Which cider brands do AI assistants recommend in Japan? Q4 2026
In Japan, AI assistants most often recommend Strongbow, Kirin and Somersby for cider. Strongbow is named by 5 of 5 assistants.
What the data says
Strongbow (Heineken) is the cider brand AI assistants recommend most in Japan, taking 32% of all recommendation points across 5 assistants. Kirin follows with 12% and Somersby is third with 9%.
Strongbow's lead over Kirin is 20 points, a clear advantage in how AI shortlists the category.
ChatGPT, Claude and DeepSeek put Strongbow first, while Gemini favours Kirin and Grok favours Remove / Not Brand.
The top five brands hold 71% of recommendations out of 12 brands named in total, leaving room for challengers to break into AI shortlists.
| # | Brand | Owner | AI share | ChatGPT | Claude | DeepSeek | Gemini | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strongbow | Heineken | 32% | 35 | 35 | 35 | 20 | 35 |
| 2 | Kirin | Kirin Holdings | 12% | – | – | 25 | 35 | – |
| 3 | Somersby | Carlsberg Group | 9% | 25 | – | 20 | – | – |
| 4 | Asahi | Asahi | 9% | – | – | 20 | 25 | – |
| 5 | Remove / Not Brand | Generic | 9% | – | – | – | – | 45 |
| 6 | Nikka | Asahi | 6.4% | 20 | – | – | 12 | – |
| 7 | Bulmers | C&C Group | 6.4% | – | 12 | – | – | 20 |
| 8 | Angry Orchard | Boston Beer Company | 5% | – | 25 | – | – | – |
| 9 | Stella Artois Cidre | AB InBev | 4% | – | 20 | – | – | – |
| 10 | Woodchuck | Vermont Cider Company | 3.2% | – | 8 | – | 8 | – |
| 11 | Rekorderlig | Åbro Bryggeri | 2.4% | 12 | – | – | – | – |
| 12 | Magners | C&C Group | 1.6% | 8 | – | – | – | – |
Questions about AI cider recommendations
- Which cider brand does ChatGPT recommend most in Japan?
- ChatGPT recommends Strongbow most often for cider in Japan. Across all assistants, Strongbow leads with 32% of recommendations.
- Which cider brand is improving fastest in Japan?
- Kirin has the strongest momentum among challengers: AI names it first in 1 of 2 answers where it appears, while holding 12% share. This is the first Q4 2026 reading; change over time will be shown from the next update.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- We ask each AI assistant the questions shoppers ask in each category and market, record the top five brands it names, and give 35, 25, 20, 12 and 8 points for positions one to five. Share is a brand's points divided by all points awarded.
Cider: AI rankings by country
Covers: Apple Cider.
Method: each AI assistant is asked the shopper questions for every segment in the category and market; the top five brands named score 35, 25, 20, 12 and 8 points. Share is a brand's points divided by all points awarded. Rankings reflect AI answers, not sales.
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