We tested 1,500 queries across 5 AI engines, 18 footwear brands, and 2 languages (EN/ES) to discover which brands dominate AI recommendations — and which ones are invisible. Presented at POSSIBLE 2026.
Crocs is the #1 most-mentioned brand across all 5 AI engines. With 1,435 total mentions, it nearly doubles the runner-up (New Balance at 833). Every single engine picks Crocs first.
Not only does Crocs lead every engine, it performs even better in Spanish-language queries (745 ES vs 690 EN). This comfort-first brand has achieved the kind of AI omnipresence that Nike and Adidas have in traditional search. The question isn't whether Crocs is visible — it's whether anyone can catch up.
Each brand's AI Visibility Score (0–100) measures how often it appears across 1,500 queries. The gap between digital-native brands and legacy names tells a clear story about what AI values.
Visibility Score = % of queries where the brand was mentioned by AI engines. Higher is better.
Some brands see dramatically different AI visibility depending on whether users ask in English or Spanish. Comfort and lifestyle brands gain in Spanish; performance-outdoor brands lose.
Performance-outdoor brands (HOKA, On Running, Merrell, Teva) lose significant visibility in Spanish, while comfort/lifestyle brands (Skechers, Puma, Crocs) gain. This suggests AI engines draw from different source material per language — Spanish-language content favors mass-market comfort brands with stronger LATAM distribution and brand awareness.
Each AI engine has a distinct recommendation style — from the most generous (OpenAI, 1,099 brand mentions) to the most selective (Claude, 757). They don't just pick the same brands differently; they think about footwear differently.
Below the top 6, footwear brands fall off a cliff. The bottom 6 combined have fewer mentions than New Balance alone.
Performance and outdoor brands (Salomon, Teva, Merrell, OOFOS) are nearly invisible to AI engines despite strong specialty retail presence. Even Hey Dude — owned by Crocs — couldn't leverage its parent brand's AI dominance.
Before running the study, we set 4 hypotheses about footwear AI visibility. Here's how they held up against 1,500 data points.
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