Evergreen monthly benchmark — May 12
Running Shoes
May 12Rank Trend
How top brands moved week over week. Rank 1 is the top position.
The Running Shoes category has settled into a fully locked hierarchy by run #6 in our dataset: ASICS Novablast 5 (SKU-level universal #1, 10 of 12 prompts). Brooks Ghost 17 (universal safe pick), HOKA Clifton 10 (universal joint-saver), New Balance 1080 (universal plush pick), Nike Pegasus 41 (universal classic), Saucony Ride 18 (universal value). The 2026 breakout signal: Adidas Adizero Evo SL has crossed into universal cross-model presence. First time Adidas has hit this consensus in our Running Shoes data. Claude introduced premium-tier picks no other model surfaced (Superblast 3, Endorphin Speed 5). Pattern emerging: Claude recommends higher-price-point premium daily trainers than the other 3 models.
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.
Opportunity for Brands
- On only appears in ChatGPT P3 as lifestyle crossover.
- ASICS Megablast only appears in Perplexity P3.
- ASICS Superblast 3 only appears in Claude P1.
- Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 only appears in Claude.
- Brooks Glycerin Max only appears in Perplexity.
- Nike Vomero 18 only appears in Perplexity.
- New Balance Ellipse v1 only appears in Perplexity.
- Major Amazon-strong brands like Mizuno, Salomon (trail), Topo Athletic, Altra, Newton, Skechers Performance are absent from this run despite real retail presence.
- Mizuno Wave Rider absent across all models despite 30+ years of category authority.
- Skechers Performance is now structurally invisible despite Amazon dominance in budget tier.
Cross-Agent Comparison
How 4 AI models rank the same category. Hover a brand to trace it across models.
4 agents · top 3 each
Hoka leads in total mentions (9) but doesn’t appear below. High mention volume doesn’t always equal top-pick authority.
| Agent | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| chatgpt | ASICS | Brooks | Saucony |
| claude | ASICS | New Balance | Brooks |
| gemini | ASICS | Brooks | Adidas |
| perplexity | ASICS | Nike | Brooks |
Hoka·9 mentions, outside top 3 for all models | |||
All 4 models agree on ASICS as the top pick
What This Means
- ChatGPT (commerce-formatted): Provides explicit prices, review counts, 8+ SKUs per prompt.
- Surfaces Puma Velocity Nitro 4 specifically as value pick.
- Most detailed product-level breakdown.
- Claude (most opinionated, premium-leaning): Recommended ASICS Superblast 3 at $200 as "best overall", a premium pick most other models didn't surface as #1.
- Most aggressive on Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 positioning.
- Cites RunRepeat, OutdoorGearLab, iRunFar specifically.
- Gemini (lifestyle-formatted): "Personality-typed" framing.
- "The All-Rounder," "The Reliable Workhorse," "The Joint-Saver," "The Plush Cloud," "The Traditionalist." Strongest Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25 positioning of any model as the stability pick.
- Perplexity (most consolidated): Most balanced cross-tier picks.
- Surfaces less mainstream models like ASICS Megablast, Brooks Glycerin Max, New Balance Ellipse v1 that no other model touches.
- Strongest Adidas Adizero Evo SL positioning as standout 2026 brand-mover.
Why These Brands Win
- All 4 models recommend ASICS Novablast 5 as the default versatile daily trainer for this persona.
- Every model emphasizes neutral daily trainer as the right category for 3-4x/week fitness running.
- All flag the "rocker" geometry as HOKA's differentiator.
- Brooks Ghost universally positioned as the "safe, no-regret" pick.
- Adidas Adizero Evo SL universally positioned as the "fun, faster" pick.
- 300-500 mile replacement window cited as standard guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What running shoes does AI recommend most?▾
Which running shoes brand ranks #1 across all AI models?▾
Why does ChatGPT recommend different running shoes than Claude?▾
What running shoes 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
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Conducted personally by Robert Hu.
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