Annuities AI Visibility Ranking Trends - November 2026

Answer capsule

The November 2026 Annuities benchmark compares 10 companies across 169 AI answers that met its inclusion rules. New York Life leads with 102 recommendations (60.36% of answers). At least one tracked company was recommended in 123 answers; some answers recommended several companies.

The rankings distinguish being mentioned from receiving an affirmative recommendation, then examine placement and the wording used about each company. Earlier monthly results show how counts and rates changed, with each month using its own answer total. These results describe the answers reviewed, not product quality or customer satisfaction. Differences between monthly samples limit comparisons and do not establish why a result changed.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Annuities

Industry leaderboard

Questions This Section Answers

• How do Annuities rank by recorded AI recommendations in November 2026?

The leaderboard orders companies by how many answers affirmatively recommended them, so it measures endorsement volume rather than mere appearance. A company can be mentioned often yet recommended less often, and placement counts sit inside recommendations rather than beside them. Ties require equal recommendation counts, so near-equal totals should be read as close rather than decisive gaps.

Key findings

Tracked-company answer coverage

Questions This Section Answers

• How often did the November 2026 Annuities answer sample recommend any tracked company?

123 distinct answers recommended at least one tracked company. Counting each company recommendation separately gives 536, because an answer can recommend several companies. Answers with no tracked recommendation may still have recommended companies outside this comparison.

Every qualified answer mentioned at least one tracked company, but only a majority recommended one. Because a single answer can recommend several companies, company-level recommendation totals exceed the number of answers carrying any recommendation. Coverage therefore describes how often the tracked set appeared at all, not how thoroughly any one company dominated the answers.

Reach and affirmative recommendation

New York Life ranks 1 by recommendation count. Mentions: 146 (86.39%); recommendations: 102 (60.36%). Top 3 placements: 75 (44.38%); first-place placements: 62 (36.69%).

Wording about the company: 116 positive, 30 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 69.9%. The net framing score was 0.79 (defined in Methodology).

44 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 73.53% were Top 3 and 60.78% were first-place.

Mention marks appearance; recommendation marks affirmative endorsement. New York Life illustrates the gap: many answers named it, fewer recommended it, and a portion of mentions carried no recorded recommendation. Reach alone therefore overstates endorsement, and the recommendation-to-mention ratio describes recorded answer wording rather than customer behavior or conversion.

Recommendation order and placement

Top-three and first-place counts are nested within recommendations, not additional wins. A company recommended often may still be placed lower within those answers, while a less-recommended company can concentrate its endorsements near the top. Placement describes position and framing in the recorded answers, not preference strength among customers.

Classified framing in context

Framing classifies the wording surrounding each mention as positive, neutral or negative. Neutral wording is common and does not imply criticism, and positive wording does not establish why a recommendation occurred. Net framing summarizes tone in the selected answers only; it is not a measure of reputation, customer sentiment or company quality.

Company results in detail

New York Life

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about New York Life mentions, recommendations and placement?

New York Life ranks 1 by recommendation count. Mentions: 146 (86.39%); recommendations: 102 (60.36%). Top 3 placements: 75 (44.38%); first-place placements: 62 (36.69%).

Wording about the company: 116 positive, 30 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 69.9%. The net framing score was 0.79 (defined in Methodology).

44 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 73.53% were Top 3 and 60.78% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, New York Life's mention count fell from 180 to 146, while its recommendation count fell from 167 to 102. The recommendation rate was 76.96% and 60.36% respectively.

New York Life leads on recommendation count and pairs broad reach with a high share of mentions that also carried a recommendation. Its placements concentrate near the top of recorded answers, and its wording is largely positive with no negative mentions. The prior-month comparison shows lower counts and a lower recommendation rate; the samples differ, so the change is recorded rather than explained.

MassMutual

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about MassMutual mentions, recommendations and placement?

MassMutual ranks 2 by recommendation count. Mentions: 154 (91.12%); recommendations: 101 (59.76%). Top 3 placements: 43 (25.44%); first-place placements: 14 (8.28%).

Wording about the company: 116 positive, 38 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 65.6%. The net framing score was 0.75 (defined in Methodology).

53 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 42.57% were Top 3 and 13.86% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, MassMutual's mention count fell from 192 to 154, while its recommendation count fell from 179 to 101. The recommendation rate was 82.49% and 59.76% respectively.

MassMutual reaches nearly every qualified answer, giving it the widest mention presence in the set, yet its recommendation count trails its reach and its placements sit lower on average. Wording is mostly positive with a substantial neutral share. The prior-month comparison shows both counts and the recommendation rate lower, without establishing why.

Allianz Life

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Allianz Life mentions, recommendations and placement?

Allianz Life ranks 3 by recommendation count. Mentions: 122 (72.19%); recommendations: 94 (55.62%). Top 3 placements: 68 (40.24%); first-place placements: 12 (7.10%).

Wording about the company: 106 positive, 16 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 77.0%. The net framing score was 0.87 (defined in Methodology).

28 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 72.34% were Top 3 and 12.77% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Allianz Life's mention count fell from 165 to 122, while its recommendation count fell from 154 to 94. The recommendation rate was 70.97% and 55.62% respectively.

Allianz Life combines solid reach with one of the higher recommendation-to-mention ratios, and its placements lean toward the top three rather than first place. Positive wording dominates its mentions. The prior-month comparison records lower counts and a lower recommendation rate across separate samples, which does not by itself indicate a change in standing.

Nationwide

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Nationwide mentions, recommendations and placement?

Nationwide ranks 4 by recommendation count. Mentions: 135 (79.88%); recommendations: 89 (52.66%). Top 3 placements: 27 (15.98%); first-place placements: 4 (2.37%).

Wording about the company: 101 positive, 34 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 65.9%. The net framing score was 0.75 (defined in Methodology).

46 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 30.34% were Top 3 and 4.49% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Nationwide's mention count fell from 167 to 135, while its recommendation count fell from 152 to 89. The recommendation rate was 70.05% and 52.66% respectively.

Nationwide appears in most qualified answers and is recommended in a majority, but its placements rarely reach the top of the ordering. Wording is predominantly positive with a notable neutral share. The prior-month comparison shows lower counts and a lower recommendation rate; because the samples differ, the comparison describes recorded results rather than a cause.

Athene

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Athene mentions, recommendations and placement?

Athene ranks 5 by recommendation count. Mentions: 125 (73.96%); recommendations: 76 (44.97%). Top 3 placements: 33 (19.53%); first-place placements: 15 (8.88%).

Wording about the company: 84 positive, 41 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 60.8%. The net framing score was 0.67 (defined in Methodology).

49 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 43.42% were Top 3 and 19.74% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Athene's mention count fell from 141 to 125, while its recommendation count fell from 132 to 76. The recommendation rate was 60.83% and 44.97% respectively.

Athene appears in a large share of the recorded answers, and a substantial portion of those appearances also carry an affirmative endorsement. Its placements show that first-place positions form a subset of the broader shortlist placements, so the two should be read as nested measures rather than added together. Wording around the company is largely positive or neutral, with no negative mentions recorded.

Recommendation-to-mention ratios describe the recorded answers, not customers or sales. The October-to-November comparison records lower mention and recommendation counts alongside a lower recommendation rate; that is a recorded change, and the evidence does not establish why it occurred.

Lincoln Financial

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Lincoln Financial mentions, recommendations and placement?

Lincoln Financial ranks 6 by recommendation count. Mentions: 62 (36.69%); recommendations: 40 (23.67%). Top 3 placements: 3 (1.78%); first-place placements: 1 (0.59%).

Wording about the company: 44 positive, 18 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 64.5%. The net framing score was 0.71 (defined in Methodology).

22 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 7.50% were Top 3 and 2.50% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Lincoln Financial's mention count rose from 59 to 62, while its recommendation count fell from 54 to 40. The recommendation rate was 24.88% and 23.67% respectively.

Lincoln Financial sits in the middle of the ranking with moderate reach and a recommendation rate well below the leaders. Its placements are sparse, with few top-three or first-place results. Wording is mostly positive. The prior-month comparison shows mentions slightly higher while recommendations and the recommendation rate fell, without establishing why.

Corebridge Financial

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Corebridge Financial mentions, recommendations and placement?

Corebridge Financial ranks 7 by recommendation count. Mentions: 36 (21.30%); recommendations: 20 (11.83%). Top 3 placements: 10 (5.92%); first-place placements: 2 (1.18%).

Wording about the company: 22 positive, 14 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 55.6%. The net framing score was 0.61 (defined in Methodology).

16 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 50.00% were Top 3 and 10.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Corebridge Financial's mention count rose from 32 to 36, while its recommendation count fell from 27 to 20. The recommendation rate was 12.44% and 11.83% respectively.

Corebridge Financial has limited reach and a modest recommendation count, though a fair share of its recommendations land in the top three. Wording is positive more often than neutral. The prior-month comparison records mentions slightly higher while recommendations and the recommendation rate declined; the separate samples do not explain that pattern.

Pacific Life

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Pacific Life mentions, recommendations and placement?

Pacific Life ranks 8 by recommendation count. Mentions: 27 (15.98%); recommendations: 9 (5.33%). Top 3 placements: 4 (2.37%); first-place placements: 1 (0.59%).

Wording about the company: 12 positive, 15 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 33.3%. The net framing score was 0.44 (defined in Methodology).

18 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 44.44% were Top 3 and 11.11% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Pacific Life's mention count fell from 42 to 27, while its recommendation count fell from 42 to 9. The recommendation rate was 19.35% and 5.33% respectively.

Pacific Life has narrow reach and few recommendations, and its recommendation-to-mention ratio is low, so the small placement counts rest on a sparse base. Neutral wording outnumbers positive. The prior-month comparison shows both counts and the recommendation rate markedly lower, a recorded difference that the available evidence does not explain.

Fidelity

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Fidelity mentions, recommendations and placement?

Fidelity ranks 9 by recommendation count. Mentions: 40 (23.67%); recommendations: 4 (2.37%). Top 3 placements: 0 (0.00%); first-place placements: 0 (0.00%).

Wording about the company: 7 positive, 33 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 10.0%. The net framing score was 0.18 (defined in Methodology).

36 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 0.00% were Top 3 and 0.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Fidelity's mention count rose from 39 to 40, while its recommendation count fell from 20 to 4. The recommendation rate was 9.22% and 2.37% respectively.

Fidelity is mentioned fairly often but rarely recommended, and none of its recorded recommendations reached the top three or first place. Neutral wording strongly outweighs positive. The prior-month comparison shows mentions roughly steady while recommendations and the recommendation rate fell; with such a small recommendation base, ratios should be read cautiously.

Brighthouse Financial

Questions This Section Answers

• What do the November 2026 AI answer results show about Brighthouse Financial mentions, recommendations and placement?

Brighthouse Financial ranks 10 by recommendation count. Mentions: 2 (1.18%); recommendations: 1 (0.59%). Top 3 placements: 0 (0.00%); first-place placements: 0 (0.00%).

Wording about the company: 1 positive, 1 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 50.0%. The net framing score was 0.50 (defined in Methodology).

1 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 0.00% were Top 3 and 0.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Brighthouse Financial's mention count fell from 3 to 2, while its recommendation count fell from 3 to 1. The recommendation rate was 1.38% and 0.59% respectively.

Brighthouse Financial has the smallest footprint in the set, with very few mentions and a single recommendation, so its ratio rests on a minimal base and its placement counts are zero. Wording is split between positive and neutral. The prior-month comparison involves tiny counts and does not support inferences about direction or cause.

Earlier ranking snapshot context

Questions This Section Answers

• How do the available Annuities snapshots from July 2026 to November 2026 differ in recommendation coverage and measurement scope?

Only months with verified results are shown. Monthly sample coverage is listed in Methodology.

Each month is a separate sample of AI answers, and the included answer totals differ across months. Counts and rates should be read together, since a lower count can accompany a stable or changed rate. The comparisons show how recorded results moved between samples; they do not establish rank stability, equivalent sampling or reasons for change.

What the November Rankings Show

These sections answer different questions. Reach asks whether a company appeared; recommendation asks whether the answer affirmatively endorsed it; placement asks where within those endorsements it sat; framing asks how the wording read. A company can be strong on one and weak on another, so no single column captures its position. All measures describe the reviewed AI answers, not customers, sales or verified product facts.

Methodology

Questions This Section Answers

• How were the November 2026 Annuities AI visibility measures counted, and what do they not establish?

This benchmark has partial coverage: 2 of 3 planned question categories contributed usable observations; 1 contributed none. This describes question-category coverage, not demonstrated platform outages. Findings apply to the available answer set.

The month in the title is the reporting period. The exact dates when the original AI answers were collected have not been verified.

Each company is counted at most once in each answer that meets the benchmark rules. A recommendation requires both an affirmative endorsement and positive wording. Mention, recommendation, Top 3 and first-place rates use the full benchmark answer total. Top 3 and first-place results are included within recommendations, not added to them.

The recommendation-to-mention ratio divides recommendations by mentions. It describes AI answer wording, not customer conversion. Net framing is positive minus negative mentions, divided by all mentions, on a scale from -1 to +1. It does not measure customer satisfaction or company quality.

Market: US; 10 tracked companies. AI services represented: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity.

Research screening totals (answer observations can include repeated questions):

The source does not provide a reader-facing definition of “reserved”; that screening label is reported without inferring a reason for exclusion. Only the included benchmark answers form the rate denominator.

One answer can mention or recommend several companies. Adding company totals would therefore count some answers more than once. The results describe the AI answers reviewed, not independently verified facts about the companies or their products.

Monthly sample coverage:

Reliable results for August 2026 are unavailable. This is a gap in the history, not a result of zero.

The answer samples differ between months. These comparisons show how the recorded results changed; they do not establish why they changed.

Coverage is partial: only some planned question categories contributed usable answers, and findings apply to that available set. Each company counts at most once per answer, and placement results are subsets of recommendations. Rates use the full benchmark answer total, while the recommendation-to-mention ratio describes answer wording, not conversion. Net framing is not customer satisfaction. Monthly samples differ, and comparisons do not establish causes.