Evergreen monthly benchmark — May 2
Running Shoes
May 2Rank Trend
How top brands moved week over week. Rank 1 is the top position.
The running shoe category remains an ASICS-dominated market in AI recommendations, with Brooks as the consistent #2 and Hoka/New Balance/Nike fighting for the next tier. Adidas has consolidated into a real top-5 brand with the Adizero Evo SL specifically. On Running has surprisingly weak cross-model presence given its IPO and marketing investment. Puma has minimal AI visibility despite being a major global brand. Saucony continues a slow decline from earlier runs.
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.
Why These Brands Win
- All 4 models recommend "daily trainer" as the right framing for 3-4x/week recreational running, explicitly steering away from carbon-plated super shoes.
- Every model emphasizes fit over brand and recommends gait analysis at a running specialty store.
- All flag $130-160 as the right budget range and warn against overspending on premium tech for low mileage.
- Budget prompts universally feature ASICS Novablast 5, Brooks Ghost, and Nike Pegasus.
- Models agree on rotating two pairs to extend life.
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 | ASICS | Brooks | Nike |
| claude | Brooks | ASICS | Hoka |
| gemini | ASICS | Hoka | Brooks |
| perplexity | ASICS | Brooks | Nike |
What This Means
- ChatGPT is the most commerce-formatted with prices and review counts, and uniquely surfaces On Cloudsurfer Max, Puma MagMax Nitro.
- Puma Velocity Nitro 4, and Altra Experience Flow 3 as top picks, brands that don't appear in other models.
- Claude is the most opinionated, recommending against overspending and uniquely surfacing Brooks Launch 11/12 as the value play, plus Topo for wide feet.
- Gemini is the most stylistic with "vibe-based" framing (do-everything champion, comfort king, modern icon, plush performance pick).
- Perplexity is the most consolidated and consistent, surfacing Reebok FloatZig 2 and ASICS Gel-Pulse 15 as unique budget alternatives.
Opportunity for Brands
- On only appears in ChatGPT this run despite being a public IPO'd brand.
- Puma only appears in ChatGPT.
- Altra only appears in ChatGPT and Claude.
- Topo only appears in Claude.
- Reebok only appears in Perplexity.
- Saucony has weak Gemini presence.
- Nike Revolution 8 only appears in ChatGPT.
- Major brands like Mizuno, Salomon (trail), Under Armour, Skechers, Tracksmith, and Norda are completely absent.
- Premium boutique brands like NNormal also have zero visibility.
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
Your competitors are showing up in AI results. Are you?
The running shoe market is dominated by ASICS in AI recommendations, with Brooks, Nike, Hoka, New Balance, and Adidas as the consensus top six. On Running, Puma, and Saucony, all major brands with significant marketing budgets, have meaningful single-model presence but inconsistent cross-model authority. Premium brands like Tracksmith, Norda, and NNormal are invisible. Specialty/wide-foot brands (Altra, Topo) have weak visibility despite real retail demand. If your running shoe brand isn't in the top 6 consensus, you're fighting for fragmented per-model mentions.
Book Your Free AuditNeed help getting your brand into these AI recommendations? Robert Hu offers strategic consulting for e-commerce brands