Where do running shoe AI engines disagree?
Engine disagreement is material in this category. Perplexity returned 61 answers, ChatGPT returned 59, and Gemini and Claude each returned 60. Perplexity and ChatGPT repeatedly named the top six brands at high rates, while Gemini and Claude produced different patterns for several brands.
Which engine names which brand
Appearance rate per engine. Darker means the engine named that brand in a larger share of its own answers.
| Brand | Perplexity (sonar-pro) | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Gemini (Google) | Claude (Anthropic) |
|---|
| ASICS Corporation | 95.1% | 94.9% | 68.3% | 73.3% |
| New Balance | 95.1% | 94.9% | 70% | 31.7% |
| Brooks | 95.1% | 96.6% | 61.7% | 33.3% |
| Nike, Inc | 88.5% | 94.9% | 65% | 38.3% |
| Hoka | 90.2% | 93.2% | 58.3% | 38.3% |
| Saucony | 95.1% | 93.2% | 60% | 25% |
| On | 59% | 74.6% | 51.7% | 3.3% |
| Puma | 75.4% | 22% | 45% | 16.7% |
| Mizuno Corporation | 52.5% | 52.5% | 23.3% | 3.3% |
| Adidas | 45.9% | 13.6% | 28.3% | 16.7% |
| Altra | 37.7% | 40.7% | 11.7% | 10% |
| RunRepeat | 0% | 3.4% | 48.3% | 0% |
Each cell uses that engine's own answer count as the denominator. On shows the widest spread between engines in this study. Engines differ in model and retrieval tool, so a gap can reflect system design as much as brand visibility.
Claude named On in 2 of 60 answers, or 3.3%, compared with ChatGPT's 44 of 59, or 74.6%. Claude also named Mizuno Corporation in 2 of 60 answers, or 3.3%, compared with 32 of 61 for Perplexity and 31 of 59 for ChatGPT. New Balance appeared in 19 of Claude's 60 answers, or 31.7%, versus 58 of Perplexity's 61 and 56 of ChatGPT's 59.
Perplexity favored Puma and Adidas more than ChatGPT did. Puma appeared in 46 of Perplexity's 61 answers, or 75.4%, and 13 of ChatGPT's 59, or 22%. Adidas appeared in 28 of 61 Perplexity answers, or 45.9%, and 8 of 59 ChatGPT answers, or 13.6%. Gemini is distinct for RunRepeat: it named RunRepeat in 29 of 60 answers, or 48.3%, while Perplexity and Claude named it in none of their returned answers.
Several smaller entities were concentrated in Gemini. PUMAGRIP, Outside Magazine, Believe in the Run, Lightstrike Pro, PWRRUN PB, CloudTec®, and Marathon Handbook were each named by Gemini, while the data shows no names for several of them in Perplexity, ChatGPT, or Claude. Engine gaps can reflect system design because the engines use different models and retrieval tools. They do not establish that one engine has found a universally better brand answer.
Which brands lead running shoe demand clusters?
The demand-cluster view identifies which brands lead the measured question types for running shoes, marathon running shoes, and running shoes for flat feet. It separates broad category presence from question-specific presence.
Where each brand wins
The same answers regrouped by the demand cluster each prompt was sampled for.
| Demand cluster | Answers | Most-named brands in that cluster |
|---|
| Subcategory: running shoes for marathon | 24 | ASICS Corporation 95.8% · Nike, Inc 95.8% · Saucony 91.7% · New Balance 83.3% · Hoka 75% |
| Subcategory: running shoes for flat feet | 24 | ASICS Corporation 79.2% · Brooks 79.2% · New Balance 70.8% · Hoka 70.8% · Saucony 70.8% |
| Subcategory: running shoes | 24 | ASICS Corporation 100% · Nike, Inc 83.3% · Hoka 83.3% · Saucony 83.3% · New Balance 79.2% |
| Primary use case | 24 | ASICS Corporation 95.8% · New Balance 91.7% · Nike, Inc 91.7% · Brooks 87.5% · Hoka 83.3% |
| General best-in-category | 24 | ASICS Corporation 100% · Nike, Inc 87.5% · Hoka 87.5% · Brooks 83.3% · New Balance 79.2% |
| Specific need or condition | 23 | Altra 87% · New Balance 82.6% · Hoka 82.6% · Topo Athletic 82.6% · Brooks 78.3% |
| Quality and premium tier | 17 | ASICS Corporation 76.5% · New Balance 76.5% · Nike, Inc 70.6% · Brooks 64.7% · Saucony 64.7% |
| Beginners and first purchase | 16 | ASICS Corporation 93.8% · Nike, Inc 87.5% · Brooks 81.3% · Hoka 75% · Saucony 75% |
| Price and value | 16 | ASICS Corporation 81.3% · New Balance 75% · Brooks 62.5% · Nike, Inc 62.5% · Saucony 56.3% |
| Comparison and evaluation | 8 | ASICS Corporation 87.5% · Hoka 87.5% · New Balance 75% · Brooks 75% · Nike, Inc 75% |
| Durability and longevity | 8 | ASICS Corporation 87.5% · Brooks 75% · New Balance 62.5% · Nike, Inc 62.5% · Hoka 62.5% |
| Specialist / advanced use | 8 | ASICS Corporation 100% · Nike, Inc 100% · New Balance 75% · Puma 75% · Brooks 62.5% |
| Emerging and new entrants | 8 | On 37.5% · Topo Athletic 37.5% · Skechers 25% · Hoka 12.5% · Puma 12.5% |
| Where to buy | 8 | Fleet Feet 75% · ASICS Corporation 37.5% · Brooks 37.5% · New Balance 25% · Nike, Inc 25% |
| Trust and recommendation | 8 | ASICS Corporation 75% · Nike, Inc 75% · Saucony 62.5% · New Balance 50% · Brooks 50% |
Cluster rates use that cluster's own answer count as the denominator, so they are not comparable to the overall leaderboard rate. The largest cluster in this study is Subcategory: running shoes for marathon with 24 answers.
The cluster results should guide page and evidence priorities by question type, rather than treating one overall appearance rate as a complete category diagnosis. The prompt set covers only the listed subcategories, so it does not measure other running shoe needs.
Where do running shoe AI answers get their sources?
RunRepeat had the highest owned-domain citation rate among the listed eligible brands. Its domain was cited in 70.3% of 239 answers with retrieval evidence. Fleet Feet was cited in 42.7%, Outside Magazine in 43.1%, and Marathon Handbook in 30.1%.
Share of answers with retrieval evidence that cited a URL on the brand's own domain.
