UK · Lingerie & shapewear
AI recommends shapewear giants Spanx, SKIMS and Honeylove most often, largely because it relies on American 'tested and ranked' roundups and US retailer pages, even when a UK shopper is asking.
ChatGPT recommends
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Claude recommends
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Cited: marksandspencer.com · bravissimo.com · panache-lingerie.com · theguardian.com
Share of 24 answers that name each brand. "1st" counts answers where it was the first pick.
ChatGPT Claude
What the answers and their sources have in common.
The two most-cited sites are a US syndicated bridal roundup and a US supermarket, and US editorial roundups (NBC, CNN, Good Housekeeping) recur, while UK titles appear only occasionally. A UK brand with no US press coverage is largely missing from what AI reads.
walmart.com has 20 citations across 6 answers and aol.com has 16 across 7; graziadaily.co.uk and theguardian.com have 2 and 1 citations respectively
Spanx, SKIMS and Honeylove top the list because they appear in nearly every shapewear, bridal and 'vs' roundup cited. Spanx even wins the head-to-head SKIMS comparison with both models.
Spanx appears in 8 of 24 answers (3 first places), SKIMS in 7, Honeylove in 6; both ChatGPT and Claude put Spanx first on 'Skims vs Spanx'
When shoppers ask for something like a big name, AI hands first place to smaller brands. Playful Promises is the standout, with the joint-best average position of any brand.
Playful Promises was first with both models for 'brands like Savage X Fenty' and averages position 2 across 3 answers; Quince and Aerie took first place for 'cheaper Skims alternatives'
Claude repeatedly names legacy American brands that ChatGPT rarely or never mentions, so a brand's visibility can depend heavily on which assistant a shopper uses. The two models picked different first brands on 8 of 12 questions.
ThirdLove appears 4 times, all from Claude; Playtex 3 times, all Claude; Maidenform 4 of its 5 appearances are Claude
For the broad UK brand question, AI pulls from Wikipedia (including the UK Lingerie Awards page) and company databases, plus brands' own About pages. Having a clear, factual footprint matters more here than reviews.
en.wikipedia.org and cbinsights.com each have 7 citations; bluebella.com and bordelle.co.uk About pages are cited in the UK brands answer
Hype's playbook, ranked by where AI gets its answers in this niche, plus the moves we'd make first.
Play 1 · Get into the roundups AI quotes
Pitch the 'tried and tested' roundup editors AI quotes most: bridal shapewear lists syndicated on AOL, Good Housekeeping's bra and SKIMS vs Spanx pieces, CNN's comfortable bras and shapewear tests, plus UK lists like Grazia's 'Best SKIMS dupes' and The Guardian's lingerie favourites.
aol.com bridal roundups are cited 16 times across 7 answers; goodhousekeeping.com and cnn.com each appear in 3 answers; Grazia's dupes list sits behind answers naming M&S, Boux Avenue and Playful Promises.
Play 2 · Be tested by review sites
Send product to independent testers who publish single-problem lists (strapless that stays up, large bust comfort, tummy control, no VPL under leggings), the question types where AI is most split and no brand owns first place.
ChatGPT and Claude chose different first picks on large bust, period underwear, seamless underwear and tummy control; niche testers eyeandpen.com, brafinder.com, magicbraus.com and reviewed.com are each cited in 2 answers.
Play 3 · Answer-ready pages and listings
Build 'cheaper alternative to SKIMS' and 'brands like Savage X Fenty' comparison pages, a clear About page, and a Wikipedia-worthy record (UK Lingerie Awards wins, founding facts) so AI can place you in alternative and UK brand answers.
Challengers took first place on both alternatives questions (Playful Promises with both models, Quince and Aerie); Wikipedia and cbinsights.com have 7 citations each, and brand About pages from Bluebella and Bordelle were cited in the UK brands answer.
Play 4 · Show up in the threads people trust
Seed honest 'affordable SKIMS alternative' try-on posts on Lemon8 and similar community apps, where shoppers compare dupes by price and fit.
Lemon8's 'Affordable Alternatives to Skims' posts were cited in the cheaper-alternatives answer that named Quince, No Boundaries and SHAPERX, which shows community dupe content can put small brands alongside SKIMS.
The six levers, by share of AI citations in this niche
PR and earned media: pitch editors of the 'best X for Y' lists, gift guides and expert roundups that AI cites.
Cited here: aol.com, goodhousekeeping.com, nbcnews.com
Comparison pages, 'best for' guides and FAQs on the brand's own site, plus strong retailer listings and reviews.
Cited here: walmart.com, marksandspencer.com, honeylove.com
Product seeding and outreach to independent testers, comparison and review sites.
Cited here: eyeandpen.com, brafinder.com, magicbraus.com
Reddit and community: genuine participation and seeding in the forums AI pulls from.
Cited here: lemon8-app.com
Creators, KOLs and YouTube: reviews, 'X vs Y' and 'best of' videos that become citable sources.
Not cited in this niche yet: open ground.
Endorsements and quotes from the experts AI leans on (dermatologists, nutritionists, coaches), placed in press and on site.
Not cited in this niche yet: open ground.
The websites the assistants cited, and the brands named in those answers. Being on these pages is how a brand gets recommended.
Publication 33% · Other 31% · Retailer 20% · Review site 8% · Brand site 6% · Forum 1%
Answers name: Maidenform, Panache, Spanx, Honeylove, Boux Avenue, Playful Promises
Answers name: ThirdLove, Maidenform, Playtex, Knix, Wacoal, Honeylove
Answers name: Boux Avenue, M&S, H&M, Bluebella, Pour Moi, Playful Promises
Answers name: Playful Promises, Agent Provocateur, Boux Avenue, Bluebella, Pour Moi, M&S
Answers name: Soma, Warner's, Harper Wilde, Honeylove, Evelyn & Bobbie, Freya
Answers name: M&S, Boux Avenue, Bravissimo, Panache, Bluebella, Bordelle
Answers name: Modibodi, Knix, Aisle, Soma, Warner's, Harper Wilde
Answers name: Playtex, Honeylove, Maidenform, EBY, Bonds, Knix
Answers name: voenxe, FINETOO, ThirdLove, INNERSY, Intimissimi, On Gossamer
Answers name: Honeylove, Evelyn & Bobbie, Playtex, Maidenform, Glamorise, PrimaDonna
Answers name: Spanx, Maidenform, Honeylove, SKIMS, Nancy Ganz, Joyshaper
Answers name: SKIMS, Spanx, Honeylove
The first brand each assistant recommended.
| Shopper asks | ChatGPT | Claude |
|---|---|---|
| “Skims vs Spanx shapewear, which is better” | Spanx | Spanx |
| “best affordable lingerie under £30” | M&S | Marks & Spencer |
| “best bra for a large bust that's actually comfortable” | Freya | Honeylove |
| “best lingerie brands in the UK” | M&S | Boux Avenue |
| “best period underwear” | Saalt | Thinx |
| “best seamless underwear that doesn't show through leggings” | Under Armour | voenxe |
| “best shapewear for a wedding dress” | SKIMS | Spanx |
| “best strapless bra that stays up” | Wacoal | Wacoal |
| “best tummy-control shapewear to wear under a dress” | Honeylove | SKIMS |
| “best wireless bras for everyday comfort” | Soma | Playtex |
| “cheaper Skims alternatives” | Aerie | Quince |
| “lingerie brands like Savage X Fenty” | Playful Promises | Playful Promises |
Sampled 2 November 2026
We asked ChatGPT and Claude 12 questions a UK shopper would ask, from “best… for…” to “cheaper alternatives to…”, with web search on. We recorded every brand each answer recommended and every website it cited: 24 answers in total. AI answers change between runs, so read this as a snapshot of what shoppers see today.
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