The 2026 Share of Model (SoM) Benchmark: How 500 Brands Perform Across 9 AI Engines
As consumers shift from clicking 10 blue links on Google to asking AI assistants for recommendations, Share of Model (SoM) has replaced traditional organic rank as the definitive metric of brand survival.
1. What Is Share of Model (SoM)?
In classical search, "Share of Voice" (SoV) was calculated using Google Search Console impressions and click-through rates on ranked URLs. However, in a zero-click conversational environment, search engines don't return 10 links — they synthesize one authoritative paragraph naming 1 to 3 brands.
If a user asks ChatGPT: "What are the best automated tools to fix missing schema on a Next.js website?", winning 100% Share of Model for that prompt means your brand is the sole recommended solution. Losing means you are omitted entirely.
2. Category Findings Across 500 Companies
Our study tracked 500 brands across 5 key verticals: B2B SaaS, Developer Tooling, DTC Ecommerce, FinTech, and Professional Healthcare. The findings reveal a dramatic consolidation of AI recommendations:
| Vertical | Category Leader SoM | Median Competitor SoM | Top Ranking Factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | 44.8% | 7.2% | G2 consensus & clear comparative pricing tables |
| Developer Tools / APIs | 52.1% | 5.4% | Clean llms.txt, GitHub README, and technical docs |
| DTC Ecommerce | 36.4% | 9.1% | Product schema, UGC review density, Reddit mentions |
| FinTech & Payments | 48.3% | 4.8% | Security certifications (SOC2) & regulatory entity links |
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3. Why Engine Divergence Matters
A critical finding of our study is that a brand ranking #1 in ChatGPT Search frequently holds 0% Share of Model in Claude or Gemini. Different models prioritize different sources:
ChatGPT Search
Prioritizes Reddit forum consensus, fresh news coverage, and dense Schema.org JSON-LD markup.
Perplexity Pro
Prioritizes sub-second crawler response, recency of publication date, and structured bullet lists.
Anthropic Claude
Prioritizes technical documentation, whitepapers, academic citations, and clear entity definitions.
Google Gemini
Deeply integrated with Google Knowledge Graph, Google-Extended permissions, and Google Merchant Center feeds.