AI-driven platforms are becoming the new starting point for product discovery. Instead of scrolling through Google results, more consumers are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews for advice on which products to buy. In the hydration category, this shift has reshaped which brands are most visible and trusted.

We analyzed 78 hydration brands across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity in this AIVx Mini Report, weighting their influence at 50, 30, and 20 percent respectively. The findings show that AI consistently highlights a small set of electrolyte-focused brands, often leaving legacy sports drink leaders behind. This report uncovers who gets the attention, why they win, and what patterns emerge across different AI platforms.

When it comes to hydration, AI recommendations are anything but evenly distributed. A handful of brands appear in the majority of answers, while many are virtually invisible. Nuun, Liquid I.V., and LMNT show up again and again across platforms, while nearly one in five brands in our analysis never appeared at all.

This creates a winner-take-most dynamic. For consumers, the shortlist of “trusted” options feels consistent across AI tools. For brands, the message is clear: invisibility in AI recommendations is more damaging than criticism, since consumers may never encounter your product in the first place.

Several factors explain why certain hydration brands repeatedly appear in AI search results:

Placement in Authoritative Content

Brands that show up in expert roundups, reviews, and buying guides gain much more visibility. Nuun, Liquid I.V., and DripDrop are consistently named in sources like Wired, Men’s Health, and Strategist.

Strong First-Party and SEO Content

Google’s AI often cited brand websites such as nuunlife.com or gatorade.com. Brands that publish clear FAQs, ingredient breakdowns, and comparisons give AI the structured data it can pull into answers.

Positive Reputation and Buzz

Brands with strong consumer chatter and influencer support, such as LMNT and Liquid I.V., benefit from online consensus. AI tools echo this positivity and are more likely to recommend products with active word of mouth.

Cross-Category Positioning

Hydration brands connected to sports, outdoor activities, and endurance training see a boost. Skratch Labs and DripDrop, for example, gained visibility from being featured in hiking blogs, cycling sites, and athlete reviews.

Our analysis revealed two important relationships.

The first is visibility and sentiment. Most of the top brands had both high visibility and high sentiment. However, Liquid I.V. stood out as an exception. It had slightly lower sentiment, around 73, yet extremely high visibility because of its massive popularity. This shows that volume of mentions can outweigh tone in some cases.

The second is visibility and search position.

SEO success is a strong driver of AI visibility, but not the only one. Editorial presence, brand sentiment, and niche authority can boost a brand even if SEO rankings are weaker. Conversely, strong SEO alone (like Gatorade) does not guarantee high visibility if the brand is framed less positively in content that AI prioritizes.

We classified citations into four categories:

• Editorial: Independent publishers and expert outlets such as Wired, NYMag, Men’s Health, or Outdoor Gear Lab
• Owned or Corporate: Brand websites, blogs, and e-commerce pages such as nuunlife.com, liquid-iv.com, or gatorade.com
• User Generated Content: Reddit threads, forums, and review communities
• Institutional: Universities, hospitals, and medical centers such as ClevelandClinic.org

Each AI platform pulls from a different mix of sources when recommending hydration brands.

• ChatGPT relies most on editorial coverage, with over three-quarters of its references coming from magazines, blogs, and expert reviews. 
• Perplexity takes a balanced path, splitting almost evenly between editorial and brand-owned sites, which makes both PR placement and strong product pages important. 
• Google’s AI casts the widest net, blending editorial and brand content with health institutions and even some consumer forums. This broader mix shows that Google values not just authority, but also medical validation and real-world sentiment.

• ChatGPT trusts editorial consensus. Brands need coverage in “best hydration” lists to appear here.
  
• Perplexity favors product-driven content, often pulling from retail listings or brand pages when they directly answer a question.
  
• Google AI is eclectic. It cites authoritative reviews, brand sites, medical sources, and sometimes even Reddit. It reflects both expertise and popular opinion.

This last point is important — Google is the only platform that consistently weaves in institutional sources, underscoring that credibility and clinical authority are critical for a children’s health product.

The study highlights clear lessons for brands that want to break into AI-driven recommendations.

• Earn editorial validation – Get placed in trusted “best kids’ vitamins” lists.
  
• Strengthen owned content – AI pulls FAQs, ingredient pages, and schema markup directly from brand sites.
  
• Create buzz – AI amplifies positive consensus; silence is worse than criticism.
  
• Match platform patterns – Editorial for ChatGPT, owned+reviews for Perplexity, credibility+SEO for Google.
  
• Secure health authority validation – Institutional endorsements (pediatricians, hospitals) boost trust with both parents and AI.

AI search is already shaping consumer discovery in hydration. Brands like Nuun, Liquid I.V., and LMNT thrive because they are embedded in expert reviews, rank well in search, and generate consistent positive buzz. Legacy giants like Gatorade and Powerade still appear but are no longer the first names consumers see in AI-driven answers.

For hydration brands, the path forward is clear. Secure mentions in credible editorial outlets, strengthen SEO and first-party content, and cultivate reputation signals across both expert and consumer communities. AI does not invent new leaders. It amplifies the consensus of the web. If your brand is absent from that consensus, it risks being absent from the AI answers consumers trust most.

Download AI Visibility Report