By Jessie Peng
Welcome to the first edition of The Pollack Group’s Brand Visibility Index. Generative engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are playing an increasingly important role in brand discovery. If AI cites your brand in its responses, then accuracy, consistency, and ranking are critical.
With the Back-to-School season approaching, we started thinking about how students and parents are using AI to help them shop. As we all know, Back-to-School is a highly competitive retail season and everyone from media to investors will be paying attention to how retailers perform. In the past, they’ve heavily leveraged SEO marketing, paid media, and influencers, which continues to this day. But AI is quickly becoming the default search mode for consumers.
With many colleges and universities starting this month, we selected six retailers and took a deep dive into their AI search visibility on the topic of dorm room essentials. This analysis is based on 335 real AI-generated answers to 20 shopper prompts, collected between July 27–August 3, 2026, across six major retailers. Full methodology is at the bottom, but the short version is this isn’t a survey or an estimate. It’s what AI is telling shoppers, right now.
The analysis was conducted using Sited, our agency’s GEO and online visibility solution.
TL;DR
- Target and IKEA dominate AI visibility for dorm-room shopping, each appearing in roughly 30% of analyzed answers and significantly outperforming the other retailers.
- IKEA benefits from strong owned content, with its dedicated dorm essentials page cited in 27% of prompt responses.
- Social platforms are becoming major AI sources, with Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram among the most frequently cited domains.
- Brand strengths differ by category: The Container Store led on perceived quality, while Amazon ranked highest for product variety.
GEO Awareness
GEO Awareness is measured by the percentage of prompt answers that mentioned a specific brand. Target and IKEA were each mentioned in about 30% of all analyzed answers, dominating the conversations with a combined awareness of 60%. They were followed by Amazon (8.7%), which scored a significantly lower share of awareness.
GEO Share of Voice (SOV)
The GEO Share of Voice is measured by mentions of the brand divided by total mentions of all brands. Again, Target (12%) and IKEA (11%) were the top 2 players, followed by Amazon (3.3%). All the six brands’ combined SOV was 30%, indicating a crowded and competitive market with numerous brands competing for customers’ attention.
Mention Position
The Mention Position is the average position of the brand mentions in prompt answers. Like traditional SEO, an important aspect in GEO analysis is the ranking of a brand – the earlier a brand shows up in AI-generated answers, the more likely it will be noticed by users. While IKEA led the competition with an average position of 2.4th, the competition is close, as all the brands analyzed fell between the range of 2-4. Given the ever-evolving nature of AI search results, we should note that this result only represents a snapshot from a short period. Analysis of data collected over a longer period might yield different results.
Sentiment
The Sentiment score is a number on the scale of 1-10. A smaller number represents more negative sentiment in the prompt answers, and larger numbers indicate more positivity. The brands were again ranked very closely – all of them fell between the range of 7.6-6.2.
While the scores appeared to be similar, a deeper dive into specific keywords (especially the negative ones) revealed some interesting findings. We categorized the sentiment analysis into three categories: price, quality, and variety.
- In the price category, 1.2% of prompt answers noted that IKEA charges regular large-furniture shipping fees. These answers were labeled as having a negative effect on IKEA’s sentiment. While one percent seems insignificant, it’s a snapshot of a larger issue. Customers regularly voice their complaints elsewhere online.
- All the six brands received positive feedback on questions about quality, with The Container Store leading with a category score of 8.2, supported by information related to its clear acrylic stackable drawer units, under-bed containers, durable bins, and modular bins.
- In the variety category, Amazon led the rankings with a category score of 8.1. Answers mentioned its huge selection, last-minute room accessories, curated back-to-college lists, and in-house basics.
What the Laggards Are Missing
Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond told a different story than Target and IKEA, and the gap wasn’t close. Combined, the two lowest performers accounted for a fraction of the mentions their category leaders captured, and neither showed up in the same conversations around owned content or social citation that powered the top of the pack.
The pattern is consistent with what drove the leaders: brands without a dedicated, purpose-built page for the moment (dorm essentials, in this case) are getting fewer citations, no matter how large their catalog or how competitive their pricing. Amazon’s product variety didn’t translate into AI visibility the way IKEA’s single, well-optimized page did. That’s a meaningful signal: AI search engines prefers relevance over scale or volume. A retailer with ten times the SKUs of IKEA still lost the visibility contest to one clear, well-cited page built for exactly the question shoppers were asking.
For brands sitting outside the top tier, the fix isn’t a bigger content library. It’s a sharper one.
What This Means For Your Brand
- Build for the moment, not the catalog. A single, well-structured page addressing a specific shopper occasion outperforms a broad product catalog in AI-generated answers. Relevance beats scale.
- Show up where AI is already looking. Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram are now primary citation sources for generative engines, not just discovery channels for humans. Brands need a monitoring and engagement presence there, not just a posting cadence.
- Earned media still drives GEO. Coverage from trusted outlets is cited directly in AI answers. Organic press outreach isn’t legacy PR, it’s now a direct visibility lever for AI search.
- Position, not just presence, matters. Being mentioned isn’t enough, where you rank inside the answer affects whether users notice you at all. Track mention positions the same way you’d track SEO ranking.
Cited Sources
AI search engines pull information from a variety of sources, including company websites, traditional media outlets and social media platforms. It’s worth noting that most of these citations were from organic publications rather than paid ads. This underscores the importance of organic media outreach and content creation, as well as online community engagement. Here are some takeaways from the most cited sources:
- The importance of owned content: One thing that set IKEA apart from its competitors was its dedicated page for dorm essentials, which was cited in 27% of prompt responses. Similar examples included another dedicated page by Lowe’s, and another one published by Macy’s. Maintaining an up-to-date, AI-friendly website is definitely one of the key tactics for brands to boost online visibility.
- The growing impact of social media: Reddit (32%), YouTube (19%), and Instagram (16%) were among the most cited domains. Compared with our earlier reports for other projects, we noticed the growing impact of social media platforms, and especially forums like Reddit. The numbers indicated the need for brands to be present on these platforms to monitor the conversation and provide accurate, official information when needed.
- The opportunity for organic media coverage: Stories from mainstream outlets like NBC, Forbes, and Teen Vogue were also actively cited by AI engines, underscoring the importance of organic media outreach and strong, consistent messaging. Media outlets, including international, national, regional and trade, are often recognized by AI engines as trustworthy and timely sources of information.
Methodology
The analysis was based on AI-generated search results for 20 prompts related to the Back-to-School Season, covering topics such as dorm essentials, dorm furniture shopping, and related online deals. We analyzed 335 answers generated between July 27 and August 3, 2026, focusing on six key players in the market: IKEA, Target, Amazon, The Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Walmart.
The analysis is powered by Sited, The Pollack Group’s solution for GEO and online visibility improvement. Curious where your brand ranks in these same AI conversations? We’ll run your category through Sited and show you exactly how and why you show up, or don’t. Let’s talk.
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Seeing It In Action
To share a snapshot of what it looks like when a shopper asks, we listed some of the prompts and answers below:
Prompt: How can I find dorm furniture deals and discounts during back-to-college season?
Answer (excerpt):
Back-to-college season is one of the best times of year to buy dorm furniture because many retailers compete for student shoppers. With a little planning, you can often combine sale prices with student discounts, loyalty rewards, cashback offers, and tax-free weekends.
Here are some of the most effective ways to save:
Verify your student status. Many retailers offer exclusive discounts through student verification services. For example, IKEA has offered verified students a one-time discount on dorm essentials during its college promotion, while Target has offered verified college students a one-time storewide discount through its loyalty program…
Prompt: Where can I buy affordable and durable dorm room furniture?
Answer (excerpt):
If you’re looking for furniture that’s both affordable and durable enough to survive dorm life (and possibly a few moves), these are some of the best places to shop:
IKEA – One of the best values for desks, rolling carts, shelving, and storage. IKEA also offers student promotions during the back-to-school season and has a dedicated dorm collection. Recent price comparisons still place IKEA among the most affordable major furniture retailers.
Target – Great for compact furniture, cube organizers, storage drawers, and folding furniture. Their Room Essentials line is especially budget-friendly.
Walmart – Offers inexpensive desks, dressers, shelving, and storage solutions with many options under $100.
DormCo – Specializes in dorm-sized furniture and storage designed for small spaces, with student discounts and budget-focused bundles.
Wayfair – A good option if you want a wider variety of styles and frequent sales. HGTV regularly recommends it for dorm furniture shopping…
