Seasonal weekly benchmark — Apr 23
Lawn Fertilizer
Apr 23The lawn fertilizer category has a clear Scotts/Milorganite duopoly at the top. The Andersons is the consistent #3 performance pick across all models. Regional and pro-grade brands (Lesco, Expert Gardener, Sta-Green, Vigoro) have strong presence in specific models but zero cross-model visibility. This is a major discovery gap for challenger brands, they can win a specific AI surface but can't build broad AI authority.
Rank Trend
How top brands moved week over week. Rank 1 is the top position.
Top Brands by AI Mention Frequency
Mention frequency counts how many times a brand appeared across all AI responses. This differs from top-pick rank, which reflects each model’s #1 choice.
Dropped this week
Why These Brands Win
- All four models continue to emphasize that a soil test should precede fertilizer selection.
- Every model recommends slow-release formulations for a half-acre lawn.
- All flag Milorganite as the forgiving, cant-burn organic option.
- Budget prompts universally feature Scotts and Milorganite at the cheap tier.
- Models agree on 4-application annual program for cool-season grass.
Cross-Agent Comparison
How 4 AI models rank the same category. Hover a brand to trace it across models.
4 agents · top 3 each
| Agent | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| chatgpt | Milorganite | Scotts | Pennington |
| claude | Scotts | Lesco | Milorganite |
| gemini | Milorganite | Scotts | Expert Gardener |
| perplexity | Scotts | The Andersons | Expert Gardener |
What This Means
- ChatGPT is the most commerce-formatted with explicit prices and review counts, and it returned a very short P2 response (Scotts-only).
- Claude is the most opinionated and pro-leaning, calling out Lesco from SiteOne as the genuine best choice and explicitly flagging Scotts as the convenience-not-performance pick.
- Claude also uniquely dismisses Sunday subscription boxes and weed-and-feed combos.
- Gemini introduces value/house-brand names (Expert Gardener, Sta-Green, Vigoro) that no other model mentions.
- Perplexity surfaces Down to Earth and Urea as practical adjacent options.
Opportunity for Brands
- Expert Gardener only appears in Gemini and Perplexity.
- Sta-Green and Vigoro only appear in Gemini.
- Down to Earth only appears in Perplexity.
- Urea as a direct nitrogen source only appears in Perplexity.
- Lesco only appears in Claude.
- Pennington only appears in ChatGPT.
- Sunday appears in ChatGPT and Gemini.
- Major brands like Espoma, Dr.
- Earth, and Simple Lawn Solutions are completely absent from all models.
- Walmart and Tractor Supply house brands are largely missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What lawn fertilizer does AI recommend most?▾
Which lawn fertilizer brand ranks #1 across all AI models?▾
Why does ChatGPT recommend different lawn fertilizer than Claude?▾
What lawn fertilizer 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.
Seasonal categories are benchmarked weekly during active periods. Results reflect organic AI behavior at the time of testing. Read the full methodology
Your competitors are showing up in AI results. Are you?
The lawn fertilizer market is dominated by two legacy brands (Scotts, Milorganite) in AI recommendations, with The Andersons as the consensus performance challenger. Mid-market and regional brands. Sunday, Jonathan Green, Pennington, have inconsistent cross-model visibility. If your fertilizer brand isn't Scotts, Milorganite, or The Andersons, you're fighting for fragmented secondary mentions unique to specific AI platforms.
Book Your Free AuditNeed help getting your brand into these AI recommendations? Robert Hu offers strategic consulting for e-commerce brands