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When people in France ask an AI which bank, software or hotel to choose, which brands get recommended? To find out, Million Marketing put the same 40 buying questions to four answer engines on 2 October 2026: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews. That is 160 answers analysed across eight sectors.
The timing matters. Google switched on AI Overviews in France on 22 July 2026 [1]. When an AI-generated summary appears, users click on a traditional result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when there is no summary [2]. Conversely, brands cited in an AI Overview earn a 35% higher organic click-through rate and a 91% higher paid click-through rate than brands that are not [3]. Being cited by AI is becoming a condition of visibility. This barometer measures who is cited today.
Methodology at a glance
We wrote 40 questions the way a consumer or a decision-maker would phrase them (“What is the best online bank in France?”, “Which ERP should a mid-sized industrial company choose?”), split into eight sectors of five questions each. Each question was submitted once, on the same day, to each of the four engines, in French and from France. For every answer we recorded the brands cited, the order in which they appeared and, for Google’s two tools, the websites shown as sources. Full conditions and limitations are set out at the end of this page.
Finding 1: ChatGPT recommends fewer brands
The number of brands cited almost doubles from one engine to another. ChatGPT gives a short list of 4.5 brands on average. Google’s tools are more expansive: 5.7 brands in AI Overviews, 7.0 in Gemini and 7.3 in AI Mode, which makes heavy use of comparison tables and categories.
Source: AIO Barometer 2026, Million Marketing. 40 questions per engine (39 for AI Overviews, which did not appear on one question).
The direct consequence: on ChatGPT, there is only room for a handful of names. A brand missing from that short list simply does not exist in the answer.
Finding 2: visibility on one engine guarantees nothing on the others
Question by question, we compared the brands cited by each pair of engines. The average overlap (share of brands common to both answers) does not exceed 59%. Google’s three tools resemble one another (56% to 59%) more than they resemble ChatGPT (46% to 49%).
How to read: on average, 49% of the brands cited by ChatGPT or by Google AI Mode for the same question are common to both answers (Jaccard index).
In total, 411 distinct brands were cited, question by question. Only 28% of them appear in all four engines; 35% are cited by a single engine. A visibility strategy that looks at only one engine misses a large part of the picture.
Finding 3: first place is often locked in
On 17 of the 40 questions, all four engines cite the same brand first. On 25 questions, at least three engines out of four agree on the leading name. These unanimous leaders are mostly established brands: Leclerc (twice), Orange, EDF, Darty, Leroy Merlin, Accor, Nexity, Toyota, Hermès and Rolex.
Yet six of the 17 unanimous leaders are digital-native brands: Pretto for mortgage brokerage, Sellsy for CRM, PayFit for payroll, Pennylane for accounting, Leboncoin for property search and Booking for hotel reservations. In these categories, those brands have built a strong, long-standing presence in comparison sites, specialist press and online reviews: the very material answer engines feed on.
Finding 4: fragmented markets remain open
By contrast, some categories have no leader in the eyes of AI. For niche perfume and yoghurt, no brand is cited by all four engines. For premium French ready-to-wear, the four answers cite 20 different brands; for choosing an agency to sell a flat in Paris, 19. In these markets the pecking order is not yet set: targeted editorial work can get a brand into the answers.
Finding 5: Google relies first on what others say
We classified the 644 links shown as sources in 70 answers from Google AI Mode and AI Overviews.
- Third-party sites: media, comparison sites, blogs 61%
- Sites of the brands cited 26%
- Social and video platforms 9%
- Public bodies and consumer associations 4%
Source: AIO Barometer 2026, Million Marketing. 644 links recorded in 70 answers.
Six sources out of ten are third-party sites: media, comparison sites and specialist blogs. The websites of the brands recommended account for only a quarter of sources, even though they appear in 64% of answers. Strikingly, YouTube is the most cited domain: it features in 44% of sourced answers, ahead of Facebook, the consumer association Que Choisir and comparison sites such as LesFurets.
In other words, what others say about a brand counts at least as much as what it says about itself. Press relations, presence in comparison sites, reviews and video are becoming AI visibility levers in their own right.
Results by sector
For each question, the table shows the brands cited by all four engines, the brand cited first (with the number of engines in agreement) and the total number of distinct brands cited. Questions were asked in French and are translated here.
Banking and insurance
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the best online bank in France? | BoursoBank, Fortuneo, Hello bank, Meilleurtaux, Monabanq | BoursoBank (3/4) | 10 |
| Which car insurance should a young driver choose in France? | Direct Assurance, L’olivier | Varies: Direct Assurance, L’olivier, MAIF | 10 |
| Which bank do you recommend for a self-employed professional in France? | Shine, Qonto, Hello bank, BNP Paribas | Varies: Qonto, Shine, BoursoBank | 7 |
| What is the best home insurance in France? | MACIF | Varies: MAIF, GMF, MACIF | 15 |
| Which mortgage broker should I choose in France? | Pretto, Meilleurtaux, Empruntis, Cafpi | Pretto (unanimous) | 5 |
B2B software
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which CRM software should a French SME choose? | Sellsy, HubSpot, Pipedrive | Sellsy (unanimous) | 9 |
| What is the best payroll software in France? | PayFit, Silae, Sage, Cegid | PayFit (unanimous) | 9 |
| Which accounting software do you recommend for an SME in France? | Pennylane, Sage | Pennylane (unanimous) | 8 |
| Which e-signature solution should I choose in France? | Yousign, DocuSign | Yousign (3/4) | 7 |
| Which ERP should a mid-sized industrial company in France choose? | SAP, Microsoft Dynamics | Sage (3/4) | 9 |
Automotive
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which electric car should I buy in France in 2026? | Renault, Citroën, Tesla | Renault (3/4) | 8 |
| What is the most reliable car brand? | Toyota, Lexus, Honda | Varies: Toyota, Lexus | 14 |
| Which family SUV should I choose in France? | Peugeot, Renault, Hyundai, Dacia, Toyota | Peugeot (3/4) | 12 |
| Which car rental company should I choose in France? | Avis, Sixt, Enterprise | Varies: Europcar, Sixt | 10 |
| Which hybrid car do you recommend for city driving? | Toyota, Renault, Honda | Toyota (unanimous) | 4 |
FMCG and retail
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the best coffee bean brand in France? | Illy, Lavazza | Varies: Coutume, Terres de Café, Illy, Lavazza | 8 |
| Which mineral water brand is the best? | Volvic, Hépar | Varies: Evian, Volvic, Rozana, Mont Roucous | 13 |
| Which supermarket is the cheapest in France? | Leclerc, Lidl, Aldi | Leclerc (unanimous) | 8 |
| Which yoghurt brand should I choose? | None | Varies: Carrefour, Les 2 Vaches, Yoplait | 9 |
| Which supermarket click-and-collect service do you recommend in France? | Leclerc | Leclerc (unanimous) | 8 |
Luxury and fashion
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which French luxury house is the most prestigious? | Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel | Varies: Hermès, Louis Vuitton | 7 |
| Which luxury bag should I buy as an investment? | Hermès, Chanel | Hermès (unanimous) | 7 |
| Which luxury watch brand should I choose? | Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre | Rolex (unanimous) | 8 |
| Which niche perfume brand do you recommend? | None | Varies: Diptyque, Parfums d’Empire, Byredo, BDK Parfums | 14 |
| Which premium French ready-to-wear brand should I choose? | Sézane, Sandro, Maje | Varies: Sandro, Ami Paris, Sézane | 20 |
Real estate
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which estate agency should I choose to sell a flat in Paris? | Hosman | Varies: Hosman, Imop, Laforêt | 19 |
| What is the best website to look for a home in France? | Leboncoin, SeLoger, PAP | Leboncoin (unanimous) | 9 |
| Which luxury estate agency should I choose on the French Riviera? | Sotheby’s | Varies: Sotheby’s, John Taylor | 10 |
| Which estate agency network is the most reliable in France? | Orpi, Century 21, Laforêt | Orpi (3/4) | 10 |
| Which property developer should I choose to buy a new-build home in France? | Nexity, Cogedim, Bouygues Immobilier, Kaufman & Broad | Nexity (unanimous) | 10 |
Travel and hospitality
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which airline should I choose for a Paris–New York flight? | Air France, Delta, French bee, United | Air France (3/4) | 12 |
| Which hotel booking site is the most reliable? | Booking, Expedia | Booking (unanimous) | 9 |
| Which French hotel group do you recommend? | Accor | Accor (unanimous) | 11 |
| What is the best online travel agency in France? | Evaneos, Voyage Privé | Varies: Expedia, Booking, Voyageurs du Monde | 13 |
| Which palace hotel should I choose in Paris? | Hôtel de Crillon, Plaza Athénée, Cheval Blanc, Le Bristol, Lutetia | Varies: Hôtel de Crillon, Cheval Blanc, Ritz | 13 |
Consumer electronics and utilities
| Question asked | Cited by every engine | Cited first | Distinct brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which website is the most reliable for buying household appliances in France? | Darty, Boulanger, Ubaldi | Darty (unanimous) | 11 |
| Which mobile operator should I choose in France? | Orange, Bouygues Telecom, Sosh, B&You, SFR, Free Mobile, RED by SFR | Orange (unanimous) | 12 |
| Which electricity supplier should I choose in France? | EDF, Octopus, TotalEnergies, Engie | EDF (unanimous) | 16 |
| Which smartphone brand should I buy in 2026? | Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel, Xiaomi | Apple (3/4) | 7 |
| Which DIY retailer do you recommend in France? | Leroy Merlin, Brico Dépôt, Castorama | Leroy Merlin (unanimous) | 10 |
Five lessons for brands
- Aim for the top three. With 4.5 brands per answer, ChatGPT leaves no room beyond the first few names. The goal is not to be mentioned but to be cited among the first three.
- Measure engine by engine. More than a third of brands are cited by only one engine. Your visibility in ChatGPT says nothing about your visibility in Gemini or in Google AI Overviews.
- Work on your ecosystem, not just your website. 61% of Google’s sources are third-party sites. Comparison sites, specialist media, consumer associations and customer reviews shape the answers.
- Invest in video. YouTube is the domain Google cites most in our answers. A well-titled, well-described explainer video can become a source.
- Target open categories. Where no brand dominates, a reference piece of content, sourced and backed by figures, has a real chance of being picked up. Academic research shows that adding quotations, statistics and sources can increase a piece of content’s visibility in generative answers by up to 40% [4].
To go further, our AIO guide 2026 details the technical and editorial levers, and our AIO service measures, every month, your brand’s share of voice against your competitors on your own questions.
Methodology and limitations
Corpus. 40 questions in French, 5 per sector, written as buying or choice queries. Each question was submitted once to each engine on 2 October 2026, giving 160 answers.
Test conditions. ChatGPT was queried without a signed-in account, in its free version. Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews were queried from a signed-in Google account located in France; for Gemini, the model used was Gemini Flash-Lite. Each question was asked in a new conversation, with one exception on Gemini. Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot were not included, as using them required signing in or accepting new terms of use.
Brand detection. Brands were detected using sector dictionaries, then checked manually answer by answer (headings, tables, and false positives such as “la compagnie aérienne” or “Budget”). Brands belonging to the same group were combined when the question was about a group (for example Accor hotels). Brands cited only by way of contrast or within an advertising module were excluded.
Sources. Links were recorded for Google AI Mode and AI Overviews (70 answers with sources). ChatGPT, used without an account, and Gemini display few or no links under these conditions, so they are not included in the source analysis.
Limitations. AI answers vary from one session to another; this barometer is a snapshot on a given date, based on one measurement per question. AI Overviews did not trigger on one question (luxury estate agency on the French Riviera). Brands are cited as observations: this barometer is neither a quality ranking nor a buying recommendation.
Reuse. The data in this barometer may be reused freely, with the credit “AIO Barometer 2026, Million Marketing” and a link to this page.
Sources and references
- The Media Leader FR — Google active AI Overviews dans son moteur de recherche en France (July 2026)
- Pew Research Center — Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results (22 July 2025)
- Seer Interactive — AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 Update
- Aggarwal et al. — Generative Engine Optimization, KDD 2024 (arXiv:2311.09735)