In Q2 2026, we analyzed 5,600 ChatGPT recommendations across nine financial services categories to compile the EMARKETER AI Visibility Index. Our index tracks how often brands are mentioned, how they rank against competitors, and how those rankings have shifted since the previous month. This article will be updated quarterly to highlight our key takeaways for the financial services industry’s performance.

Overall AI Visibility Leaderboard: Q2 2026

Capital One has led each month since March 2026, when we began tracking financial services. In June, it topped the overall leaderboard with a 19% mention rate, dominating the credit cards category and ranking second in banking accounts.

Behind Capital One, the rankings have reshuffled. Discover fell to No. 4 while PayPal rose to No. 2, swapping their April positions. SoFi climbed from No. 11 to No. 7, while USAA dropped out of the top 10.

PayPal appeared across more categories than any other brand. It reached the top five in four of nine categories: peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, digital wallets, payment processing, and buy now, pay later (BNPL). It combined that breadth with real strength at the top, ranking first or second in three of those categories.

Digital wallets had the tightest race in the index. Just 1 percentage point separated Apple (81%) from PayPal (80%), with Google close behind. However, Apple’s comparative strength became evident in a different visibility metric: When ChatGPT mentioned Apple, it named Apple first 75% of the time, versus just 9% for PayPal.

Category AI Visibility Leaderboard: Insurance

Key Movements

Insurance leaders held on from April, but their grip loosened considerably. State Farm and USAA finished June in the same No. 1 and No. 2 spots, yet both were mentioned far less often: State Farm’s mention rate fell 6 percentage points (to 50%) and USAA’s fell 10 points (to 32%).

Brand Mention Rate vs. Share of No. 1 Mentions

State Farm topped the list for brand mention rate and ranked first in a significant share of mentions. It appeared in 50% of insurance recommendations and was No. 1 in 45% of them. Its strongest line was renters insurance, where it showed up in 73% of recommendations and led 58%.

Source Citation Rate

Insurance had the most dispersed sourcing of the three categories discussed in the full report. Forbes topped the list with just 14% of all domains cited—versus leaders commanding 36% in credit cards and 30% in banking accounts—and the top three sources sat within 3 percentage points of one another.

FAQ: Financial Services

Which financial services brands were mentioned the most in AI-generated recommendations?

Capital One was the most frequently recommended financial services brand in ChatGPT’s AI-generated recommendations in Q2 2026. Capital One led the credit card category and placed No. 2 in the banking account category. Other financial services category leaders included State Farm (insurance), Klarna (BNPL and installments), Ally Bank (banking accounts), Apple (digital wallets), PayPal (P2P payments), SoFi (loans), Coinbase (cryptocurrency and stablecoins), and Square (payment processing).

Why does ChatGPT recommend some financial services brands more than others?

ChatGPT recommends financial services brands more often when those brands have broad product coverage, strong visibility across trusted sources, and comprehensive content on brand-owned websites. Financial services brands with broad category coverage, such as Capital One and PayPal, appear in more types of AI-generated recommendations, increasing overall mention rates. ChatGPT also favors brand-owned websites for information like rates and fees, and GPT-5.5 draws citations from a broader mix of publisher sources.

Which financial services categories are most competitive in AI-generated recommendations?

Insurance was the most competitive financial services category in ChatGPT’s AI-generated recommendations during Q2 2026. Insurance had the most leaderboard movement and the tightest competition among the top 10 brands. The digital wallets category was also highly competitive: Only 1 percentage point separated No. 1 Apple from No. 2 PayPal, and No. 3 Google was close behind.

Why is AI visibility important for financial services brands?

AI visibility is important for financial services brands because AI assistants like ChatGPT are becoming a key channel for product and service discovery. As brands compete for limited AI recommendation slots, maintaining high mention rates and strong first-choice rankings can improve visibility with potential customers. Tracking AI visibility also helps financial services marketers benchmark competitors, measure generative engine optimization (GEO) performance, and strengthen their presence in AI-powered search.

What were the biggest AI visibility trends in financial services this quarter?

The biggest AI visibility trends for the financial services industry in Q2 2026 were increased competition for AI recommendation slots, a shift toward publisher citations, and continued reliance on brand-owned websites for sourcing. GPT-5.5 mentioned more financial services brands than GPT-5.4 while citing fewer but more diverse sources. ChatGPT cited publishers more frequently than government and industry authorities by the end of Q2 2026 but continued to rely heavily on brand-owned websites.

FAQ: EMARKETER’s AI Visibility Index

How is the financial services AI Visibility Index measured?

EMARKETER’s AI Visibility Index is based on a structured analysis of ChatGPT recommendations in response to US-based interactions across nine financial services categories: credit cards; insurance; buy now, pay later (BNPL) and installments; banking accounts; digital wallets; peer-to-peer (P2P) payments; loans; cryptocurrency and stablecoins; and payment processing. Each interaction asks ChatGPT for product or service recommendations using standardized prompts (e.g., “best travel credit card,” “auto insurance provider for families”). Prompts vary by product/service type, product/service attribute, consumer need, target audience, and price tier to capture a representative range of real-world consumer questions for each category.

How does EMARKETER choose the prompts?

Prompts are built with EMARKETER analysts and researchers who cover each industry, then validated and prioritized using consumer search volume data. Prompts reflect the language consumers actually use.

What is “brand mention rate”?

Brand mention rate is the percentage of ChatGPT recommendations that mention a given brand.

What is “No. 1 mention rate”?

No. 1 mention rate is the number of ChatGPT recommendations that mention a given brand first as a percentage of all ChatGPT recommendations that mention the brand.

How can I improve my brand’s AI visibility?

Brands strengthen how often AI assistants recommend them by sharpening their generative engine optimization (GEO) strategy and building the trust signals AI models weigh. EMARKETER’s AI Visibility Index shows where a brand stands today and how that position moves month over month—the baseline for any optimization effort. To learn more about how the index can help your brand, including custom-scoped advisory insights, visit our AI Visibility Index hub.

What do EMARKETER PRO and PRO+ subscribers get?

EMARKETER PRO subscribers get in-depth quarterly reports featuring further category breakouts, data cuts, and analysis. PRO+ subscribers can access the AI Visibility Index’s complete data set, including monthly updates across every category cut, in the live dashboard.