{"id":709781,"date":"2026-01-29T07:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T04:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-recommendation-lists-repeat-less-than-1-of-the-time-study-2\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T07:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T04:31:16","slug":"ai-recommendation-lists-repeat-less-than-1-of-the-time-study-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-recommendation-lists-repeat-less-than-1-of-the-time-study-2\/","title":{"rendered":"AI recommendation lists repeat less than 1% of the time: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27878961ed5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27878961ed5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ai-recommendation-lists-repeat-less-than-1-of-the-time-study-2\/#AI_recommendations_vary_widely_even_when_prompts_are_identical_New_data_shows_intent_is_consistent_but_position_tracking_is_mostly_noise\" >AI recommendations vary widely, even when prompts are identical. New data shows intent is consistent, but position tracking is mostly noise.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AI_recommendations_vary_widely_even_when_prompts_are_identical_New_data_shows_intent_is_consistent_but_position_tracking_is_mostly_noise\"><\/span>AI recommendations vary widely, even when prompts are identical. New data shows intent is consistent, but position tracking is mostly noise.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>When ChatGPT, Claude, or Google\u2019s AI get asked for brand or product recommendations, they almost never return the same list twice \u2014 and almost never in the same order.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the big finding from a new study from Rand Fishkin, CEO and co-founder of SparkToro, and Patrick O\u2019Donnell, CTO and co-founder of Gumshoe.ai. They investigated whether generative AI recommendations are sufficiently consistent to be measured.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What they tested.<\/strong> Six hundred volunteers ran 12 identical prompts through ChatGPT, Claude, and Google\u2019s AI nearly 3,000 times.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Each response was normalized into an ordered list of brands or products. The team then compared those lists for overlap, order, and repetition.<\/li>\n<li>The goal was to see how often the same answers actually <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The short answer: almost never.<\/strong> Across tools and prompts, the odds of getting the same list twice were under 1 in 100. The odds of getting the same list in the same order were closer to 1 in 1,000.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Even list length varied wildly. Some responses named two or three options. Others named 10 or more.<\/li>\n<li>If you don\u2019t like the result, the data suggests a simple fix: ask again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" http: alt=\"Ai Tool Response Consistency Lists Of Brands\" class=\"wp-image-468079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands.webp 1280w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands-768x432.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands.webp\" alt=\"Ai Tool Response Consistency Lists Of Brands\" class=\"wp-image-468079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands.webp 1280w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2026\/01\/ai-tool-response-consistency-lists-of-brands-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Why we care.<\/strong> We\u2019ve heard that personalization drives AI answers. This is the first research that puts real numbers behind that claim \u2014 and the implications are massive. If you\u2019re looking for a concrete way SEO and GEO diverge, this is it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Random by design.<\/strong> This isn\u2019t a flaw. It\u2019s how these systems work.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Large language models are probability engines. They\u2019re designed to generate variation, not to return a stable, ordered set of results.<\/li>\n<li>Treating them like Google\u2019s blue links misses the point and produces bad metrics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>One thing that works.<\/strong> While rankings collapsed under scrutiny, one metric held up better than expected: visibility percentage.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some brands appeared again and again across dozens of runs, even though their position jumped around. In some cases \u2014 hospitals, agencies, consumer brands \u2014 names showed up in 60% to 90% of responses for a given intent.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat presence means something. Exact rank does not.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Size matters.<\/strong> The smaller the market, the more stable the results.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In tight spaces \u2014 like regional service providers or niche B2B tools \u2014 AI answers clustered around a few familiar names. In massive categories \u2014 like novels or creative agencies \u2014 results scattered into chaos.<\/li>\n<li>More options create more randomness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Prompts are chaos.<\/strong> The team also tested real human prompts, and they were a mess \u2014 in a very human way.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Almost no two prompts looked alike, even when people wanted the same thing. Semantic similarity was extremely low.<\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s the surprise: despite wildly different phrasing, AI tools still returned similar brand sets for the same underlying intent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Intent survives.<\/strong> For headphone recommendations, hundreds of unique prompts still surfaced leaders like Bose, Sony, Apple, and Sennheiser most of the time.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Change the intent \u2014 gaming, podcasting, noise canceling \u2014 and the brand set changed with it.<\/li>\n<li>That suggests AI tools do capture intent, even when prompts are strange.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s useless.<\/strong> Tracking \u201cposition\u201d in AI answers.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The study is blunt: ranking positions are so unstable they\u2019re effectively meaningless. Any product selling AI rank movement is selling fiction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What might work.<\/strong> Track how often your brand appears across many prompts, run many times. It\u2019s imperfect. It\u2019s messy. But it\u2019s closer to reality than pretending AI answers behave like search rankings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Open questions.<\/strong> Fishkin points to gaps that still need answers.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How many runs are needed to make visibility numbers reliable? <\/li>\n<li>Do APIs behave like real users? <\/li>\n<li>How many prompts accurately represent a market?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Bottom line.<\/strong> AI recommendation lists are inherently random. Visibility \u2014 measured carefully and at scale \u2014 may still tell you something real. Just don\u2019t confuse it with ranking.<\/p>\n<p>The report. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/new-research-ais-are-highly-inconsistent-when-recommending-brands-or-products-marketers-should-take-care-when-tracking-ai-visibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products; marketers should take care when tracking AI visibility<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/ai-recommendation-lists-rarely-repeat-study-468076\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI recommendations vary widely, even when prompts are identical. New data shows intent is consistent, but position tracking is mostly noise. When ChatGPT, Claude, or Google\u2019s AI get asked for brand or product recommendations, they almost never return the same list twice \u2014 and almost never in the same order. That\u2019s the big finding from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}