Seasonal weekly benchmark — Apr 29
Sunscreen
Apr 29The active/outdoor sunscreen category has a clearer top tier than the broader sunscreen category. EltaMD, La Roche-Posay, and Neutrogena dominate cross-model recommendations. Banana Boat, Coppertone, Sun Bum, and Supergoop hold the value/lifestyle middle. Premium specialist brands (SolRX, Shiseido, Badger, Blue Lizard, Bare Republic) have meaningful single-model presence but fragmented cross-model authority. Hawaiian Tropic is climbing into ChatGPT/Perplexity for budget-spray applications.
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 4 models emphasize the two-product system (face + body) for active outdoor users over a single sunscreen.
- Every model recommends 80-minute water resistance as the bar for sport/outdoor use.
- All flag reapplication as more important than SPF number.
- Budget prompts universally feature Neutrogena, Banana Boat, Coppertone, Sun Bum, and CeraVe.
- Models agree on broad-spectrum SPF 50 as the default for active 30-something users.
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 | EltaMD | La Roche-Posay | Banana Boat |
| claude | EltaMD | CeraVe | Neutrogena |
| gemini | SolRX | Neutrogena | EltaMD |
| perplexity | EltaMD | Hawaiian Tropic | Neutrogena |
What This Means
- ChatGPT is the most commerce-formatted with prices and ratings.
- And uniquely leads with La Roche-Posay over EltaMD as the #1 sport pick, divergent from Claude and Gemini's EltaMD-first framing.
- Claude is the most opinionated, recommending an explicit two-bottle Neutrogena Ultra Sheer + EltaMD setup as the canonical answer And uniquely surfacing Badger SPF 40 Sport Mineral as the reef-safe choice.
- Gemini introduces niche/specialist brands (SolRX, Shiseido, Bioré, Blue Lizard, Bare Republic) that don't appear in other models, plus a "sunscreen wardrobe by activity" framing.
- Perplexity is the most consolidated and uniquely surfaces Trader Joe's, Cetaphil, and Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby as budget face picks.
Opportunity for Brands
- SolRX only appears in Gemini and Perplexity, strong sport/endurance brand absent from ChatGPT and Claude.
- Shiseido only appears in Gemini.
- Biore only appears in Gemini.
- Blue Lizard only appears in Gemini and Perplexity.
- Bare Republic only appears in Perplexity.
- Trader Joes, Cetaphil only appear in Perplexity.
- Badger only appears in Claude.
- Thinksport only appears in ChatGPT and Gemini.
- eos only appears in Claude.
- Major brands like Coola, ISDIN, Australian Gold, Alba Botanica, Aveeno, and Neutrogena Beach Defense are largely absent from this run.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sunscreen does AI recommend most?▾
Which sunscreen brand ranks #1 across all AI models?▾
Why does ChatGPT recommend different sunscreen than Claude?▾
What sunscreen 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 active sunscreen market is dominated by EltaMD (face/sport), La Roche-Posay (universal), and Neutrogena (value/body) in AI recommendations. Premium and specialist brands like SolRX, Shiseido, Badger, and Bare Republic have meaningful presence in 1-2 models But are completely invisible to others, a significant cross-model authority gap. Major brands like Coola, ISDIN, Aveeno, and Australian Gold are largely absent despite real retail presence.
Book Your Free AuditNeed help getting your brand into these AI recommendations? Robert Hu offers strategic consulting for e-commerce brands