandsspecialistmedium
58Which acne brands are best for building an advanced routine around proven OTC active ingredients?specialistlong
59new acne treatment brandsemergingshort
60Which newer acne skincare brands and product approaches are gaining attention from dermatology-focused buyers?emerginglong

More from the Skincare AI Visibility Index

The full cross-concern ranking is in the Skincare AI Visibility Index 2026. The other concern reports:

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Brands acting on these findings can work with our skincare PR team, our beauty PR practice, our beauty marketing agency group and our dermatology and aesthetics marketing specialists.

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