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.
LIFESTYLE
Cannabis Index 2.0: Nine Brands Too Close to Call
Published July 1, 2026 · Updated November 4, 2026
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
of answers named Curaleaf, the most-named (70 of 288)
tracked brands named at least once (of 43)
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
70/288 (24.3%)
39/288 (13.5%)
23/72 (31.9%)
20/72 (27.8%)
37/285 (13%)
46/50 (92%)
9/46 (19.6%)
52/285 (18.2%)
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
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curaleaf | 70/288 | 24.3% | 19.7–29.6% |
| 2 | Joy Organics | 57/288 | 19.8% | 15.6–24.8% |
| 3 | Charlotte's Web | 56/288 | 19.4% | 15.3–24.4% |
| 4 | Medterra | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15.0–24.0% |
| 5 | Leafly | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% |
| 6 | Lazarus Naturals | 51/288 | 17.7% | 13.7–22.5% |
| 7 | Trulieve | 49/288 | 17.0% | 13.1–21.8% |
| 8 | Cornbread Hemp | 47/288 | 16.3% | 12.5–21.0% |
| 9 | Weedmaps | 45/288 | 15.6% | 11.9–20.3% |
| 10 | Green Thumb Industries | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% |
| 11 | Wyld | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% |
| 12 | STIIIZY | 40/288 | 13.9% | 10.4–18.4% |
| 13 | Kiva Confections | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
| 14 | CBDistillery | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% |
| 15 | Cann | 36/288 | 12.5% | 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.
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curaleaf | 70/288 | 24.3% | 19.7–29.6% | 2.1 | 1.4% (4/285) | 0.2% |
| 2 | Joy Organics | 57/288 | 19.8% | 15.6–24.8% | 2 | 6.3% (18/285) | 0.9% |
| 3 | Charlotte's Web | 56/288 | 19.4% | 15.3–24.4% | 2.2 | 4.2% (12/285) | 0.5% |
| 4 | Medterra | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15–24% | 2.8 | 2.1% (6/285) | 0.3% |
| 5 | Leafly | 54/288 | 18.8% | 14.7–23.7% | 2.5 | 13% (37/285) | 1.7% |
| 6 | Lazarus Naturals | 51/288 | 17.7% | 13.7–22.5% | 2.9 | 3.5% (10/285) | 0.4% |
| 7 | Trulieve | 49/288 | 17% | 13.1–21.8% | 3.2 | 2.5% (7/285) | 0.3% |
| 8 | Cornbread Hemp | 47/288 | 16.3% | 12.5–21% | 2.4 | 3.5% (10/285) | 0.4% |
| 9 | Weedmaps | 45/288 | 15.6% | 11.9–20.3% | 2 | 7% (20/285) | 0.9% |
| 10 | Green Thumb Industries | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% | 3.3 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 11 | Wyld | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% | 2.1 | 1.4% (4/285) | 0.2% |
| 12 | STIIIZY | 40/288 | 13.9% | 10.4–18.4% | 2.3 | 2.8% (8/285) | 0.3% |
| 13 | Kiva Confections | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 1.6 | 2.5% (7/285) | 0.3% |
| 14 | CBDistillery | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 3.4 | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
| 15 | Cann | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 2.1 | 0.4% (1/285) | 0% |
| 16 | Cresco Labs | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 4.6 | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
| 17 | PAX | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 1.8 | 2.1% (6/285) | 0.3% |
| 18 | Eaze | 27/288 | 9.4% | 6.5–13.3% | 2.3 | 2.5% (7/285) | 0.5% |
| 19 | Verano Holdings | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 5 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 20 | Dutchie | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% | 4.4 | 1.8% (5/285) | 0.2% |
| 21 | Wana Brands | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% | 2.9 | 2.5% (7/285) | 0.3% |
| 22 | The Cannabist Company | 21/288 | 7.3% | 4.8–10.9% | 7.1 | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 23 | RYTHM | 19/288 | 6.6% | 4.3–10.1% | 2.9 | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 24 | Cookies | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 4.7 | 1.4% (4/285) | 0.2% |
| 25 | Ascend Wellness Holdings | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 7.5 | 0.4% (1/285) | 0% |
| 26 | Jane Technologies | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 3.9 | 0.4% (1/285) | 0% |
| 27 | Sunnyside | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 6 | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
| 28 | Cresco | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 3.9 | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
The full list (continued)
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Verano | 12/288 | 4.2% | 2.4–7.1% | 6.1 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 30 | TerrAscend | 9/288 | 3.1% | 1.7–5.8% | 7.8 | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 31 | Headset | 7/288 | 2.4% | 1.2–4.9% | 2.4 | 2.5% (7/285) | 0.4% |
| 32 | Jushi Holdings | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 6.3 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 33 | Mindy's Edibles | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 4.3 | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
| 34 | Dogwalkers | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 4.8 | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 35 | Savvy | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 7.3 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 36 | Beboe | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 5.3 | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 37 | Encore | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 4 | 1.1% (3/285) | 0.1% |
| 38 | Flowhub | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0.4% (1/285) | 0% |
| 39 | MJBizDaily | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 3.2% (9/285) | 0.4% |
| 40 | Marijuana Moment | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 2.8% (8/285) | 0.3% |
| 41 | NORML | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 42 | National Cannabis Industry Association | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
| 43 | Select | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/285) | 0% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curaleaf | 24.3% | 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% |
| 2 | Joy Organics | 19.8% | 57/288 answers · 95% CI 15.6–24.8% | first-mention position: 2; owned-domain citation (18/285): 6.3%; citation share: 0.9% |
| 3 | Charlotte's Web | 19.4% | 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% |
| 4 | Medterra | 19.1% | 55/288 answers · 95% CI 15–24% | first-mention position: 2.8; owned-domain citation (6/285): 2.1%; citation share: 0.3% |
| 5 | Leafly | 18.8% | 54/288 answers · 95% CI 14.7–23.7% | first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (37/285): 13%; citation share: 1.7% |
| 6 | Lazarus Naturals | 17.7% | 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% |
| 7 | Trulieve | 17.0% | 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% |
| 8 | Cornbread Hemp | 16.3% | 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
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 69 grounded
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
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
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 rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curaleaf | 23.1% | 1 |
| 2 | Joy Organics | 19.8% | 2 |
| 3 | Medterra | 18.3% | 4 |
| 4 | Leafly | 18.3% | 5 |
| 5 | Charlotte's Web | 18.0% | 3 |
| 6 | Lazarus Naturals | 17.7% | 6 |
| 7 | Trulieve | 16.8% | 7 |
| 8 | Cornbread Hemp | 16.8% | 8 |
| 9 | Weedmaps | 15.6% | 9 |
| 10 | Green Thumb Industries | 14.4% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Curaleaf 100.0% | Green Thumb Industries 100.0%; Trulieve 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Wyld 100.0% | Cann 75.0%; Kiva Confections 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | Wyld 100.0% | Kiva Confections 100.0%; Wana Brands 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | STIIIZY 100.0% | PAX 91.7%; Leafly 25.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Cann 75.0% | Leafly 66.7%; Cornbread Hemp 25.0% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Lazarus 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
Google AI Overviews · share of 46 overviews
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,351 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 190 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,383 (58.8%) | 57 (30%) |
| Company / brand sites | 298 (12.7%) | 25 (13.2%) |
| General news / business press | 188 (8%) | 14 (7.4%) |
| Health publishers | 147 (6.3%) | 18 (9.5%) |
| Official / government | 122 (5.2%) | 3 (1.6%) |
| Research / data providers | 51 (2.2%) | 8 (4.2%) |
| Reference | 50 (2.1%) | 4 (2.1%) |
| Community / social | 42 (1.8%) | 52 (27.4%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 39 (1.7%) | 6 (3.2%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 23 (1%) | 2 (1.1%) |
| Directories / rankings | 5 (0.2%) | 1 (0.5%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 3 (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.
| Step | What 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.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 69 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 50 | 46 shown | 46 |
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.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What are the biggest cannabis companies in the US? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 02 | What are the best cannabis brands for beginners? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 03 | What are the best cannabis edibles brands? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 04 | What is the best cannabis vape brand? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 05 | What is the best cannabis beverage brand? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 06 | What is the best CBD oil? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 07 | What is the best CBD for sleep? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 08 | What is the best THC-free CBD brand? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 09 | Curaleaf vs Trulieve: which is the bigger operator? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 10 | What is the best app to find a cannabis dispensary? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 11 | What is the best dry herb vaporizer? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 12 | What is the difference between cannabis and CBD? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Core question |
| 13 | Which cannabis companies operate dispensaries across multiple US states? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 14 | Which cannabis flower brands are distributed in the United States? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 15 | Which cannabis edible brands publish serving-size and THC information? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 16 | Which cannabis vape brands publish product testing results? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 17 | Which cannabis beverage brands offer low-dose products? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 18 | Which CBD oil brands publish independent laboratory reports? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 19 | Which CBD gummy brands offer THC-free products? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 20 | Which dispensary finder platforms list licensed US retailers? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 21 | Which cannabis delivery platforms operate in legal US markets? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 22 | Which dry herb vaporizer brands publish device specifications? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 23 | Which cannabis brands sell both flower and edible products? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added question |
| 24 | Which CBD brands publish information about ingredient sourcing? | Cannabis AI Visibility Index | Added 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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