How often is Thorne mentioned?

Thorne appeared in 5 usable answers in this snapshot. A mention is not necessarily a recommendation.

Which brands appear most in the budget answers?

NOW Foods appeared in 3 of 4 usable budget answers. This measures mentions, not verified price or budget compliance.

Does this benchmark prove AI recommendations are biased?

No. Differences in answers do not establish bias or prove that advertising or commercial integrations caused a recommendation. Model, tier and collection changes can also affect comparisons.

How was this sleep supplements snapshot collected?

3 prompt types were recorded across the participating services. 12 of 12 captured response records contain usable answers, from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity. Brand mentions and recorded ranks are measured separately. Unavailable and explicitly excluded answers do not contribute to brand analysis.

Evergreen monthly benchmark — May 28

Sleep Supplements

Q: Does no mention mean a brand is invisible to AI?

No. Absence means the brand was not recorded in this limited set of prompts and usable answers. It does not establish absence from other AI answers.

Research by Robert Hu · Published by RecoScope · Collected May 28, 2026

Usable answers: 12/12
Models: 4
Prompt types: 3

Included: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity

Report history · May 28 selected · 3 snapshots

Key takeaway

For a stressed, caffeine-heavy buyer with a racing mind, AI overwhelmingly recommends ingredients (magnesium glycinate + L-theanine) rather than brands, and only names commercial brands when explicitly asked to rank them. Thorne is the most durable commercial name across models. The actionable reality: in this category the first battle is not beating a competitor brand, it is getting named at all when the answer is otherwise a molecule.

Compare the model rankings

Mention Frequency Trend

Brands ordered by mention count in each run. Position 1 means most mentions; collection coverage and model changes can affect comparisons.

Scroll sideways to see all dates and labels.

Top Brands by AI Mention Frequency

Mention frequency counts usable answers containing a brand, once per answer. Unranked and critical mentions count as visibility. Recommendation ranks are shown separately below.

Most Mentioned = most answers mentioning a brandTied #1 = tied for most mentionsTop 3 across models = a recorded top-three rank in multiple comparisonsRanked #1 in [Model] = first in that comparative answerUnranked mentions = visibility without an inferred rank

1ThorneMost Mentioned5/12

2MomentousTop 3 across models3/12

2Natrol3/12

2NOW Foods3/12

5Doctors Best2/12

Cross-Agent Comparison

Recorded ranks from the comparative prompt (Prompt 3). These describe model output, not independently verified product quality. Historical parsing conventions may differ.

4/4 models with recorded ranks

Agent	#1	#2	#3
ChatGPT	Thorne	Nature Made	Natrol
Claude	Momentous	—	—
Gemini	Momentous	Performance Lab	Transparent Labs
Perplexity	Thorne	JSHealth	Force Factor

What This Means

The four models split their aggregate #1 four ways, and notably none of the four #1s comes from the P3 brand-ranking prompt - each modelreaches its top pick on aggregate mention_rank across all prompts.
ChatGPT #1 Thorne (its P3 top pick and the only model whose ranking-prompt leader is also its aggregate leader).
Claude #1 Pure Encapsulations (surfaced in its P2 budget list; Claude refused the brand frame hardest, naming zero commercial brands in P1 and leaning ingredient-and-protocol throughout).
Gemini #1 NOW Foods (from its P2 budget list; Gemini is the most formulation-detailed, uniquely surfacing premium melatonin-free brands Performance Lab and Transparent Labs in P3, plus Double Wood and Swanson).
Perplexity #1 Nature Made (from its P2 list; Perplexity is the most clinical, surfacing the widest budget set including Spring Valley, Force Factor, OLLY, and JSHealth).
Momentous is the only brand in three of four models top 3, making it the most cross-model-consistent name even though no model ranks it #1.

Findings and Limitations

The category is ingredient-led, which is itself the dominant market gap: a supplement brand cannot win a recommendation it is not named in, and for the highest-intent discovery prompt AI names molecules, not companies.
Beyond that, mid-price DTC sleep brands are nearly absent, adaptogen-specialty brands (Gaia Herbs, MegaFood, Garden of Life) do not surface despite category share, and CBT-I app/program brands (Sleepio, Somryst) are never positioned even when CBT-I is recommended.
No single commercial brand has cross-model top-pick lock; the strongest cross-cutting move across all four models is steering the user toward behavioral fixes (caffeine timing, wind-down routines) over any product.

Recurring themes in the answers

The brands that do surface share single-ingredient minimalism (magnesium glycinate or L-theanine as the hero), third-party testing claims (NSF, USP, Informed Sport), melatonin-free positioning for the racing-mind use case, and a price point under $30-40/month.
Thorne Deep Sleep Complex and Momentous anchor the premium melatonin-free slot; Nature Made, Natrol, and Nutricost anchor the budget melatonin slot; Pure Encapsulations, Doctors Best, NOW Foods, and Sports Research anchor the practitioner/value single-ingredient slot.

Inspect the captured answers

Saved response text is model output. Product and health claims are unverified. Tables and cards may be transcribed as text; source labels can remain. Collection settings, retries and exclusions are described in this report’s notes.

ChatGPT · Prompt 1Usable answer

I am a 45-year-old male software engineer in the USA. I work long hours on high-stress projects and drink several cups of coffee a day. At night, my mind keeps spinning on work problems and I have a hard time winding down. I am looking for the best sleep supplement. What would you recommend?

ChatGPT P1: Focus on quieting an overactive brain, not sedation. #1 Magnesium Glycinate + L-Theanine (start here, 200-400mg mag + 100-200mg theanine, low grogginess). #2 Thorne Deep Sleep Complex (strongest non-melatonin formula for a busy mind, melatonin-free). #3 Momentous Sleep Stack (premium - mag L-threonate + L-theanine + apigenin, downside cost). Avoid high-dose melatonin (0.3-1mg if any) and diphenhydramine sleep aids. Caffeine timing matters more than any supplement - last coffee before noon. Ranking: mag glycinate+L-theanine, Thorne Deep Sleep, Momentous, apigenin add-on, melatonin only if onset hard.

Claude · Prompt 1Usable answer

Claude P1: Evidence-ranked by ingredient for your profile. Gold Magnesium Glycinate (200-400mg, calms nervous system, GABA, depleted by stress/caffeine). Silver L-Theanine (100-200mg, targets racing mind, alpha waves, no sedation). Bronze Melatonin low-dose (0.5-1mg not 5-10mg, circadian only). Honorable mentions: Ashwagandha KSM-66 (300-600mg, cortisol, 4-8 wks), Glycine (3g), Phosphatidylserine (cortisol). Real lever caffeine timing - last cup before noon. Suggested stack: Mag Glycinate + L-Theanine. No commercial brands named - ingredient guidance only. Not a doctor; rule out sleep apnea.

Gemini · Prompt 1Usable answer

Frequently Asked Questions

Which sleep supplements brands appear most often?▾

Thorne appeared in 5 of 12 answers. This snapshot includes 12 usable answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity. Mentions include comparisons and criticism.

Which brands rank first in the sleep supplements comparison answers?▾

ChatGPT: Thorne; Claude: Momentous; Gemini: Momentous; Perplexity: Thorne

Why do models give different sleep supplements answers?▾

The four models split their aggregate #1 four ways, and notably none of the four #1s comes from the P3 brand-ranking prompt - each modelreaches its top pick on aggregate mention_rank across all prompts. ChatGPT #1 Thorne (its P3 top pick and the only model whose ranking-prompt leader is also its aggregate leader). Claude #1 Pure Encapsulations (surfaced in its P2 budget list; Claude refused the brand frame hardest, naming zero commercial brands in P1 and leaning ingredient-and-protocol throughout). Gemini #1 NOW Foods (from its P2 budget list; Gemini is the most formulation-detailed, uniquely surfacing premium melatonin-free brands Performance Lab and Transparent Labs in P3, plus Double Wood and Swanson). Perplexity #1 Nature Made (from its P2 list; Perplexity is the most clinical, surfacing the widest budget set including Spring Valley, Force Factor, OLLY, and JSHealth). Momentous is the only brand in three of four models top 3, making it the most cross-model-consistent name even though no model ranks it #1.

Does no mention mean a brand is invisible to AI?