When AI Names Software Without Recommending It: Four-Market Study — October 2026
A RecommendationIndex study separates explicit software recommendations from non-recommended mentions across 388 observations in four markets.
This study covers 20 exact prompts, 4 recorded AI systems, 80 completed evaluations, 388 observation rows, 353 recommendation rows, 35 non-recommended mention rows, and 0 attached citation records.
Supported findings
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Recommendation, mention, and citation definitions
Rows with recommended=true are counted as explicit recommendation observations.
Rows with recommended=false are counted as non-recommended mentions. They are not treated as recommendations, rankings, endorsements, or citations.
Attached citation arrays are counted separately. These four snapshots contain zero attached citation records; no citation-frequency or source-quality claim is supported.
Source provenance
| Market | Dataset | Measured UTC | Recommendations | Mentions | Citations | SHA-256 |
|---|
| CRM | ri-research-crm-2026-10-23-57b6da98 | 2026-10-23T00:20:01.065+00:00 to 2026-10-23T00:50:38.886+00:00 | 93 | 6 | 0 | 781f311cdc673d166467988c6e7ac496d5ac2e6d5bd0131f6e8be0236a5eb2bf |
| Project Management | ri-research-project-management-2026-10-23-c2d23dfe | 2026-10-23T12:20:01.277+00:00 to 2026-10-23T13:30:48.492+00:00 | 96 | 4 | 0 | 5f6182a91f6eb8a2b497806fcd2e8ef9c4e429aae084006c0eeeb8e76756639b |
| Email Marketing | ri-research-email-marketing-2026-10-23-e3a86f80 | 2026-10-23T12:20:34.304+00:00 to 2026-10-23T13:10:32.229+00:00 | 89 | 5 | 0 | 5ddc1718cf595beb822c25c73e2beada02aa7bf821b3794cdcb17b793dd8c72f |
| Help Desk Software | ri-research-help-desk-software-2026-10-25-7e7dd756 | 2026-10-25T14:20:00.943+00:00 to 2026-10-25T14:50:42.695+00:00 | 75 | 20 | 0 | 051616fd463ee11bc16462f8f8395e7d9d6df9d27a1d7b7e987e85b8352040f3 |
CRM exact prompts
9c3645b0-4de8-43d1-9c85-26f46572c237: What are the best CRM software platforms for small businesses? Include recommended companies, rankings, and sources if available.9a9e54e6-7f3f-4e98-8109-3404d043cfae: What CRM software platforms have the best AI features and automation capabilities?bc3f9a13-3c5b-478f-a873-d18a3306bfc2: What is the best CRM software for a mid-sized company?0bf1fb5d-1d04-4407-846c-d22aef41dfba: What are the best alternatives to Salesforce and HubSpot CRM? Compare leading CRM platforms.ffb49c84-202f-4c91-b055-44178f0e05ff: What are the best enterprise CRM software platforms? Compare leading providers and explain why they are recommended.
Project Management exact prompts
a10d1145-fda3-462d-91e4-ef2a3d9d0e2a: What is the best project management software for a remote team?a7b83d08-58e8-4df5-a2ac-a2e6d179ece5: What are the best enterprise project management software platforms? Compare leading providers and explain why they are recommended.69caab5a-126d-469d-91b7-d16a8e9130f8: What project management software platforms have the strongest AI features and automation capabilities?3221c5d2-032c-49d2-9072-c0c398c0f04f: What are the best project management software platforms for small teams? Compare leading options and explain why they are recommended.1e845f6d-3a96-4595-8e4e-eada4a9831fd: What are the best project management software platforms for businesses? Include recommended companies, rankings, and sources if available.
Email Marketing exact prompts
5ace6c6b-9204-4732-a354-cc5b7ee89ba5: What are the best email marketing platforms for ecommerce businesses?350ce3bd-7cee-488e-b14c-a1c179f540aa: What are the best email marketing platforms for businesses? Include recommended companies and sources.3cc7e5b5-0b56-4d91-95a3-a019e525294f: What email marketing platforms have the strongest AI features and automation?ac58d730-7c3b-4f61-819b-cb7deefaa972: What is the best email marketing software for a growing small business?10305f88-12fb-4e78-ace8-f888fb3baf37: Compare leading email marketing platforms for small and growing businesses. When is each platform appropriate, and what are the main reasons to choose one over another? Include recommended companies and sources if available.
Help Desk Software exact prompts
7c341648-b026-4c47-be20-5ba508e58912: What is the best help desk software for a small business with limited IT staff?86ed4061-86c2-45e7-af8a-833b9183215d: Which help desk platform is best for an enterprise that needs omnichannel support, security, and compliance?21c9cca0-3004-45f1-bc0a-d24544bb34f0: What help desk software is fastest to implement for a growing SaaS support team?8532ddb4-c951-4075-9ba6-0e3d2d7004a4: Which help desk tool has the strongest AI automation and knowledge-base features?50e0d9f4-7ca7-4085-9977-482d03aa5aca: What is the best-value help desk platform for an ecommerce business handling email, chat, and social support?
Recorded systems and model versions
- ChatGPT: gpt-5-mini
- Claude: claude-sonnet-4-6
- Gemini: gemini-flash-latest
- Perplexity: sonar
Methodology
Cross-sectional classification comparison using the latest complete RecommendationIndex wave available for each of four software markets on October 28, 2026; PromptMarketMap initiated no new model runs.
Each SHA-256 was previously calculated over recursively key-sorted JSON containing schemaVersion, datasetId, measurementPeriod, companies, prompts, evaluations, and observations, excluding generatedAt.
Limitations
- This is a four-market, 20-prompt cross-section, not a census of software-buying questions.
- Observation-row share is not the percentage of AI answers containing a mention; a single answer can yield several company rows.
- Different markets use different prompts, so cross-market differences cannot be attributed to market structure, provider behavior, or prompt design alone.
- The classification is inherited from the source snapshots; this study does not independently re-label the underlying answer text.
- A non-recommended mention is not necessarily negative, unfavorable, or excluded from consideration.
- The four snapshots contain zero attached citation records, so source frequency and source quality cannot be compared.
- Model labels are provider-recorded versions and may not expose every routing or serving detail.
- Results are not commercial market share, buyer preference, product quality, conversion behavior, or a PromptMarketMap endorsement.
- No statistical-generalization claim is made from four markets.
- Traffic, referrals, and RI conversions are unknown, not zero.
Read the full research methodology
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