As the World Cup kicks off, fans across the globe are searching for information about every aspect of the tournament, from ticketing to streaming to accommodation. Rather than relying on traditional search, fans increasingly look to AI answer engines for clear guidance synthesized from reliable sources.
This creates an opportunity for brands to improve visibility, drive discovery, and boost sales. Many brands focus on competing for visibility in evergreen category prompts. But major events like the World Cup create entirely new search ecosystems with concentrated consumer intent.
In these event-driven ecosystems, established rankings are often disrupted, creating opportunities for agile brands to outperform much larger competitors. In addition to winning visibility during the event, these brands can secure uplifts in answer engine optimization (AEO) performance that impact evergreen category rankings.
But to win in this search environment, brands need to know how to earn mentions and citations in the conversations that matter. They need real data to inform their AEO strategy and capture purchase intent.
We compiled this report to explore AI search and brand visibility trends related to the World Cup. The massive scale of this sporting event makes it ideal for an in-depth analysis of AI search. Our findings reveal which brands are winning at AI visibility, which are notably absent, and how the data differs between North America and Europe.
Key Findings
There are winners, overperformers, and some very notable absences
The data reveals some consistent and largely expected category leaders within their categories. It also highlights a number of overperformers that achieve disproportionately high levels of visibility and mentions relative to their size, often outperforming much larger rivals. Conversely, many brands that would typically play a prominent role in the conversation are notably absent.
In the hotel sector, several of the world’s largest chains barely appear in the results, while smaller competitors capture more than 5% of overall visibility. A similar pattern emerges in sports media, where some of the industry’s biggest broadcasters and publishers aren’t prominently mentioned or cited in World Cup-related coverage, despite their established positions in the market.
The biggest World Cup AI search winners maintain high visibility due to their widespread market presence or World Cup sponsor or official partner status:
- On Location
- Samsung
- DoorDash
- Airbnb
- Adidas
The most notable AI search overperformers punch above their weight, earning more mentions than bigger brands or official event partners:
- Klipsch
- Fubo
- Flashscore
- Belushi’s
World Cup sponsorship plays an important part in AI answers
Official connection to the event often takes precedence, with FIFA partners and official sponsors leading categories like accommodations, beverages, and streaming. Yet category leaders with substantial brand awareness easily carve out space, even when they have no official connection. Fubo leads many streaming conversations, Flashscore and FotMob earn mentions in live match update topics, and FANZO has a prominent spot in watch party answers.
New prompt ecosystems create opportunities for challenger brands
Prompt intent creates opportunities for alternative brands to enter the conversation. Uber Eats leads food delivery conversations even though it isn’t a sponsor, and StubHub appears in many ticketing answers, even as a reseller. Utility appears to be an important driver of AI mentions.
High-intent topics trigger shopping mode
Globally, nearly two-thirds (63.7%) of World Cup sound system prompts and half (49.6%) of World Cup TV prompts in our dataset triggered shopping mode. This allows users to browse and buy directly from the conversation, giving top brands and retailers a convenient new avenue for sales.
Brands that prioritize visibility should create content for topical events
Before answer engines generate responses, they collect and synthesize information by performing what’s known as query fanout, a process that transforms user prompts into multiple high-intent search queries. The query fanout data reveals that marketers seeking visibility should always create content for topical events like the World Cup.
When a prompt mentions the World Cup, ChatGPT preserves that language in its fanout searches 98.5% of the time. For example, the prompt “What are the best jerseys for the World Cup” might focus on fanout queries like “jerseys World Cup 2026.”
But when a fan asks a relevant question without World Cup language, ChatGPT only adds World Cup context to its query fanout approximately 8.4% of the time. For example, when a user prompts, “best sound system for watching football,” the answer engine instead defaults to generic product searches.
Our Methodology
To create this report, we pulled first-party AI visibility data from Profound’s own platform. This dataset reflects answers to prompts executed by nine major answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Meta AI, and Claude) between May 22 and June 2, 2026 (beverage prompts) and May 17 and May 21, 2026 (all other prompts).
Most prompts are in English, which impacts the AI answers in countries where English isn’t the primary language. When regional data differs significantly from global data, we’ve included country-specific findings.
We measured brands based on their Visibility Score, a proprietary Profound metric that indicates how often the brand appears in AI-generated answers. Brands with a higher score have better visibility within a topic or prompt.
Because FIFA dominates most World Cup topics and appears in the majority of related AI responses, we removed the brand from this dataset. The resulting data reflects the brands beyond FIFA that lead conversations about this global event.
Beyond the stadium
Away from the matches, sponsorship buys a head start with AI visibility. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Official partners lead in topics like food delivery, sportswear, and fantasy football.
Non-sponsors hold their own all the same. With betting, brand awareness plays a major role. The biggest names are neck and neck, and first place varies by region.
Food and beverage
The World Cup creates a party atmosphere at the bar and at home. Fans seeking the best gametime venues and food delivery services don’t have to look far.
Food delivery and catering
Globally, Uber Eats (30.7%) and DoorDash (30%) are virtually tied for the top spot in this category. Deliveroo takes second place with a score of 24.6%.
As a World Cup sponsor, DoorDash (and its subsidiary Deliveroo) are predictable winners in this category. But Uber Eats has no official sponsor role, confirming that the brand has a strong presence in the food delivery category outside of the World Cup.
Canadian food delivery app SkipTheDishes (14.8%) takes third place in Canada, indicating there are opportunities for local brands to create awareness and capture intent. Similarly, European food delivery app Just Eat (40.5%) is in second place in the UK. In Germany, the country’s most popular food and grocery delivery app, Lieferando (27.6%), holds first place, while local DoorDash subsidiary Wolt (21.1%) is in third place.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
World Cup sponsors dominate both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage topics. Casamigos (53.3%), Don Julio (42.7%), Stella Artois (35.4%), and Michelob (35%) earn the most mentions in answers to prompts about which alcoholic beverages fans are choosing for World Cup gatherings. The only non-sponsor brand in the top five is Budweiser (34.3%), which earns its spot via brand awareness alone.
In non-alcoholic beverage conversations, the most prominent are Coca-Cola (31.9%) and Powerade (23.8%), both brands of the Coca-Cola Company, the World Cup’s official non-alcoholic beverage sponsor. Non-sponsor brands like Gatorade (3.9%) and Pepsi (3.1%) have significantly lower visibility.
Bars and watch parties
European sports bar chain Belushi’s (6.9%) earns top billing for World Cup bars and watch parties, solidifying its identity as a lively party bar. It frequently appears in responses to prompts about where to watch major World Cup games, which bars are best for loud football crowds, and which bars are open for early World Cup kickoffs.
In second place, Rockefeller Center (5.9%) is one of the few non-bar establishments on the global list. As the home to the official World Cup Fan Village, this venue is likely to be a popular destination for live screenings.
FANZO (4.6%) takes third place. Although it isn’t a location, this pub finding app earns repeat mentions in responses to prompts seeking local bars to watch World Cup games.
In the US, sponsored watch parties earn the most frequent mentions within this topic. Telemundo (6.1%), Estadio Azteca (5.7%), and FOX (5.1%) have the highest visibility due to the large-scale fan zones and social viewing experiences they host throughout North America.
In the UK, BOXPARK (10%) and Greenwood (6.7%) are in the top three, thanks to the venues’ local viewing events. The destinations with the most mentions in France are all sports bars with locations in Paris. Belushi’s (8.6%) earns the most, followed by The Moose (5%) and The Bombardier (5%), evidence of the bars’ strong brand presence.
Consumer electronics and viewing
For many fans, watching matches on last year’s technology won’t do. The World Cup is a living room upgrade moment, prompting many fans to shop for new TVs and sound systems. As a result, many prompts within this topic trigger shopping mode, allowing fans to browse and buy directly from ChatGPT, without leaving the conversation.
TVs and screens
Globally, Samsung (68.8%) is the most visible brand for World Cup TVs and screens. LG (59.3%) comes in second worldwide. While Sony (45.8%) is in third place globally, other brands outrank the brand regionally. Hisense takes third in the US, and TCL takes third in France.
Nearly half (49.6%) of the prompts for this topic trigger shopping mode, with LG and Samsung TVs earning the highest product Visibility Scores. Among retailers, Best Buy has the highest Share Ranking (8.1%), followed by Walmart (3.3%) and BrandsMart USA (3.1%).
Sound systems
Samsung (38.7%) also has a strong presence in sound system conversations. But it’s second to Sonos, which dominates mentions with a score of 50.5%. Bose and Sony are virtually tied for third place, with respective scores of 32.6% and 32.3%. These visibility patterns largely remain consistent across regions.
Compared to TV and screen prompts, sound system prompts are even more likely to trigger shopping mode, at a rate of 63.7%. Sonos secures all three of the top product visibility slots. And although Sonos has one of the highest Share Ranking scores for merchants (4%) in this topic, general retailers Best Buy (6.9%) and Target (3.7%) take up the rest of the top spots.
Sportswear and merchandise
The World Cup is the pinnacle of footballing fan fare. Fans in the market for national jerseys typically look to three top brands.
Overall, World Cup jersey prompts generate shopping mode 21.2% of the time. Adidas jerseys occupy four of the top five product slots, reinforcing the brand’s visibility throughout all types of prompts in this category.
Intersport (4.5%) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (4.1%) have the largest Merchant Share by far. This indicates a relatively even spread across European and North American sportswear merchants.
Gaming and betting
More than just a global sporting event, the World Cup is also a major betting event. Gambling spikes during the World Cup, with fans engaging via popular betting platforms.
While betting platforms see significant regional variation in AI answers, FanDuel comes out on top globally, with a Visibility Score of 75.5%. BetMGM and DraftKings are right behind, with respective scores of 75% and 73.3%.
Many World Cup betting prompts trigger responses that list all of the most common gaming platforms, regardless of region. AI responses typically provide searchers with a breakdown of what each platform is best for, when to consider using one over the others, and which are available in each country or region.
In the UK, the most mentioned betting platforms reflect a stark difference from global trends. British platforms bet365 (56.5%) and Betfred (35.9%) both lead conversations on this topic.
In Germany, bet365 (58.4%) is also in the top three brands for this topic.
The live experience
When fans turn to answer engines for advice on attending a 2026 World Cup match, official partner status is the single biggest predictor of visibility. On Location, Visa, Marriott, and Airbnb all convert their FIFA partnerships into commanding leads in relevant topics. Airbnb’s hold on short-term rental conversations is a clear example of a sponsorship paying off.
Yet the partner advantage has less of an impact in some topics. Ticket resale brands top ticketing conversations, despite having no official ties to the event. And visibility is relatively evenly split across travel providers. Lodging and hospitality belong to a handful of big names, but travel and ticketing are anyone’s game.
Ticketing
A World Cup ticket is a golden ticket. Topics like securing entry to popular matches and booking VIP experiences dominate World Cup ticketing conversations.
How to buy World Cup tickets
Reseller StubHub earns top billing in ticketing conversations, with a Visibility Score of 22.1%. SeatGeek (14.3%) takes third place, indicating that resale tickets are a popular topic for aspiring World Cup attendees.
Another top brand in ticketing answers, Visa (21.4%) often appears in responses related to payment methods. As an official payment technology partner of the World Cup, Visa hosted numerous presales that required Visa-only payments. Between the partner status and the many events, Visa maintains high visibility around this topic.
VIP fan experiences
On Location (42.4%) is far and away the brand mentioned most often in conversations about VIP fan experiences. As the official hospitality provider for the 2026 World Cup, this top placement is inevitable. On Location and FIFA frequently appear in conversations about exclusive access, fan experiences, and VIP packages.
Prompts that focus less on fan experiences and more on VIP experiences during the World Cup often mention Airbnb (14.4%), which offers exclusive fan events. While not an official partner, Roadtrips (4.5%) also offers curated fan experiences, landing the brand in third place for this topic.
Travel and accommodation
The World Cup is a logistical challenge for any fan. Traveling between the 16 host cities and finding a safe and affordable place to stay are common topics of discussion.
World Cup travel
Regional train and bus providers Amtrak (18.7%) and FlixBus (11.9%) occupy the top two spots for World Cup travel. Local rideshare provider Uber (10.8%) takes third place.
Amtrak generally appears in responses to prompts about planning multi-city tours and traveling between venues. FlixBus leads in conversations about cheap travel, while Uber often gets mentioned first in conversations about tips for first-time World Cup travelers.
Accommodation near World Cup stadiums
Although it’s not a hotel brand, Airbnb (26.5%) holds the top spot in conversations about the best hotels near World Cup stadiums. Marriott (17.6%), the World Cup’s official hotel partner, comes in second, and Hilton (17.1%) follows closely behind. The two hotel brands dominate conversations about the closest hotels to stadiums, the safest areas to stay, and hotels with shuttles to World Cup matches.
As the official alternative accommodations provider for the World Cup, Airbnb (62.3%) easily leads short-term rental topics. The brand earns mentions in conversations ranging from where to stay between matchdays to where families can book rentals to where groups should stay for the World Cup.
The media environment
Conversations about World Cup media tend to prioritize whoever holds the rights. Rights holders lead streaming topics on the strength of their broadcast deals, while YouTube’s FIFA partnership puts it at the top of match highlights.
Yet smaller brands still find an opening. Newer streaming platforms like Fubo carry every match, and several sports apps edge out legacy names when it comes to live scores and stats. Streaming belongs to a few dominant brands, but live updates stay a crowded field where major media brands fight for the same fans.
Broadcasting and streaming
Everyone wants to watch the World Cup their way. That means finding the right networks and streaming services or purchasing the subscriptions that offer live coverage for all matches.
Overall, Peacock leads conversations about World Cup 2026 streaming platforms, with a global Visibility Score of 70.5%. As the streaming home for Telemundo, the World Cup’s Spanish broadcast rights holder in the US, Peacock has a significant lead over the English broadcast rights holder, FOX (53.1%).
FOX is tied with the sports-centric streaming service Fubo, which carries FOX Sports. Compared to the legacy media brands, Fubo is much newer and less well known. But because it streams all 104 matches, AI conversations that mention FOX as the rights holder also tend to mention Fubo as a streaming platform option.
Together, FOX and Fubo hold three of the five most cited pages for the entire dataset, suggesting that source authority may be a key predictor of AI visibility. Answer engines know and trust these brands, often adding direct links to their websites in relevant responses.
This data varies regionally. In the UK, the BBC (86%) leads streaming conversations by a wide margin, while ITV (68.4%) is a distant second. In Mexico, ViX (44.3%) leads. While Televisa owns ViX, the media powerhouse is noticeably absent from this list, even though it’s one of the two main providers offering free World Cup streaming in Mexico.
News and media
For six weeks, the world lives and breathes football. Fans look to live updates, match highlights, and creator content for up-to-the-second information and commentary.
Globally, YouTube (31%) and ESPN (30.8%) lead conversations about which platforms show live match reactions and where to get breaking news about the World Cup. But there’s significant regional variation.
The BBC (32%) earns the most mentions in conversations about live World Cup updates in the UK. ITV has a Visibility Score of just 16% for this topic, indicating its brand presence is far behind the legacy media brand.
In France, Flashscore (32.1%) leads conversations about live updates. While YouTube (29.7%) takes second place, FotMob (26.7%) is in third place. Two dedicated sports apps appear in the top three spots, reflecting the popularity of instant score notifications in this region.
See where your brand stands in AI search
The World Cup reveals how quickly AI answer engines decide which brands fans see. Yet these patterns are hardly unique to soccer. They shape how people find information, products, and services around major events and everyday topics alike.
How are you taking advantage of the World Cup? Identify the top prompts your brand should be appearing in, and check your visibility where purchase intent is highest. During a six-week tournament, small gaps in visibility can mean a lot of missed attention.
If you’re new to AEO, start by seeing where your brand stands. Get your free AEO report to find out how visible your brand is today and where there’s room to grow, no matter which events and conversations matter most to your business.