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LIFESTYLE

Cannabis Index 2.0: Nine Brands Too Close to Call

Published July 1, 2026 · Updated November 4, 2026

Curaleaf was named most often, but eight other brands are within its margin. Curaleaf: 70/288 (24.3%; 95% interval 19.7–29.6%). Joy Organics: 57/288 (19.8%; 95% interval 15.6–24.8%). Their 95% intervals overlap. Charlotte's Web (56/288), Medterra (55/288), Leafly (54/288), Lazarus Naturals (51/288), Trulieve (49/288), Cornbread Hemp (47/288) and Weedmaps (45/288) are also within the margin.

288

AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity

24.3%

of answers named Curaleaf, the most-named (70 of 288)

37

tracked brands named at least once (of 43)

92%

of Google searches showed an AI Overview (46 of 50)

Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published July 1, 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

70/288 (24.3%)

Curaleaf appeared in 70 of 288 four-engine answers (CI 19.7–29.6%). Joy Organics appeared in 57 of 288 (19.8%, CI 15.6–24.8%). The intervals overlap, so the two cannot be separated.
02

39/288 (13.5%)

Curaleaf was the first brand named in 39 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked brand. Its average first position was 2.1.
03

23/72 (31.9%)

ChatGPT named Leafly in 23 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 9 to 12 of 72.
04

20/72 (27.8%)

ChatGPT named Weedmaps in 20 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 6 to 10 of 72.
05

37/285 (13%)

Leafly's own domains were cited in 37 of 285 grounded answers, more than any other tracked brand. Weedmaps followed at 20 of 285. 8 of 43 tracked brands had 0 of 285.
06

46/50 (92%)

Google AI Overviews appeared on 46 of 50 searches (CI 81.2–96.8%). On the other 4, no overview was shown.
07

9/46 (19.6%)

Joy Organics was the brand named most often in AI Overviews, at 9 of 46, followed by Cornbread Hemp at 9 of 46 (19.6%). In the four-engine set, Joy Organics was named in 57 of 288 answers (19.8%).
08

52/285 (18.2%)

healthline.com was cited in 52 of 285 grounded four-engine answers, with 95 of 2,351 citations (4%). forbes.com came second with 74 citations in 51 answers (17.9%).

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

Curaleaf
24.3%
Joy Organics
19.8%
Charlotte's Web
19.4%
Medterra
19.1%
Leafly
18.8%
Lazarus Naturals
17.7%
Trulieve
17.0%
Cornbread Hemp
16.3%
Weedmaps
15.6%
Green Thumb Industries
14.2%
Wyld
14.2%
STIIIZY
13.9%
Kiva Confections
12.8%
CBDistillery
12.5%
Cann
12.5%
#NameNamed inAppearance rate95% interval
1Curaleaf70/28824.3%19.7–29.6%
2Joy Organics57/28819.8%15.6–24.8%
3Charlotte's Web56/28819.4%15.3–24.4%
4Medterra55/28819.1%15.0–24.0%
5Leafly54/28818.8%14.7–23.7%
6Lazarus Naturals51/28817.7%13.7–22.5%
7Trulieve49/28817.0%13.1–21.8%
8Cornbread Hemp47/28816.3%12.5–21.0%
9Weedmaps45/28815.6%11.9–20.3%
10Green Thumb Industries41/28814.2%10.7–18.7%
11Wyld41/28814.2%10.7–18.7%
12STIIIZY40/28813.9%10.4–18.4%
13Kiva Confections37/28812.8%9.5–17.2%
14CBDistillery36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%
15Cann36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%

The full list

Own-domain citation is the share of 285 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,351 citations.

#BrandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
1Curaleaf70/28824.3%19.7–29.6%2.11.4% (4/285)0.2%
2Joy Organics57/28819.8%15.6–24.8%26.3% (18/285)0.9%
3Charlotte's Web56/28819.4%15.3–24.4%2.24.2% (12/285)0.5%
4Medterra55/28819.1%15–24%2.82.1% (6/285)0.3%
5Leafly54/28818.8%14.7–23.7%2.513% (37/285)1.7%
6Lazarus Naturals51/28817.7%13.7–22.5%2.93.5% (10/285)0.4%
7Trulieve49/28817%13.1–21.8%3.22.5% (7/285)0.3%
8Cornbread Hemp47/28816.3%12.5–21%2.43.5% (10/285)0.4%
9Weedmaps45/28815.6%11.9–20.3%27% (20/285)0.9%
10Green Thumb Industries41/28814.2%10.7–18.7%3.31.1% (3/285)0.1%
11Wyld41/28814.2%10.7–18.7%2.11.4% (4/285)0.2%
12STIIIZY40/28813.9%10.4–18.4%2.32.8% (8/285)0.3%
13Kiva Confections37/28812.8%9.5–17.2%1.62.5% (7/285)0.3%
14CBDistillery36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%3.43.2% (9/285)0.4%
15Cann36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%2.10.4% (1/285)0%
16Cresco Labs36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%4.63.2% (9/285)0.4%
17PAX36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%1.82.1% (6/285)0.3%
18Eaze27/2889.4%6.5–13.3%2.32.5% (7/285)0.5%
19Verano Holdings23/2888%5.4–11.7%51.1% (3/285)0.1%
20Dutchie22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%4.41.8% (5/285)0.2%
21Wana Brands22/2887.6%5.1–11.3%2.92.5% (7/285)0.3%
22The Cannabist Company21/2887.3%4.8–10.9%7.10% (0/285)0%
23RYTHM19/2886.6%4.3–10.1%2.90% (0/285)0%
24Cookies17/2885.9%3.7–9.2%4.71.4% (4/285)0.2%
25Ascend Wellness Holdings14/2884.9%2.9–8%7.50.4% (1/285)0%
26Jane Technologies14/2884.9%2.9–8%3.90.4% (1/285)0%
27Sunnyside13/2884.5%2.7–7.6%63.2% (9/285)0.4%
28Cresco12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%3.93.2% (9/285)0.4%

The full list (continued)

#BrandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
29Verano12/2884.2%2.4–7.1%6.11.1% (3/285)0.1%
30TerrAscend9/2883.1%1.7–5.8%7.80% (0/285)0%
31Headset7/2882.4%1.2–4.9%2.42.5% (7/285)0.4%
32Jushi Holdings6/2882.1%1–4.5%6.31.1% (3/285)0.1%
33Mindy's Edibles6/2882.1%1–4.5%4.33.2% (9/285)0.4%
34Dogwalkers4/2881.4%0.5–3.5%4.80% (0/285)0%
35Savvy4/2881.4%0.5–3.5%7.31.1% (3/285)0.1%
36Beboe3/2881%0.4–3%5.30% (0/285)0%
37Encore1/2880.3%0.1–1.9%41.1% (3/285)0.1%
38Flowhub0/2880%0–1.3%–0.4% (1/285)0%
39MJBizDaily0/2880%0–1.3%–3.2% (9/285)0.4%
40Marijuana Moment0/2880%0–1.3%–2.8% (8/285)0.3%
41NORML0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/285)0%
42National Cannabis Industry Association0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/285)0%
43Select0/2880%0–1.3%–0% (0/285)0%

The top eight, side by side

#NameAppearance rateAnswers and intervalOther measures
1Curaleaf24.3%70/288 answers · 95% CI 19.7–29.6%first-mention position: 2.1; owned-domain citation (4/285): 1.4%; citation share: 0.2%
2Joy Organics19.8%57/288 answers · 95% CI 15.6–24.8%first-mention position: 2; owned-domain citation (18/285): 6.3%; citation share: 0.9%
3Charlotte's Web19.4%56/288 answers · 95% CI 15.3–24.4%first-mention position: 2.2; owned-domain citation (12/285): 4.2%; citation share: 0.5%
4Medterra19.1%55/288 answers · 95% CI 15–24%first-mention position: 2.8; owned-domain citation (6/285): 2.1%; citation share: 0.3%
5Leafly18.8%54/288 answers · 95% CI 14.7–23.7%first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (37/285): 13%; citation share: 1.7%
6Lazarus Naturals17.7%51/288 answers · 95% CI 13.7–22.5%first-mention position: 2.9; owned-domain citation (10/285): 3.5%; citation share: 0.4%
7Trulieve17.0%49/288 answers · 95% CI 13.1–21.8%first-mention position: 3.2; owned-domain citation (7/285): 2.5%; citation share: 0.3%
8Cornbread Hemp16.3%47/288 answers · 95% CI 12.5–21%first-mention position: 2.4; owned-domain citation (10/285): 3.5%; citation share: 0.4%

ChatGPT named Leafly in 23 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 9 to 12 of 72. ChatGPT named Weedmaps in 20 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 6 to 10 of 72.

ChatGPT

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Same questions, different answers

Leafly
31.9%
Weedmaps
27.8%
Curaleaf
22.2%
Charlotte's Web
22.2%
CBDistillery
20.8%
Joy Organics
19.4%

Claude

72 asked · 72 returned · 69 grounded

Cornbread Hemp
29.2%
Charlotte's Web
27.8%
Joy Organics
23.6%
Curaleaf
22.2%
Medterra
22.2%
Lazarus Naturals
22.2%

Gemini

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Curaleaf
27.8%
Medterra
23.6%
Joy Organics
22.2%
Trulieve
19.4%
Green Thumb Industries
19.4%
Charlotte's Web
18.1%

Perplexity

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Curaleaf
25.0%
Trulieve
16.7%
Wyld
16.7%
Lazarus Naturals
15.3%
Cann
15.3%
Joy Organics
13.9%

Google AI Overviews were captured through 50 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 46 = 334 answers.

The fifth engine

92%

Trigger rate: 46 of 50 searches

Google AI Overviews appeared on 46 of 50 searches (92%, CI 81.2–96.8%). The other 4 searches showed no overview. Within the 46 overviews, Joy Organics was named in 9 (19.6%), Cornbread Hemp was named in 9 (19.6%), Lazarus Naturals was named in 8 (17.4%), Curaleaf was named in 7 (15.2%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 35 citations and an appearance in 19 of 46 overviews (Google Shopping links not counted).

Five-engine rankNameFive-engine rateFour-engine rank
1Curaleaf23.1%1
2Joy Organics19.8%2
3Medterra18.3%4
4Leafly18.3%5
5Charlotte's Web18.0%3
6Lazarus Naturals17.7%6
7Trulieve16.8%7
8Cornbread Hemp16.8%8
9Weedmaps15.6%9
10Green Thumb Industries14.4%10

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 answersCuraleaf 100.0%Green Thumb Industries 100.0%; Trulieve 100.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q02 · 12 answersWyld 100.0%Cann 75.0%; Kiva Confections 75.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q03 · 12 answersWyld 100.0%Kiva Confections 100.0%; Wana Brands 83.3%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q04 · 12 answersSTIIIZY 100.0%PAX 91.7%; Leafly 25.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q05 · 12 answersCann 75.0%Leafly 66.7%; Cornbread Hemp 25.0%AI Overview shown on 1 of 3 searches
Q06 · 12 answersLazarus Naturals 91.7%Joy Organics 83.3%; Medterra 75.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches

The four engines produced 2,351 citations in total. healthline.com was cited most often, with 95 citations (4%) across 52 answers. Next came forbes.com (74), sec.gov (47), leafly.com (38), medicalnewstoday.com (38), en.wikipedia.org (36).

Four AI engines · share of 285 grounded answers

Most-cited domains

healthline.com
18.2%
forbes.com
17.9%
leafly.com
12.6%
medicalnewstoday.com
12.3%
en.wikipedia.org
9.1%
cbd.market
8.1%
weedmaps.com
7.0%
bdsa.com
6.7%
planetofthevapes.com
6.3%
joyorganics.com
6.3%

Google AI Overviews · share of 46 overviews

youtube.com
41.3%
goodrx.com
19.6%
healthline.com
17.4%
cbd.market
13.0%
medicalnewstoday.com
13.0%
forbes.com
10.9%
reddit.com
10.9%
investingnews.com
8.7%
joyorganics.com
8.7%
vice.com
8.7%

Citation share by source type

Share of all citations by the type of site cited.

Source typeFour AI engines (of 2,351 citations)Google AI Overviews (of 190 citations)
Other / unclassified1,383 (58.8%)57 (30%)
Company / brand sites298 (12.7%)25 (13.2%)
General news / business press188 (8%)14 (7.4%)
Health publishers147 (6.3%)18 (9.5%)
Official / government122 (5.2%)3 (1.6%)
Research / data providers51 (2.2%)8 (4.2%)
Reference50 (2.1%)4 (2.1%)
Community / social42 (1.8%)52 (27.4%)
Review / comparison publishers39 (1.7%)6 (3.2%)
Trade / specialist press23 (1%)2 (1.1%)
Directories / rankings5 (0.2%)1 (0.5%)
Institutions / trade bodies3 (0.1%)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.

StepWhat this study measured
Put your facts on your own domain.Leafly's own domains were cited in 13.0% of grounded answers, Weedmaps' in 7.0% and Joy Organics' in 6.3%.
Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite.The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were healthline.com (in 18.2% of grounded answers), forbes.com (17.9%), medicalnewstoday.com (12.3%), en.wikipedia.org (9.1%) and cbd.market (8.1%). General news and business press supplied 8.0% of citations and health publishers 6.3%.
Check each engine separately.Claude named Cornbread Hemp in 29.2% of answers against 5.6% on ChatGPT. ChatGPT named Weedmaps in 27.8% of answers against 8.3% on Perplexity.
Watch names outside the tracked list.Extract Labs (24 answers), Soul CBD (19 answers), NuLeaf Naturals (19 answers), Cycling Frog (18 answers), CBDfx (18 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?

Curaleaf, named in 70 of 288 four-engine answers (24.3%, CI 19.7–29.6%). Joy Organics was second at 57 of 288 (19.8%). The intervals overlap, so the two cannot be separated statistically.

Which brand is named first most often?

Curaleaf was the first brand named in 39 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 46 of 50 searches (92%, CI 81.2–96.8%). Within those 46 overviews, Joy Organics was named most often, in 9 (19.6%).

Which sources do the engines cite?

Across 2,351 four-engine citations, healthline.com was cited most (95 citations, in 52 of 285 grounded answers), followed by forbes.com (74 citations).

Do the four engines agree?

Only in part. ChatGPT named Leafly in 23 of 72 answers, against 9 to 12 of 72 on the other engines. ChatGPT named Weedmaps in 20 of 72 answers, against 6 to 10 of 72 on the other engines.

How this study was measured

24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 50 Google searches · 46 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; Cresco Labs and Verano Holdings alone do not count as the Cresco and Verano product brands. 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-5-5727269
Geminigemini-3.6-flash727272
Perplexitysonar-pro727272
Google AI OverviewsDataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced)5046 shown46

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 43 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 Extract Labs (24 answers), Soul CBD (19 answers), NuLeaf Naturals (19 answers), Cycling Frog (18 answers), CBDfx (18 answers).
  • 338 of 360 planned results were returned. 22 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
  • 50 successful Google searches: 46 overviews shown; 4 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
  • 3 chat answers had no search sources and are left out of the citation figures.
  • 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.
  • Schwazze is not tracked: Vireo Growth bought selected Schwazze assets in March 2026. The Cannabist Company (formerly Columbia Care) is tracked under its current name; it disclosed a restructuring in a 2026 filing. Sunnyside, Mindy's Edibles, Savvy, Encore and Cresco share their parent companies' websites, so their own-site figures include the parent site.
  • One Core question names Curaleaf: "Curaleaf vs Trulieve: which is the bigger operator?" Without it, Curaleaf is named in 58 of 276 answers and named first in 30, level with Joy Organics (57).
  • Google Shopping links and Google redirect URLs are not counted as cited sources in the AI Overview figures; original URLs remain in the evidence.
  • This index counts how often brands are named in AI answers. It makes no legal, medical or health claim, does not describe any state’s law, and being named is not an endorsement. It is intended for adult readers.
  • 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 are the biggest cannabis companies in the US?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
02What are the best cannabis brands for beginners?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
03What are the best cannabis edibles brands?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
04What is the best cannabis vape brand?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
05What is the best cannabis beverage brand?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
06What is the best CBD oil?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
07What is the best CBD for sleep?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
08What is the best THC-free CBD brand?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
09Curaleaf vs Trulieve: which is the bigger operator?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
10What is the best app to find a cannabis dispensary?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
11What is the best dry herb vaporizer?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
12What is the difference between cannabis and CBD?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexCore question
13Which cannabis companies operate dispensaries across multiple US states?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
14Which cannabis flower brands are distributed in the United States?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
15Which cannabis edible brands publish serving-size and THC information?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
16Which cannabis vape brands publish product testing results?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
17Which cannabis beverage brands offer low-dose products?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
18Which CBD oil brands publish independent laboratory reports?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
19Which CBD gummy brands offer THC-free products?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
20Which dispensary finder platforms list licensed US retailers?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
21Which cannabis delivery platforms operate in legal US markets?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
22Which dry herb vaporizer brands publish device specifications?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
23Which cannabis brands sell both flower and edible products?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question
24Which CBD brands publish information about ingredient sourcing?Cannabis AI Visibility IndexAdded question

About 5W

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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