Research · October 2026
We asked ChatGPT about 96 Dutch online stores. 78% were not named.
More and more buyers ask an AI assistant where best to buy something. For each online store we asked ChatGPT a real buying question from its own sector, and checked whether the store appeared in the answer.
Short answer: of the 96 online stores we examined, ChatGPT named 21. The other 75 did not appear in the answer to a question about exactly what they sell. These are online stores with an ordinary, working website, most of them members of Thuiswinkel.org, the Dutch e-commerce association.
By sector
For each sector we asked the same kind of buying question, adapted to what the stores sell. Each store got its own, separate question.
| Sector | Examined | Named | Not named |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home and sleep | 17 | 3 | 82% |
| Garden and garden furniture | 17 | 3 | 82% |
| Household | 10 | 1 | 90% |
| Fashion, jewellery and beauty | 9 | 4 | 56% |
| Bikes | 8 | 1 | 88% |
| Wine and food | 7 | 0 | 100% |
| Barbecue | 6 | 2 | 67% |
| Electronics and lighting | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| Pets | 4 | 1 | 75% |
| Sport and outdoor | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| Games and toys | 4 | 1 | 75% |
| Other (optics, health, travel, parts) | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Total | 96 | 21 | 78% |
What does this mean?
An online store that is not in the answer is not compared by that buyer. The buyer sees a short list of names, and you are not on it. Instead, ChatGPT names other stores, chains or marketplaces.
A good website is no guarantee. The stores in this research have a working site and are largely members of Thuiswinkel.org. Whether AI names you depends on other things: how clearly your site explains what you sell, whether your product data is machine-readable, and what other sites write about you.
How we measured
- What: one buying question per store from its own sector, without the store's name in it. For example: “Which online store do you recommend for buying a barbecue or kamado in the Netherlands?”
- Where: ChatGPT, through OpenAI's official API, with web search enabled.
- When: 26 October 2026.
- Who: 96 Dutch online stores, selected by us, most of them through the Thuiswinkel.org member list.
- Named means: the store's name or web address appears in the answer or in the sources below it.
What this research does not say
This is one question per store, on one AI platform, at one moment. AI answers vary each time and with each phrasing, so an individual store may come out differently tomorrow. The selection is not representative of all Dutch online stores. The picture is clear, though: even established online stores are often not named on an ordinary buying question. That is why we name no online stores in this research.
Frequently asked questions
- How many online stores does ChatGPT not name?
- In our research of 26 October 2026, ChatGPT named 21 of 96 Dutch online stores on a buying question from their own sector. 78% were not named.
- How do I know whether my online store is named?
- Ask a buying question yourself without your name in it, or have it measured. Our report puts 8 to 40 buying questions to six AI platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok and Meta AI) and shows who gets named instead of you, with a to-do list. From €29, no subscription.
- Why is a good online store still not named?
- AI does not only look at your site. It also considers how clearly you explain what you sell, whether your product data is machine-readable, and what other sites, reviews and comparison sites write about you.
- Do you publish which online stores were not named?
- No. One measurement at one moment is too narrow to hold an individual store to account. We only publish totals.
Is your online store named?
One report across six AI platforms, with the competitors AI names instead of you and a to-do list. No subscription, in your inbox within twenty minutes.
Order the Scan — €29 Free check firstSources. Measurement on 26 October 2026 by AI Visibility Report Group, through OpenAI's official API (ChatGPT with web search). Results per store are known to us but are not published. You may quote this research with attribution and a link to this page.
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