- With consumers increasingly turning to AI platforms for search and discovery, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is becoming an essential marketing and visibility component for brands
- The agency’s first report, powered by its Sited GEO solution, analyzes national retail players for the Back-to-School season and finds Target and IKEA dominating AI visibility for students and parents shopping for dorm room essentials
LOS ANGELES (August 14, 2026) — The Pollack Group (TPG) today announced the launch of its new monthly Brand Visibility Index, a research series examining how brands are represented, ranked and cited by generative AI platforms.Powered by Sited, the agency’s Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and online visibility solution, the Index is designed to provide a snapshot of which brands are winning in AI search and what is driving their visibility.
As consumers increasingly turn to platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, it’s essential for marketers to understand how generative engines rank and position brands.
The inaugural Index focuses on the competitive Back-to-School retail season, analyzing how AI engines respond to questions from customers shopping for college dorm essentials. TPG focused on six national retailers: Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, IKEA, Target, The Container Store, and Walmart.
Target and IKEA Lead AI Visibility
The findings reveal a substantial gap between the category leaders and their competitors: Target and IKEA were each mentioned in approximately 30% of analyzed AI answers, while Amazon, the next-highest performer, appeared in just 8.7%. The findings also illustrate how a brand’s broader digital footprint can influence its presence in AI-generated answers. IKEA’s dedicated dorm essentials webpage, for example, was cited in 27% of prompt responses.
Other key findings include:
- Target and IKEA led GEO Share of Voice, accounting for 12% and 11%, respectively, of all brand mentions.
- IKEA ranked highest in mention position, with an average ranking of 2.4, meaning it typically appeared between the second and third brands mentioned in AI-generated answers.
- Social platforms emerged as significant AI sources, with Reddit cited in 32% of responses, YouTube in 19% and Instagram in 16%.
- Earned media also played a key role in AI visibility, with national outlets including NBC, Forbes and Teen Vogueappearing among cited sources.
What Drives Brand Visibility in AI Search
The findings also suggest that scale alone does not guarantee AI visibility. Despite the breadth of products available from major retailers, brands with highly relevant, purpose-built content for specific consumer needs can gain an advantage in generative search. The analysis also demonstrates the growing connection between GEO and communications disciplines including PR, social media, content strategy and website optimization.
“The way consumers discover brands is changing quickly, and simply ranking well in traditional search is no longer the whole picture,” said Jackie Liu, Senior Vice President of The Pollack Group. “AI engines are synthesizing information from brand websites, media coverage, social platforms and online conversations to determine which brands they recommend and how they describe them. Our Sited solution provides a way to measure that new landscape and identify what brands can do to compete within it.”
In total, the report analyzed 335 AI-generated answers to 20 shopper prompts collected between July 27 – August 3, 2026.
Sited: The Solution for AI Search Visibility
TPG developed Sited to help companies, brands, and organizations understand and improve how they appear across AI search and the broader digital ecosystem. The solution analyzes metrics including GEO awareness, share of voice, mention position, sentiment and cited sources, helping brands benchmark their visibility against competitors and identify opportunities to strengthen their online presence.
Read the full Back-to-School Brand Visibility Index
About The Pollack Group
The Pollack Group is an integrated creative, marketing, and public relations agency with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Founded in 1985, the agency partners with iconic global brands, ambitious challengers, and purpose-driven organizations across consumer, technology, financial services, entertainment, and nonprofit sectors. Its proprietary solutions, spanning leadership positioning, message development, crisis communications, audience intelligence, and AI-era brand visibility, are built for brands that compete to win. The Pollack Group is a partner in The Worldcom Public Relations Group, with reach across 115 offices worldwide. Learn more at pollackgroup.com.