What are the best running shoes right now?
Answers vary from one ask to the next, and the apps can search the web and remember the person asking. That is why we ask each question 90 times without web search and 36 times with it.
On is America's fourth-biggest running shoe brand. AI never names it first.
On comes first in none of 720 answers without web search and none of 288 with it. Brooks and Hoka sell about the same, yet AI puts Brooks first in 42% and 21% of answers and Hoka in 9% and 11%.
United States
Running shoes
On is America's fourth-biggest running shoe brand. AI never names it first.
Measured without web search. The search run comes in the next edition.
The brands AI names first most often, plus any this finding is about.
Named firstNamed at all
| Brand | Named first | Named at all |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks | 77% | |
| Nike | 45% | |
| Asics | 72% | |
| Hoka | 52% | |
| Saucony | 75% | |
| Altra | 16% | |
| La Sportiva | 6% | |
| New Balance | 53% | |
| Adidas | 22% | |
| Topo Athletic | 9% | |
| Puma | 9% | |
| Inov-8 | 4% | |
| Salomon | 11% | |
| Mizuno | 3% | |
| Norda | 2% | |
| On | 2% | |
| Merrell | <1% | |
| Under Armour | <1% | |
| Skechers | <1% |
720 answers across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude together, October 2026. These are AI answers, not market shares. The three assistants share a favorite on 2 of 8 questions.
"On" is also an ordinary word. We count it by model names and clear mentions. A check found bare mentions we missed in fewer than 1% of answers, none of them a first pick.
By assistant, and on your own buyers' questions: that is a Position Map. See a Position Map
With web search · All eight questions
| Brand | Named first | Named at all |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks | 59% | |
| Asics | 66% | |
| Nike | 46% | |
| Hoka | 51% | |
| Saucony | 56% | |
| Adidas | 33% | |
| New Balance | 32% | |
| Altra | 14% | |
| Salomon | 7% | |
| Puma | 19% | |
| Topo Athletic | 11% | |
| Mizuno | 9% | |
| La Sportiva | 7% | |
| Merrell | 5% | |
| Inov-8 | 2% | |
| On | 4% | |
| Norda | <1% | |
| Skechers | <1% | |
| Under Armour | <1% |
288 answers across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude together, October 2026. These are AI answers, not market shares. The three assistants share a favorite on 3 of 8 questions.
Who sells, and who AI names first.
By market size
By AI's first picks
- 1Brooks
- 2Hoka
- 3Nike
- 4On
- 5Asics
- 6New Balance
- 7Skechers
- 8Saucony
- 1Brooks42%
- 2Nike12%
- 3Asics11%
- 4Hoka9%
- 5Saucony6%
- =8New Balance2%
- =8Adidas2%
- –On0%
- –Skechers0%
Places count every brand AI names, so the numbers can jump. "=" is a tie. "–" means AI never names it first.
Brooks and Hoka each hold about 23% of US adult running shoe sales. On ranks fourth and Skechers seventh. AI names Skechers in 3 of 720 answers without web search and 1 of 288 with it.
Circana via SGB Media (US adult running footwear, all channels, 12 months to September 2025).
What it means.
In this market a brand's AI position does not follow its sales. A brand built through stores, athletes and culture cannot assume that strength reaches the answer a new runner gets. It has to be checked, because nothing in the sales data shows it. Leaders have their own exposure: Brooks loses half its first picks when AI searches, and all three assistants then name Asics for the best running shoe.
The eight questions.
I'm new to running and about to start couch to 5K. What running shoes should I buy?
Best running shoes for plantar fasciitis?
Best running shoes for wide feet?
What are the best running shoes under $100?
Best carbon plate racing shoes for a marathon?
Best trail running shoes?
Best running shoes for heavier runners?
Is your company missing or measured under the wrong name? Tell us. We correct facts at any time. Results change only in the next edition, for everyone.
Edition 1, Q4 2026. Next edition: January 2027.
Eight buying questions per market, each asked in six wordings of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: five times without web search (720 answers per market, 14,400 in all) and twice with it (288 per market, 4,600 in all, in sixteen of the twenty markets so far). Measured 25 to 30 October 2026. Kesterley.
Your own questions, not ours. Position Map: where you stand on the questions your buyers ask, why AI puts a rival first, and what to do first. From $2,500. Two weeks.
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