5W today released its Quantum Computing AI Visibility Index 2026, documenting the widest gap between technology leadership and AI citation authority of any category the firm has measured.
The Index analyzed 3,600 quantum-related prompts across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews between February and July 2026.
The findings:
71% of enterprise quantum evaluation prompts cited a hyperscaler — IBM, Google, or Microsoft — before naming any pure-play quantum company. Less than 9% of observed citations came from pure-play company domains. IBM was cited 4.3× more frequently than IonQ — the largest pure-play by revenue — in head-to-head enterprise queries.
"The pure-plays built the technology. The hyperscalers built the answer," said Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W. "When a buyer asks the chatbox which quantum company to work with, the answer is IBM. That gap is worth $50 billion."
Consulting Firms Dominate the Quantum Citation Stack at 30–35% of Observed Citations
The Index identifies a six-layer citation stack structurally different from every consumer category 5W has measured. Consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Gartner) dominate at 30–35% of observed citations — more than double their share in consumer categories. Tech publications account for 20–25%. Pure-play quantum company domains account for less than 9%.
Cloudflare Earns Higher PQC Citation Frequency Than Any Quantum Hardware Company
Among the study's most striking findings: Cloudflare, a CDN company, earns higher citation frequency in post-quantum cybersecurity queries than any quantum hardware company. The quantum hardware industry — whose technology creates the encryption threat — earns zero citation share in the $2.84 billion PQC answer surface.
The IonQ Paradox: $280 Million in Revenue, Invisible in the Enterprise Answer
IonQ — the largest pure-play quantum company by revenue with $280–290 million in 2026 guidance and a market cap exceeding $20 billion — is cited 4.3× less than IBM in enterprise evaluation queries. IonQ's most detailed technology documentation lives inside investor presentations and earnings transcripts attributed to financial publishers, not to ionq.com. Technology leadership does not translate to AI visibility leadership.
5W is now offering a Quantum Computing Category AI Visibility Audit for quantum companies, enterprise technology investors, and cybersecurity firms benchmarking citation share against the Index's top 25.
Read the full Index: Quantum Computing AI Visibility Index 2026
