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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Thanks to decades of clinical research and public education initiatives, people all around the world know just how important sun protection is to skin health. But when it comes to sunscreen, which brands deserve your trust and which ones don’t? For an increasing number of consumers, answering that question begins with an LLM prompt. The resulting shortlist of brands can then become their guide on the buyer journey to a more confident purchase. 

According to our GenAI Lens analysis of LLM recommendations for the best facial SPF:

Dermatologist-backed brands dominate the category.

Beauty editors, review platforms, and medical sources dominate the leading sources.

Brand-owned content didn’t move the needle.

Here’s what brands in sun protection and beyond need to know about where and how they appear in LLM recommendations.

Methodology: This analysis is based on GenAI Lens data on LLM responses to the prompt Best SPF for your face generated from March 14 to April 14, 2026, across seven LLM modes: Claude, Deepseek, ChatGPT, Llama, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. Request a demo to see how an AI visibility analysis can surface actionable insights tailored to your industry and brand.

Download a one-page summary of key findings and takeaways from this GenAI Lens analysis.

AI Visibility Tiers: Which Sunscreen Brands Did LLMs Surface Most?

Which AI Models Surface Which Sunscreen Brands?

Key Takeaways: What Our Sunscreen Analysis Means for All Brands

FAQ: LLM Recommendations and Sunscreen Brand Visibility

<div style="max-width:1000px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;background:#ffffff;border-radius:12px;box-shadow:0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);border:1px solid #eaeaea;overflow:hidden;">

  
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  <div style="padding:16px 20px;">
    <div style="font-size:18px;font-weight:600;color:#000;">Facial Sunscreen Performance Overview</div>
  </div>

  
  <div style="padding:0 16px 16px 16px;">
    <table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;table-layout:fixed;font-size:14px;color:#4c4d4f;text-align:center;">

      
      <tr>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Visibility Ranking</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Brand</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Visibility Score</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;background:#eef3f7;">Total Mentions</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Mention Rate</th>
      </tr>

      

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>1</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">EltaMD</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#28bbbb" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="60 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">60%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">198 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="51 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">51%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>2</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">La Roche-Posay</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#28bbbb" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="60 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">60%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">195 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="55 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">55%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>3</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Supergoop</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="48 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">48%</text>
          </svg>

        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">144 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="46 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">46%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>4</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">CeraVe</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="33 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">33%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">88 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="33 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">33%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>5</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Neutrogena</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="30 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">30%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">87 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="26 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">26%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>6</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">COOLA</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="23 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">23%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">50 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="15 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">15%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>7</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Colorescience</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="25 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="16" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">16%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">36 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="14 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">14%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>8</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Black Girl Sunscreen</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="9 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">9%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">15 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="7 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">7%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>9</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Shiseido</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="10 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">10%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">11 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="5 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">5%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>10</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Sephora</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="11 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">11%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">8 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="4 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">4%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

    </table>
  </div>
</div>

Evaluating across all metrics — including visibility, total mentions, and mention rate — the facial sunscreen category separates into three distinct tiers of visibility, led by names whose clinically proven effectiveness factor heavily in their branding.

Tier 1: The default answers (60% visibility)

EltaMD (60% visibility, 198 mentions) and La Roche-Posay (60%, 195 mentions) are effectively the default sunscreen answer in AI, appearing in six out of ten responses. Their lead is thanks to their strong presence in high-authority editorial and clinical sources (more on that below), which are heavily represented in AI citations.

Tier 2: High-potential challengers (33–48% visibility)

Supergoop (48%, 144 mentions), CeraVe (33%, 88 mentions), and Neutrogena (30%, 87 mentions) form a second tier of AI visibility that highlights a fundamental challenge: Widespread name recognition and availability don’t necessarily translate into frequent, prominent LLM recommendations. For this tier, mentions in third-party content tend to skew toward general skincare rather than best-in-class sunscreen recommendations.

Tier 3: Low visibility with niche ownership (9–23%)

COOLA (23%, 50 mentions), Colorescience (16%, 36 mentions), Black Girl Sunscreen (9%, 15 mentions), Shiseido (10%, 11 mentions), and Sephora (11%, 8 mentions) achieved limited visibility in response to our prompt. However, AI did recognize specific differentiators, such as COOLA’s and Colorescience’s mineral/reef-safe positioning. 

Implications for brands: Across visibility tiers, brands benefit from third-party validation and differentiation through specific sub-categories and use cases. However, as we’ll expand on next, which brands break through ultimately depends on the LLM generating the response. 

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  <div style="padding:16px 20px 8px 20px;">
    <div style="font-size:18px;font-weight:600;color:#000;">Brands performance by model</div>
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  <div style="padding:8px 16px 8px 16px;">
    <table style="width:100%;table-layout:fixed;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:6px;font-size:10px;color:#4c4d4f;text-align:center;">

      
      <tr>
        <th style="text-align:left;"> </th>
        <th>Claude</th>
        <th>DeepSeek</th>
        <th>ChatGPT</th>
        <th>Llama</th>
        <th>Google AI Mode</th>
        <th>Google AI Overview</th>
        <th>Perplexity</th>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">La Roche-Posay</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">67</td>
        <td style="background:#1e4fa0;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">97</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">35</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">41</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">68</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;border-radius:6px;color:#4c4d4f;">13</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;border-radius:6px;color:#fff;">80</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">EltaMD</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">73</td>
        <td style="background:#1e4fa0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">97</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">39</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">42</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">71</td>
        <td style="background:#c7d2de;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">17</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">41</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Supergoop</td>
        <td style="background:#5f8fc9;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">45</td>
        <td style="background:#1e4fa0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">95</td>
        <td style="background:#aabbd0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">25</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">71</td>
        <td style="background:#c7d2de;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">17</td>
        <td style="background:#5f8fc9;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">56</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">CeraVe</td>
        <td style="background:#5f8fc9;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">45</td>
        <td style="background:#3f78c2;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">82</td>
        <td style="background:#aabbd0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">28</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">42</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">13</td>
        <td style="background:#c7d2de;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">17</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Neutrogena</td>
        <td style="background:#b7c5d6;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">19</td>
        <td style="background:#1e4fa0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">93</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">13</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">37</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#aabbd0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">28</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">COOLA</td>
        <td style="background:#4a82c6;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">80</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#aabbd0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">25</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#b7c5d6;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">22</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Colorescience</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#b7c5d6;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">23</td>
        <td style="background:#b7c5d6;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">23</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#8aa6cc;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">37</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">12</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">8</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Black Girl Sunscreen</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#aabbd0;color:#fff;border-radius:6px;">30</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">11</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">12</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">5</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Shiseido</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">6</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#b7c5d6;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">23</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">11</td>
        <td style="background:#d5dde7;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">8</td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="height:52px;">
        <td style="text-align:left;font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">Sephora</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#c7d2de;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">18</td>
        <td style="background:#eaeaea;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">0</td>
        <td style="background:#c7d2de;color:#4c4d4f;border-radius:6px;">18</td>
      </tr>

    </table>
  </div>

  
  <div style="padding:12px 20px 16px 20px;">
    <div style="height:10px;border-radius:6px;background:linear-gradient(90deg,#eaeaea,#9fb4cc,#5f8fc9,#2f6fbf,#1e4fa0);margin-bottom:6px;"></div>
    <div style="display:flex;justify-content:space-between;font-size:11px;color:#4c4d4f;">
      <span>0–11</span>
      <span>11–19</span>
      <span>19–33</span>
      <span>33–51</span>
      <span>51–81</span>
      <span>81–99</span>
    </div>
  </div>

</div>

Consumers see dramatically different recommendations depending on which LLM platform they search on. As the heatmap above shows, sunscreen brands can have high visibility on one model and be invisible on others. 

DeepSeek was the most brand-inclusive model.

DeepSeek consistently surfaces the broadest set of brands, with La Roche-Posay (97%), EltaMD (97%), Supergoop (95%), and Neutrogena (93%) all registering near-maximum scores. This suggests that DeepSeek drew on the widest range of sources of all the models.

The only LLM platform that COOLA scored high visibility on was Claude, which also scored it higher than any other brand at 80%. This may point to Claude’s reliance on expert-led, third-party content like this “Best Face Sunscreens of 2026” blog (more on that below), which declared COOLA’s Classic Face Sunscreen SPF 50 its top pick overall.

Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews recommendations were not the same. 

La Roche-Posay (68%), EltaMD (71%), and Supergoop (71%) achieved high visibility scores in Google AI Mode, an opt-in LLM experience. However, on Google AI Overviews, which reaches a larger audience by virtue of being opt-out, no brand scored higher than 17%. This gap shows how the tighter, summary-style format of AI Overviews leaves room for fewer brands compared to more expansive, chat-based experiences like AI Mode.

Meta Llama and ChatGPT: Inconsistent mid-tier

ChatGPT and Meta Llama surfaced first-tier brands reliably but show significant dropoff for everyone else. And even so, no brand achieved higher than 42% visibility, suggesting that these models prioritize widely validated brands over exploration for more niche or specialized products. 

Takeaway: With LLM models varying so drastically, brands should focus on building consistent authority across high-quality third-party sources rather than optimizing for any single platform.

<div style="max-width:1000px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;background:#ffffff;border-radius:12px;box-shadow:0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);border:1px solid #eaeaea;overflow:hidden;">

  
  <div style="height:6px;background:linear-gradient(90deg,#28bbbb,#b627a1);"></div>

  
  <div style="padding:16px 20px;">
    <div style="font-size:18px;font-weight:600;color:#000;">Top Keywords</div>
  </div>

  
  <div style="padding:0 16px 16px 16px;">
    <table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;table-layout:fixed;font-size:14px;color:#4c4d4f;text-align:center;">

      
      <tr>
        <th style="padding:12px;"</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Keyword</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Visibility Score</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;background:#eef3f7;">Total Mentions</th>
        <th style="padding:12px;">Mention Rate</th>
      </tr>

      

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>1</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">face</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#28bbbb" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="82 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">82%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">410 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#28bbbb" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="61 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">61%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>2</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">sunscreen</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#28bbbb" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="63 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">63%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">298 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="21 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">21%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>3</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">skin</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="56 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">56%</text>
          </svg>

        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">264 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="16 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">16%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>4</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">makeup</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="47 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">47%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">184 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="27 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">27%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>5</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">protection</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="42 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">42%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">168 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="16 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">16%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>6</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">skin type</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="48 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">48%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">155 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="38 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">38%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>7</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">mineral</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="40 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="16" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">40%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">148 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="22 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">22%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>8</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">sensitive skin</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="41 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">41%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">135 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="7 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">29%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>9</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">acne</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="39 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">39%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">115 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="31 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">31%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

      
      <tr style="border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;height:64px;">
        <td>10</td>
        <td style="font-weight:600;color:#28bbbb;">best SPF</td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="37 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">37%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
        <td style="background:#eef3f7;">95 </td>
        <td>
          <svg width="44" height="44" viewBox="0 0 36 36">
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#eaeaea" stroke-width="4" fill="none"/>
            <circle cx="18" cy="18" r="16" stroke="#ff6221" stroke-width="4" fill="none" stroke-dasharray="27 100" stroke-linecap="round" transform="rotate(-90 18 18)"/>
            <text x="18" y="21" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="#000">27%</text>
          </svg>
        </td>
      </tr>

    </table>
  </div>
</div>

The keywords most frequently mentioned in AI-generated facial sunscreen recommendations reveal how LLMs frame what “best” means in this category. Terms related to sun protection are a given, but others like “makeup”, “skin type”, “sensitive skin”, and “acne” show how AI-generated answers frame “best” through potential, personalized use cases. 

Tip: For LLM analyses tailored to your brand, GenAI Lens’ keyword widget shows you where to dig deeper. For this sunscreen example, next steps include analyzing prompts related to specific consumer use cases, such as layering with makeup or preventing breakouts. See how it works in real time — request a demo to explore the prompts, keywords, and sources shaping AI recommendations in your category.

Expert-led publications and blogs, as well as beauty retail websites, comprised the top 10 sources cited in LLM answers to our sunscreen prompt. Brand-owned websites were completely absent. As we’ve seen in previous analyses, these results highlight just how much LLMs pull from niche subject matter experts to shape their recommendations to users.

Elements like thorough methodologies, clear structuring, and a comparison table helped this Treeline Review blog stand out to LLM models on the hunt for unbiased, reliable information.

For example, the American Academy of Dermatology website was the third-most influential source with 37 citations of practical resources like this “Sunscreen FAQ” that don’t explicitly mention brands. Fashion website Who What Wear came in second place with 38 citations, thanks to content, like this rigorously researched and tested list of the best facial SPFs. This publication is also home to two of the most cited journalists for this prompt, Eleanor Vousden of Who What Wear UK (28 citations) and Claire Sullivan of Footwear News/WWD (23 citations). However, it was Treeline Review, an outdoor gear review website that generated the most AI citations, with all 45 coming from a single blog called “Best Face Sunscreens of 2026”. 

Niche editorial and industry expert sources influence AI more than messaging on brand websites when it comes to evaluating the “best” options. No matter the sector, brand AI visibility strategies should begin with asking, 'Which of the top 100 sources citing in our category are we absent from?' and working backward from there.

For brands operating in sunscreen and beyond, winning in AI search means probing how models interpret prompts and building authority where they look for information. Keep in mind:

LLM recommendations are shaped by a mixture of sources. In the case of sunscreen,  earned media and expert content drove visibility more than paid and owned channels.

As LLMs seek to meet users’ unique needs, its framing of what is “best” trends toward personalization and specific use cases.

AI models’ tailoring responses to more personalized queries gives lower-visibility brands the opportunity to still break through by owning distinct sub-categories.

In today’s AI landscape, brands that will win the race for visibility will need a bird’s eye-view. Use tools like GenAI Lens to understand where your brand is underrepresented and why, and use those insights to shape your strategy accordingly.

Which sunscreen brands do LLMs recommend most?

According to Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands, EltaMD and La Roche-Posay are the most frequently recommended, appearing in roughly 60% of LLM responses and acting as default answers across multiple AI platforms.

Why do LLMs favor certain sunscreen brands over others?

Based on Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands, LLMs prioritize brands that are consistently featured in high-authority third-party sources such as dermatology organizations, expert reviews, and editorial beauty publications.

Do brand websites influence LLM sunscreen recommendations?

No. Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands found that brand-owned websites had little to no impact on LLM recommendations, with AI models relying instead on independent, expert-led content.

How do different LLMs vary in sunscreen brand recommendations?

Different LLM platforms produce significantly different brand recommendations, with some models surfacing a wider range of brands and others focusing on a smaller, more consistent set, according to Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands.

What factors do LLMs consider when recommending facial sunscreen?

Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands shows that LLMs evaluate sunscreen based on use-case factors such as skin type as well as reliable information from independent, expert-led content.

Why do some sunscreen brands have low visibility in LLM results?

Based on Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands, brands with lower visibility tend to lack strong representation in high-authority third-party content or are only associated with niche use cases rather than broad “best” recommendations.

How can sunscreen brands improve their visibility in LLM recommendations?

Meltwater’s GenAI Lens analysis of sunscreen brands suggests that improving visibility requires increasing presence in expert-led publications, securing high-quality third-party reviews, and owning specific product niches or use cases.

How LLMs Recommend Sunscreen Brands: An Analysis of AI Search Visibility in SPF

The approximate 402 million terabytes of data we create each day can be very telling about your target audience’s preferences and buying habits. This same data can also be inaccurate and low quality, depending on the source. That’s why the market research tools you choose matter — you need to be able to get the most up-to-date insights and trust what the data is telling you.

While traditional manual methods of market research and secondary research (aka desk research or complementary research) still have a time and place in the digital world, marketers are supplementing them with market research platforms and software that do most of the heavy lifting.

Astronomical amounts of market-related data are created at lightning speed, far outpacing our ability to consume it all. To help find, filter, sort, and make sense of all this information, we’ve chosen 13 of the best market research tools to streamline and improve the process.

Why Do You Need a Market Research Platform or Software?

What to Look For in a Market Research Tool

Enhancing Your Market Research with Meltwater

Market research platforms are software solutions that help businesses collect, analyze, and interpret data about their customers, competitors, and market trends. These platforms bring together data from multiple sources—such as surveys, social media, online conversations, and third-party datasets—and transform it into actionable insights.

Unlike traditional research methods, modern market research platforms use AI, automation, and advanced analytics to process large volumes of structured and unstructured data in real time. This allows teams to uncover patterns in consumer behavior, track sentiment, and identify emerging trends faster and more accurately.

Tip: learn about complementary market research, how to do market research, and how to gather customer intelligence

A market research platform is essential because it helps you replace guesswork with data-driven decision-making. Instead of relying on assumptions, businesses can use real-time insights to understand what customers want, how markets are shifting, and where opportunities exist.

These platforms enable teams to analyze large volumes of data from multiple sources in one place, turning fragmented information into a clear, unified view of the market. This makes it easier to identify trends, benchmark competitors, and respond quickly to changes in consumer behavior.

They also play a critical role in helping organizations stay competitive and agile. By continuously monitoring customer sentiment, preferences, and market dynamics, businesses can refine their messaging, improve products, and uncover new growth opportunities faster than competitors.

Ultimately, market research platforms empower teams to make smarter strategic decisions, reduce risk, and drive more effective marketing and innovation at scale.

The Top 13 Marketing Research Tools in 2026

Tip: Also take a look at the top secondary research companies out there.

A leader in AI market research tools, Meltwater’s AI-powered market research platform provides real-time insights into consumer preferences. This always-on consumer intelligence suite uses a combination of data science, AI, and human market research expertise to surface insights about customers based on online conversations and activities.

AI-powered data analysis: Transform massive volumes of unstructured data into actionable insights using AI and data science, helping teams make faster, evidence-based decisions.

Real-time consumer insights: Analyze live global data to uncover shifts in consumer behavior, attitudes, and emerging trends as they happen.

Global data coverage: Aggregate billions of data points from social media, online conversations, and digital content to build a comprehensive view of markets and audiences.

Trend identification & market analysis: Identify patterns and themes in consumer discussions to spot opportunities, track industry trends, and inform strategy.

Audience segmentation & profiling: Identify and segment audiences based on behaviors, interests, and sentiment for more targeted research and campaigns.

Brand and competitive intelligence: Measure brand perception and benchmark against competitors using real-time conversations and market signals.

Most of the world’s data is unstructured (about 90%, by some estimates), making it harder to act on and understand its significance. Radarly brings structure to the unknown by detecting patterns and understanding audience sentiments.

Also, Meltwater for market research continuously sources new information and works in real-time. This gives marketers an advantage by working with the latest data so they can make informed decisions when it matters most.

See Meltwater Radarly live in action by requesting a free tour of our platform. Simply fill out the form at the bottom of this post and we'll be in touch.

Zonka Feedback is a survey and feedback intelligence platform that combines market research collection with built-in AI analysis. Create branded surveys using NPS, CSAT, CES, and custom question types, then distribute them across email, SMS, WhatsApp, web, in-app, and even offline kiosks, reaching respondents wherever they are.

Custom survey creation: Build customized market research surveys with a wide range of question types and branded design options.

Multi-channel survey distribution: Distribute surveys across email, SMS, web, in-app, and other channels to collect feedback wherever your audience is.

Real-time response tracking: Track survey opens, responses, and engagement in real time to monitor research performance as data comes in.

AI-powered feedback analysis: Analyze sentiment, detect themes, and uncover recurring issues with AI-powered feedback intelligence.

Role-based dashboards and reporting: Turn research data into focused dashboards that help teams understand what is driving key outcomes.

Closed-loop workflows: Act on research findings faster with automated follow-ups and workflows that connect insights to action.

Where Zonka Feedback stands out from traditional survey tools is what happens after responses come in. AI automatically analyzes open-text responses, clustering themes, scoring sentiment, and surfacing the signals that matter most. Instead of manually reading through hundreds of responses to find patterns, teams get a clear picture of what their audience is telling them — and which findings need attention first.

Best for: teams that want to run survey-based market research and quickly turn feedback into operational action.

Statista offers data trends and reports on a wide range of topics and interests, from Facebook’s monthly active users to leading beer brands based on sales. In total, the market research platform spans more than 170 industries and 150 countries.

Search statistics across thousands of sources: Find statistics, survey results, and industry studies from more than 22,500 sources in one platform.

Explore consumer survey results: Access consumer data and survey findings to support audience, category, and trend research.

Research thousands of industries and topics: Investigate more than 60,000 topics to build a broader view of markets and sectors.

Use visualized data for faster analysis: Review charts and visualizations that make it easier to interpret findings and incorporate them into presentations.

Download and structure research efficiently: Use platform tools to search, organize, and choose content types that match your research needs.

Support secondary research with ready-to-use data: Pull together reliable external data quickly when you need directional market context without running your own fieldwork.

What sets Statista apart is its visualizations — all of their stats have been compiled into neat and tidy graphs that are ready to publish or share in your own reports. This makes it easy to see trends over time or gain quick insights about consumer preferences.

There’s a chart for just about anything, and they’re updated on a regular basis. In many cases, Statista will include a brief explanation of the chart’s findings and recommend related charts for further research.

Best for: marketers, analysts, and researchers who need fast access to secondary market data, survey results, and industry statistics.

Google’s status as the world’s most popular search engine makes it a great resource for market research. Google has access to billions of first-party data points based on what people are searching for online. 

Discover consumer insights and trends: Explore consumer insights and emerging trends to better understand how audiences behave and what they care about.

Track evolving consumer behavior: Analyze research on changing purchase journeys and digital behaviors to inform strategy.

Use search and shopping insights: Learn how people browse, research, search, and shop online to sharpen market understanding.

Apply Google-backed trend research: Use research and expert commentary from Google to inform campaign planning and audience targeting.

Connect insights to marketing decisions: Turn macro behavior shifts into more practical decisions around messaging, timing, and channel strategy.

Stay current with fresh thought leadership: Keep up with new consumer and marketing developments through regularly updated articles and reports.

For market research purposes, users can tap into Google Trends to see the popularity of searches over time. See the terms that are trending on a daily or weekly basis, or check out shopping-related trends to predict the hot new products of the season (trend prediction).

Google’s Market Finder can also pinpoint new markets that might be a great fit for your product or service. Learn how various markets compare to each other and how your business might fit in.

And if you’re selling physical products, you can see how sales trends might impact your business using Google’s Rising Retail Categories. Retailers use this tool often to predict hot-selling holiday items and right-size their inventory.

Best for: marketers who want free, Google-backed consumer insights and trend research rather than a traditional market research platform.

Attest brings old-school focus groups and surveys into the digital era with its rapid-response approach. In the past, organizing interviews and focus groups took weeks or even months. Once the research activities were finished, analysts required additional time to compile the results. No more.

Reach global consumer audiences: Survey 150+ million people across 59 countries to gather insights from target markets at scale.

Launch studies with templates or custom surveys: Start with pre-set audiences and survey templates or build research projects from scratch.

Run multi-market research in one dashboard: Manage and analyze studies across regions from a single platform.

Compare audience segments side by side: Use crosstabs, charts, and significance flags to compare regional or audience differences.

Conduct both broad and deep market analysis: Use current customer and consumer insights for lightweight studies or deeper market analysis.

Test ideas before launch: Validate messaging, creative, and product decisions with consumer input before going to market.

With Attest, you can hear directly from consumers who fit your audience profiles, with ready-made questions and respondents at your fingertips. All responses are recorded in the Attest platform, and the market research software analyzes results and collects consumer insights on your behalf. Users pay per response, so you can scale your market research as needed.

Best for: brands that need agile, global quantitative consumer research with built-in audience access and flexible analysis.

The 13 Best Market Research Tools in 2026

Reddit has grown from a niche forum site to a digital powerhouse, nearly doubling its user base from 2022 to 2025. And while netizens have long trusted it for uncompromised answers to highly specific questions, now LLMs do too. Models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini use it to inform their outputs and consumer recommendations, making Reddit conversations increasingly consequential for brands looking for high-value, organic sources of consumer intelligence. 

For the beauty sector in particular, Reddit can’t be ignored. Some of the most popular communities on the platform, known as subreddits, are dedicated to cosmetics, with tens of thousands of strong opinions, preferences, concerns, and praises flooding them each week. Brands don’t have to guess what consumers want, they are making their needs known, unprompted, giving brands valuable insight into how they choose, evaluate, and perceive products. 

To learn more about beauty Reddit and demonstrate how brands can turn unfiltered consumer conversations into action, we used Explore+ to dive into the biggest trends from the past six months, focusing specifically on three cosmetic items: lipstick, blush, and mascara. What emerged were clear snapshots of consumer expectations and frustrations, community building, and golden opportunities for brands ready to listen. With that, here are seven of the biggest trends that defined beauty Reddit in early 2026 and what they mean for brands.

Methodology: This analysis is based on social listening data collected from 18 Reddit beauty communities (including r/MakeupAddiction, r/makeuptips, r/Makeup, r/beauty, and specialist forums such as r/OliveMUA and r/AsianBeauty) over a six-month period from October 2025 to March 2026. A structured Boolean query was used to capture relevant makeup conversations across three categories: lipstick, blush, and mascara. The analysis focuses on monthly volume and engagement trends to identify shifts in demand and conversation depth, using sentiment classification to track changes in consumer perception over time and topic clustering to surface recurring themes, emerging narratives, and brand-specific signals. Click here to learn more about how to get an analysis like this tailored to the needs and goals of your brand. 

The Seven Trends Defining Beauty Reddit Right Now:

r/MakeupAddiction: The Beauty Subreddit to Watch

The APAC Redditors Shaping Global Beauty Conversations

MAC: Dominating Lipstick and Delivering on Shade Inclusivity

Long-Lasting, But Easy to Remove: The Holy Grail for Mascara and Lipstick Users

Drugstore Brands and Low Expectations for Mascaras

Bold Blush: Here to Stay, But Where Do You Put It?

More Blush Anxieties: The Product That Takes Too Long to Use Up

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