What Running Shoes Do AI Models Recommend (2026)?
Tracked across 1 benchmark run from May 23, 2026 to May 23, 2026
The exact question we asked AI models
“Best running shoes for 30yo, runs 3-4x/week fitness and stress relief”
Brand Recommendations
Aggregated across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity over 1 benchmark run.
| # | Brand | Mentions | Top-3 | First Picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ASICS | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Brooks | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | HOKA | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | New Balance | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Nike | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Saucony | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Model-by-Model Breakdown
Top brands each AI model recommends for this prompt.
chatgpt
- 1.HOKA
- 2.Nike
- 3.New Balance
- 4.ASICS
- 5.Brooks
claude
- 1.ASICS
- 2.Brooks
- 3.HOKA
- 4.Nike
- 5.New Balance
gemini
- 1.Brooks
- 2.Nike
- 3.ASICS
- 4.HOKA
- 5.Saucony
perplexity
- 1.New Balance
Key Insights
Key Takeaway
For a recreational fitness runner, AI still routes to a tight core - ASICS, Brooks, Nike, HOKA, New Balance - but this run is the first where the four models disagreed on the single best pick, returning four different #1s. ASICS is the only brand in all four top-3 lists and Novablast 5 remains the SKU-level default, so the category leadership is intact even though the unanimous-#1 streak broke. Marketplace-strong brands Mizuno and Skechers remain entirely absent.
Top Brands Summary
ASICS and Brooks tied for most-mentioned this run (12 each), but the top-pick consensus that held for five straight runs broke: the four models returned four different #1 picks - ChatGPT led with HOKA, Claude with ASICS, Gemini with Brooks, and Perplexity with New Balance. ASICS remains the only brand in every model's top 3 and the SKU-level Novablast 5 is still the single most-recommended shoe, but no brand held a unanimous #1 this run. Nike (10 mentions) and HOKA (9) round out the high-consensus tier.
See the full Running Shoes benchmark
Cross-model rankings, trend data, and competitive landscape.
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