Mailchimp Is the Most Visible Email Tool in AI - Yet Loses 86% of Recommendations
We analyzed 90 buying scenarios across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Here's what we found about visibility vs recommendation rates.
David Andersen
Co-Founder & CTO
- 1Mailchimp has 32% visibility but only 14% recommendation rate
- 2Klaviyo dominates e-commerce with 100% recommendation rate
- 3Specialists consistently outperform generalists in their categories
- 4Being mentioned ≠ being recommended
The Visibility vs. Recommendation Gap
Here's a counterintuitive finding from our latest research: being the most mentioned brand doesn't mean being the most recommended.
We ran 90 questions through ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity - everything from "best email tool for small business" to specific matchups like "Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for e-commerce."
Visible everywhere. Recommended almost nowhere.
Mailchimp shows up in 32% of all responses. That's the highest visibility of any email marketing tool by far. But when AI platforms actually compare it against alternatives? It wins just 14% of the time.
Being mentioned ≠ being recommended.
Why Specialists Keep Winning
AI platforms don't recommend "the best tool." They recommend the best tool for your situation. And specialists keep winning:
E-Commerce: Klaviyo Dominates
Klaviyo swept e-commerce comparisons with a 100% recommendation rate. When users ask about email marketing for online stores, Shopify integration, or e-commerce automation, Klaviyo is the consistent winner.
Budget-Conscious Users: Brevo Takes the Lead
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) won 78% of budget-focused matchups. Questions about affordable email marketing or "Mailchimp alternatives for small budgets" consistently pointed to Brevo.
Automation Power Users: ActiveCampaign Excels
ActiveCampaign dominated automation-focused queries with a 73% recommendation rate. Complex workflows and CRM integration needs all triggered ActiveCampaign recommendations.
The "Good For Beginners, But..." Pattern
Every time Mailchimp came up in our analysis, it earned a qualifier:"Good for beginners, but..."
This isn't a bug in AI reasoning. It's a feature. AI platforms have learned that there's no universal "best" - only trade-offs.
Why This Matters for Your Brand
More people are asking AI instead of Googling. That gap between visibility and win rate? If you're marketing software - or choosing it - it's the new metric to watch.
For Software Companies
Your SEO strategy got you visibility. But AI platforms evaluate differently. They're matching specific use cases to specific strengths.
Questions to ask:
- What specific use cases does AI associate with your brand?
- Where do you win head-to-head comparisons?
- What's your "but" - and is it accurate?
Methodology
We analyzed responses from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity across 90 buying scenarios. Our research emulates real user behavior - follow-up questions are generated based on AI responses, mirroring how buyers actually research purchases. Total responses analyzed: 360.