36Kr and PureblueAI jointly released the "2026 AI Recommendation Power List for Consumer Brands". In the AI era, how can brands seize the new battlefield of "recommendation power"?

When you plan to buy a new phone, a refrigerator, or a bottle of cream, what's your first move? Do you open an e-commerce platform to browse or search for product reviews? Currently, more and more people choose to directly ask AI.

"With a budget of 200,000 - 300,000 yuan, what new energy sedans are recommended?" "Which phone takes better photos?" "What cleanser is suitable for sensitive skin?"... These consumption decisions that used to require consulting a large number of guides and comparing numerous parameters are now being handled by concise AI Q&A windows. Mainstream AI assistants like DeepSeek, Doubao, Tongyi Qianwen, and Tencent Yuanbao are penetrating our consumption life to an unprecedented depth, becoming the de facto "first entry point" and "pre - decision - making advisor".

For major brands, a new battlefield has quietly emerged. When consumers no longer directly search for brand names but pose an open - ended demand to AI, will your brand be mentioned? What's its ranking? Will it be actively recommended or just be an alternative? Is the description accurate and powerful or just a passing mention? How big is the gap with competitors? The answers to these questions together form a new competitiveness indicator for brands in the AI era - AI Recommendation Power.

AI Recommendation Power is not equivalent to traditional brand awareness, market share, or sales ranking. It is the comprehensive performance of a brand in the consumption decision - making answers generated by AI. It measures the probability and ability of your brand to be selected, presented preferentially, and described positively when AI answers consumption questions from an objective and comprehensive perspective. Behind this is the cognition and judgment formed by AI based on massive public information, user feedback, and product data.

Insight into this industry trend, 36Kr, in collaboration with the AI word - of - mouth marketing company PureblueAI, launched the first large - scale and systematic AI Recommendation Power Observation of consumer brands in April 2026. We focused on five core consumer categories: automobiles, mobile phones, home appliances, skincare, and cosmetics. We conducted multiple rounds of data collection and comprehensive evaluations on the answers of mainstream AI platforms to typical consumption decision - making questions, and finally compiled this "2026 Consumer Brand AI Recommendation Power List".

List and Interpretation

The "AI Recommendation Power Score" in this "2026 Consumer Brand AI Recommendation Power List" is evaluated based on PureblueAI's AI recommendation monitoring capabilities and calculated through a scientific quantitative model to ensure the objectivity and reference value of the results. This model mainly covers four core dimensions, which together constitute the comprehensive recommendation performance of brands/products in AI answers. The four core dimensions and their weights are as follows:

Priority Recommendation Rate Score (Weight: 40%): It refers to the probability and performance of a brand/product being presented first in the answers generated by AI. It reflects which brand/product AI is most inclined to choose as the "priority option" when organizing answers.

Top - Three Recommendation Rate Score (Weight: 30%): It refers to the probability and performance of a brand/product being recommended among the top three in AI answers. It reflects that in most consumption decisions, users usually focus on the top - few options.

Recommendation Semantic Score (Weight: 20%): It evaluates the relevance, positivity, and clarity of the description when AI recommends a brand/product. Here, a brand with accurately described core advantages and positive evaluations is obviously more influential than a brand that is only vaguely mentioned.

Recommendation Rate Score (Weight: 10%): It refers to the overall frequency of a brand/product being recommended or mentioned by AI in relevant consumption decision - making questions. This is a basic breadth indicator of recommendation power.

The data in the list mainly comes from PureblueAI's monitoring of mainstream AI platforms such as DeepSeek, Doubao, Tongyi Qianwen, and Tencent Yuanbao. Multiple rounds of data collection were conducted on typical consumption decision - making questions in five major consumer categories (mobile phones, home appliances, automobiles, skincare, and cosmetics). Typical user questions were designed for each sub - category (such as "Recommendations for new energy sedans priced between 200,000 - 300,000 yuan"), and multiple rounds of question collection were carried out. The answers from each AI platform were given an average weight and comprehensively included in the results. We retained the original recommendation form of AI and presented them uniformly as "brand/product" to restore the most real AI recommendation scenarios.

The results of this list are used to observe the recommendation performance of brands/products at the AI answer entry point. They are not equivalent to product quality, sales scale, brand value, or market share ranking. It conveys the current "cognitive position" of brands in this emerging decision - making channel of AI, providing data reference for brand owners to optimize their content strategies in the AI era.

The following is the complete "2026 Consumer Brand AI Recommendation Power List" and its interpretation

Automobiles | Recommendations for New Energy Sedans Priced between 200,000 - 300,000 yuan

The results of the recommendations for new energy sedans priced between 200,000 - 300,000 yuan show that Xiaomi, Tesla, and ZEEKR rank among the top three. Among them, Xiaomi ranks first with a score of 82.17, significantly outperforming the second - ranked Tesla, and demonstrates outstanding comprehensive recommendation power within the scope of this monitoring.

From the score distribution, the list shows a relatively obvious stratification at the top: Xiaomi is in the first echelon, Tesla and ZEEKR are in the second echelon, and brands like BYD and XPeng follow closely. Compared with some categories with smaller score differences and more intense competition, the AI recommendation results for new energy sedans in the 200,000 - 300,000 yuan range have formed a strong position for leading brands.

This also indicates that in the scenario of new energy sedans in this price range, the AI recommendation results are not evenly distributed but show obvious brand echelon differences. As AI recommendations gradually influence users' initial consumption cognition, the exposure frequency, recommendation ranking, description method, and the gap with competitors of brands in typical consumption decision - making questions are becoming new variables that brands need to focus on in the market.

Mobile Phones | Recommendations for Long - Battery - Life Mobile Phones Priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan

In the scenario of recommending long - battery - life mobile phones priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan, OPPO Find X9 Pro, vivo X300s, and OnePlus Turbo 6 rank among the top three. In terms of recommendation power scores, OPPO Find X9 Pro ranks first with a score of 31.11, while vivo X300s and OnePlus Turbo 6 score 27.26 and 24.46 respectively. There is a certain gradient among the top three, but no obvious gap.

From the list distribution, OnePlus, Honor, OPPO, and iQOO all have multiple products on the list, indicating that in the scenario of long - battery - life mobile phones, AI recommendation results are not centered around a single brand but involve multiple brands and products competing on the same stage. The scores of the fourth to eighth - ranked products are concentrated in the range of 20 - 23 points, further indicating that the competition in the middle and lower segments of this scenario is still intense.

This also means that the industry pattern of long - battery - life mobile phones at the AI recommendation entry point has not been fully solidified. For relevant brands, the current score differences are both competitive pressure and an opportunity to break through. At this stage when the score differences have not been completely widened, brands still have the opportunity to compete for a more prominent position by continuously optimizing their AI recommendation performance.

Mobile Phones | Recommendations for Mobile Phones with Good Photography Performance Priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan
 

The results of the recommendations for mobile phones with good photography performance priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan show that vivo X300 Pro, OPPO Find X9s Pro, and vivo X300s rank among the top three. Overall, brands/products such as vivo, OPPO, Honor, and Xiaomi appear more frequently in the top ten, indicating that these brands/products have a high frequency of appearance in AI recommendation answers related to photography mobile phones.

In terms of recommendation power scores, vivo X300 Pro ranks first with a score of 43.64, leading the second - ranked OPPO Find X9s Pro by more than 10 points, forming an obvious leading advantage at the top. The scores of the second and third - ranked products are relatively close, while the scores after the fourth - ranked product drop to around 20 points, indicating that there is a certain stratification at the top in this scenario, and there is still room for competition for recommendation positions among middle - and lower - tier brands/products.

Combined with the recommendation semantics, answers to questions related to photography mobile phones are usually organized around dimensions such as imaging configuration, portrait shooting, telephoto ability, night - scene performance, algorithm optimization, and comprehensive flagship experience.

Mobile Phones | Recommendations for High - Aesthetic Mobile Phones Priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan

In the scenario of recommending high - aesthetic mobile phones priced between 3,200 - 6,600 yuan, vivo X300s, OPPO Find X9s Pro, and vivo X300 Ultra rank among the top three. In terms of recommendation power scores, vivo X300s ranks first with a score of 30.90, but only differs from the second - ranked OPPO Find X9s Pro by 2.76 points, indicating that the competition at the top has not been fully separated.

From the overall score distribution, the scores of the fourth to seventh - ranked products are concentrated in the range of 18 - 22 points, and the scores of the eighth to tenth - ranked products are concentrated around 15 points. The competition among middle - and lower - tier brands is still fierce.

This also means that the pattern of high - aesthetic mobile phones at the AI recommendation entry point has not been fully solidified. For brands that have not entered the top recommendation positions, now is still a window period to compete for AI recommendation positions. Whether a brand is mentioned, its ranking, and the gap with competitors are becoming new signals for the marketing department to judge AI recommendation performance.

Home Appliances | Recommendations for Smart Multi - Door Refrigerators

In the scenario of recommending smart multi - door refrigerators, Casarte, Midea M60 series 550, and Casarte Langguang 520 rank among the top three. In terms of recommendation power scores, Casarte ranks first with a score of 29.43, leading the second - ranked product by 5.58 points, indicating that there is a certain leading brand position in this scenario. However, the scores of the second to fourth - ranked products are concentrated in the range of 22 - 24 points, and the scores of the fifth to tenth - ranked products are concentrated in the range of 17 - 20 points. The gap among middle - and lower - tier brands/products has not been fully widened.

This also means that the competition of smart multi - door refrigerators at the AI recommendation entry point has not been fully finalized. For home appliance brands, the current score differences are both pressure and opportunity: leading brands need to continuously consolidate their recommendation advantages in AI answers, while brands that have not entered the front - row still have the opportunity to occupy the first - round mental entry point of users when they consult on AI platforms by increasing the frequency of being mentioned, improving the recommendation position, and having positive descriptions.

Home Appliances | Recommendations for Large - Capacity Smart Washing Machines

In the scenario of recommending large - capacity smart washing machines, Haier, Haier EG100MATE29S, and Little Swan rank among the top three. Among the top ten, brands/products such as Haier, Little Swan, Hisense, Midea, and Siemens all appear, indicating that the brand distribution of this category in AI recommendation answers is relatively diverse.

In terms of recommendation power scores, Haier ranks first with a score of 30.29, leading the second - ranked Haier EG100MATE29S by about 5.62 points, indicating that it has formed a certain leading position in this scenario. However, the scores of the