Which otc medicines brands do AI assistants recommend in Japan? Q4 2026
In Japan, AI assistants most often recommend DHC, Bufferin and Allegra for otc medicines. DHC is named by 5 of 5 assistants.
What the data says
DHC (DHC Corporation) is the otc medicines brand AI assistants recommend most in Japan, taking 7.9% of all recommendation points across 5 assistants. Bufferin follows with 7.8% and Allegra is third with 7%.
The top spot is close: only 0.1 points separate DHC and Bufferin, so a small change in how either brand is described online could flip the order.
Grok puts DHC first, while ChatGPT favours Bufferin, Claude favours Taisho, DeepSeek favours Bufferin and Gemini favours Pabron.
The top five brands hold 33% of recommendations out of 65 brands named in total, leaving room for challengers to break into AI shortlists.
| # | Brand | Owner | AI share | ChatGPT | Claude | DeepSeek | Gemini | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DHC | DHC Corporation | 7.9% | 25 | 35 | 35 | 20 | 83 |
| 2 | Bufferin | Lion | 7.8% | 43 | 25 | 47 | 20 | 60 |
| 3 | Allegra | Sanofi | 7% | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 4 | Pabron | Taisho | 6.1% | 35 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 5 | Fancl | Fancl | 3.9% | 35 | – | 25 | 12 | 25 |
| 6 | Claritin | Bayer | 3.6% | 25 | – | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| 7 | Seirogan | Taiko Pharmaceutical | 3.4% | 25 | – | 35 | 25 | – |
| 8 | Lulu | Daiichi Sankyo | 3% | 25 | – | 25 | 25 | – |
| 9 | Loxonin S | Daiichi Sankyo | 2.8% | – | 35 | – | 35 | – |
| 10 | Contac | GSK | 2.7% | 40 | – | 20 | 8 | – |
| 11 | Tylenol | Kenvue | 2.6% | 20 | – | 25 | – | 20 |
| 12 | Taisho | Taisho | 2.4% | – | 45 | – | – | 16 |
| 13 | Gaviscon | Reckitt | 2.4% | – | 35 | 25 | – | – |
| 14 | EVE | SSP Co., Ltd. | 2.3% | 25 | – | 8 | 25 | – |
| 15 | Loxonin | Daiichi Sankyo | 2% | 12 | – | 12 | – | 25 |
| 16 | Vicks | Procter & Gamble | 1.8% | – | 25 | – | – | 20 |
| 17 | Zyrtec | Kenvue | 1.8% | – | – | 25 | – | 20 |
| 18 | Benza | Takeda | 1.6% | – | 40 | – | – | – |
| 19 | Kobayashi | Kobayashi Pharmaceutical | 1.4% | – | – | – | – | 36 |
| 20 | Buscopan | Sanofi | 1.4% | – | – | – | – | 35 |
Questions about AI otc medicines recommendations
- Which otc medicines brand does ChatGPT recommend most in Japan?
- ChatGPT recommends Bufferin most often for otc medicines in Japan. Across all assistants, DHC leads with 7.9% of recommendations.
- Which otc medicines brand is improving fastest in Japan?
- Allegra has the strongest momentum among challengers: AI names it first in 5 of 5 answers where it appears, while holding 7% 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.
OTC Medicines: AI rankings by country
Covers: Allergy Management, Cough & Cold Relief, Digestive Aids, Pain Relief, Sleep Support.
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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