How AI recommendations changed from Q2 2026 to Q3 2026
The same 20 buyer questions per industry, asked to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini each quarter. This is where the assistants changed their minds: new leaders, tighter races, and the brands that made real strides.
Where the AI changed its mind
Investment and Asset Management: EasyEquities takes the lead
EasyEquities overtook Allan Gray as the brand the assistants put forward first, now scoring 39.9/100.
Private Tertiary Education: Eduvos takes the lead
Eduvos overtook Varsity College as the brand the assistants put forward first, now scoring 30.0/100.
Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home): OUTsurance takes the lead
OUTsurance overtook Santam as the brand the assistants put forward first, now scoring 35.1/100.
Industries on the move
Each industry's AI leader and how the race for the top shifted. "Lead over #2" is the leader's Quality Score margin over second place; a shrinking lead means the category is opening up.
| Industry | AI leader | Leader's score | Race | Lead over #2 | Real movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment and Asset Management | EasyEquities (was Allan Gray) | 22.4 → 39.9 | Wide open → Competitive field | 2.3 → 11.8 | ▲ EasyEquities, Sygnia, 10X, PSG, M&G Investments; ▼ Ninety One, Stanlib |
| Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home) | OUTsurance (was Santam) | 32.7 → 35.1 | Wide open → Competitive field | 1.6 → 4.0 | ▲ King Price, Naked, Pineapple; ▼ Santam |
| Private Tertiary Education | Eduvos (was Varsity College) | 22.9 → 30.0 | Wide open | 2.2 → 5.8 | ▲ STADIO, Vega School, Milpark Education, AFDA, SACAP, Henley Business School, Regenesys; ▼ Damelin |
| Fibre ISPs | Afrihost | 47.6 → 62.9 | Competitive field → Clear leader | 18.8 → 25.5 | ▲ Afrihost, Cool Ideas, MWEB, Supersonic; ▼ Telkom |
| Life and Long-Term Insurance | Discovery Life | 30.2 → 41.4 | Wide open → Competitive field | 4.5 → 12.4 | ▲ Discovery Life, PPS, BrightRock, AllLife; ▼ Absa Life |
| Business and Commercial Insurance | Santam | 43.9 → 53.7 | Competitive field → Clear leader | 24.8 → 22.9 | ▲ OUTsurance, Hollard, Bryte; ▼ Momentum |
| Medical Schemes | Discovery Health | 50.8 → 51.4 | Clear leader → Competitive field | 17.6 → 14.6 | ▲ Fedhealth; ▼ Genesis Medical Scheme, KeyHealth |
| Private Banks | Investec | 48.3 → 55.8 | Competitive field → Clear leader | 16.6 → 17.2 | ▲ FNB Private, Nedbank Private Wealth; ▼ Absa Private Bank |
| Vehicle Tracking | Cartrack | 57.6 → 58.9 | Clear leader → Competitive field | 19.2 → 12.7 | ▲ Tracker, Netstar, MiX Telematics |
| Betting and Gaming | Betway | 55.0 → 60.1 | Clear leader | 15.9 → 20.5 | ▲ World Sports Betting, YesPlay; ▼ Easybet, Gbets, Betfred, Zarbet |
| Payment Providers | Payfast | 66.3 → 60.5 | Clear leader | 34.0 → 20.9 | ▲ Yoco, Paystack, Stitch; ▼ Paygate, SnapScan, Zapper |
| Business / SME Banks | FNB | 53.5 → 57.4 | Clear leader | 23.8 → 26.4 | ▲ Bank Zero; ▼ TymeBank, Absa, African Bank |
| Car Brands | Toyota | 59.6 → 60.5 | Clear leader | 26.3 → 18.6 | ▲ Suzuki; ▼ Renault, Nissan |
| Estate Agencies | Pam Golding | 46.9 → 47.7 | Competitive field | 9.6 → 9.6 | ▲ Rawson, Lew Geffen Sotheby's, Fine & Country |
| IT Managed Services and Systems Integrators | NTT | 26.0 → 27.4 | Wide open | 8.3 → 4.0 | ▲ Gijima; ▼ iOCO, Zinia |
| Mobile Networks | MTN | 53.8 → 63.9 | Clear leader | 15.7 → 20.3 | ▲ MTN, Shoprite K'nect |
| Retail Banks | Capitec | 43.7 → 50.3 | Competitive field | 6.3 → 8.6 | ▼ Nedbank, African Bank |
| Commercial / Corporate Banks | Standard Bank | 53.8 → 59.9 | Clear leader | 24.5 → 26.5 | ▲ RMB |
| Fibre Network Operators (FNOs) | Openserve | 53.6 → 51.5 | Competitive field | 6.4 → 1.5 | steady |
Biggest gains in AI visibility
The brands whose Quality Score rose by the most since Q2 2026, counting only changes that clear normal run-to-run variation. The Quality Score combines how often a brand is mentioned with where it ranks, so a brand mentioned more often but placed lower down does not count as a gain unless the net effect is real.
| Brand | Industry | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 | Change | Mentioned | Avg. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EasyEquities | Investment and Asset Management | 22.4 | 39.9 | ▲ 17.5 | 43% → 63% | 2.0 → 1.3 |
| Afrihost | Fibre ISPs | 47.6 | 62.9 | ▲ 15.3 | 90% → 95% | 1.7 → 1.4 |
| OUTsurance | Business and Commercial Insurance | 16.5 | 30.8 | ▲ 14.3 | 44% → 66% | 3.0 → 2.0 |
| Pineapple | Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home) | 4.8 | 18.2 | ▲ 13.4 | 28% → 43% | 6.1 → 2.8 |
| Lew Geffen Sotheby's | Estate Agencies | 3.9 | 17.1 | ▲ 13.2 | 17% → 41% | 5.5 → 2.9 |
| King Price | Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home) | 19.2 | 31.1 | ▲ 11.9 | 62% → 66% | 3.6 → 2.3 |
| Naked | Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home) | 16.3 | 28.1 | ▲ 11.8 | 46% → 68% | 3.9 → 2.6 |
| Sygnia | Investment and Asset Management | 13.4 | 24.9 | ▲ 11.5 | 44% → 61% | 3.8 → 2.4 |
| FNB Private | Private Banks | 27.3 | 38.6 | ▲ 11.3 | 74% → 79% | 2.7 → 2.1 |
| Discovery Life | Life and Long-Term Insurance | 30.2 | 41.4 | ▲ 11.2 | 65% → 85% | 2.2 → 1.8 |
| Paystack | Payment Providers | 8.8 | 19.7 | ▲ 10.9 | 40% → 56% | 4.9 → 3.3 |
| PPS | Life and Long-Term Insurance | 1.1 | 11.8 | ▲ 10.7 | 7% → 28% | 5.2 → 2.9 |
Biggest falls in AI visibility
The brands the assistants now put forward less often, or lower down their lists.
| Brand | Industry | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 | Change | Mentioned | Avg. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paygate | Payment Providers | 18.2 | 4.1 | ▼ 14.1 | 56% → 20% | 3.8 → 5.2 |
| Santam | Short-Term Insurers (Car & Home) | 34.3 | 21.7 | ▼ 12.6 | 67% → 59% | 2.5 → 2.8 |
| TymeBank | Business / SME Banks | 29.7 | 17.3 | ▼ 12.4 | 74% → 50% | 2.8 → 2.7 |
| Easybet | Betting and Gaming | 29.5 | 17.4 | ▼ 12.1 | 62% → 46% | 2.8 → 3.1 |
| Zinia | IT Managed Services and Systems Integrators | 8.1 | 0.1 | ▼ 8.0 | 16% → 1% | 2.0 → 6.0 |
| Betfred | Betting and Gaming | 9.8 | 2.9 | ▼ 6.9 | 35% → 11% | 4.4 → 3.2 |
| Ninety One | Investment and Asset Management | 16.2 | 9.8 | ▼ 6.4 | 35% → 36% | 2.4 → 2.8 |
| Zarbet | Betting and Gaming | 5.9 | 0.9 | ▼ 5.0 | 23% → 4% | - |
| African Bank | Business / SME Banks | 5.7 | 0.7 | ▼ 5.0 | 27% → 5% | 5.1 → 6.0 |
| Nedbank | Retail Banks | 23.1 | 18.1 | ▼ 5.0 | 78% → 62% | 3.6 → 3.6 |
| Damelin | Private Tertiary Education | 6.2 | 1.5 | ▼ 4.7 | 24% → 8% | 4.1 → 4.7 |
| Absa | Business / SME Banks | 19.4 | 14.9 | ▼ 4.5 | 71% → 61% | 3.8 → 4.1 |
Quality Score out of 100; avg. rank is the average list position when ranked (1 = top). A change only counts as movement when it is at least 2 points and clears normal run-to-run variation at 95% confidence, comparing the same 20 questions answer by answer across both quarters. Each quarter uses the assistants' current models, as buyers use them. Q2 2026 figures are restated with improved brand matching so both quarters are measured the same way.