Evergreen monthly benchmark — Sep 22
Protein Powder
Sep 22Mention Frequency Trend
Brands ordered by mention count in each run. Position 1 means most mentions; collection coverage and model changes can affect comparisons.
This is the first run in this category that can be compared with the one before it on all four engines. Optimum Nutrition went from nine mentions to eleven and now leads three engines rather than two. Dymatize is the largest mover, from three mentions to seven, gaining on three separate engines. Claude replaced Transparent Labs with Optimum Nutrition at the top of its own list. The gap between the two runs is twenty days rather than the usual fourteen.
Top Brands by AI Mention Frequency
Mention frequency counts how many times a brand appeared across all AI responses. Numbered comparison slots use mention order, not endorsement or product quality. Unranked mentions still count toward frequency.
Opportunity for Brands
- Nine of the eighteen brands were named by exactly one engine.
- Momentous fell from five mentions to two and still holds a first place slot on Perplexity.
- That combination separates volume from standing more sharply than any other brand in the set.
- Dymatize is the opposite case, gaining four mentions without taking a single first place anywhere.
- Both runs named eighteen distinct brands, so the set is the same size and the movement sits inside it.
Cross-Agent Comparison
Earliest recorded brand mentions across prompts for 4 models. Unranked mentions are excluded; these positions are not endorsements.
4 agents · up to 3 brands each
| Agent | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| chatgpt | Optimum Nutrition | Naked | Dymatize |
| claude | Optimum Nutrition | Dymatize | Transparent Labs |
| gemini | Transparent Labs | Optimum Nutrition | Ascent |
| perplexity | Optimum Nutrition | Momentous | Orgain |
What This Means
- Optimum Nutrition now leads three of the four engines and Transparent Labs holds only Gemini.
- Gemini ranges widest with eleven distinct brands and Claude narrowest with six.
- Perplexity is alone in ranking Momentous first and alone in naming Gnarly and Garden of Life.
- Gemini alone reaches Legion, Truvani, Levels, NOW Sports and Ascent.
- Perplexity again answered the open prompt with product categories and certifications instead of brands.
Why These Brands Win
- Third party certification is the first filter every engine applies, and NSF Certified for Sport is named most.
- All four say total daily protein matters more than drinking a shake soon after training.
- Twenty to thirty grams per serving is the range every engine treats as sufficient.
- Every engine said a protein marketed to women offers nothing a standard product does not.
- Whey isolate is the default recommendation and lactose tolerance is the stated reason to move off it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What protein powder does AI recommend most?▾
Which protein powder brand ranks #1 across all AI models?▾
Why does ChatGPT recommend different protein powder than Claude?▾
What protein powder brands are invisible to AI?▾
How we measure this
Each benchmark runs the same standardized prompts across multiple leading AI systems, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. We use consistent, category-specific questions designed to surface genuine product recommendations — not sponsored results.
Responses are parsed to extract brand mentions, rank position, and frequency. We then analyze cross-model agreement, identify which brands consistently appear in top positions, and flag where AI outputs diverge from marketplace trends.
Evergreen categories are benchmarked monthly. Results reflect organic AI behavior at the time of testing. Read the full methodology
How this report was produced
- Evaluation period
- Sep 22
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Prompts evaluated
- 3
- Review status
- No human review recorded
- Models included
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity
Full details of how prompts are run, parsed, normalized, and scored are in the methodology, and the platform page explains how the system is built and operated.
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