Car Insurance AI Visibility Ranking Trends - November 2026

Answer capsule

The November 2026 Car Insurance benchmark compares 10 companies across 338 AI answers that met its inclusion rules. Mercury Insurance leads with 20 recommendations (5.92% of answers). At least one tracked company was recommended in 58 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 Car Insurance

Industry leaderboard

Questions This Section Answers

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

The leaderboard orders companies by how many recorded answers affirmatively recommended them. That count is not the same as how often a company appeared: a company can be mentioned frequently yet recommended rarely, and the two columns answer different questions. Ties reflect equal recommendation counts, so shared ranks are genuine ties rather than near-misses.

Placement figures sit inside the recommendation count. A first-place result is a subset of shortlist placements, which are themselves a subset of recommendations, so these columns should be read as layers of the same evidence rather than as separate wins.

Key findings

Tracked-company answer coverage

Questions This Section Answers

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

58 distinct answers recommended at least one tracked company. Counting each company recommendation separately gives 87, because an answer can recommend several companies. Answers with no tracked recommendation may still have recommended companies outside this comparison.

Every included answer mentioned at least one tracked company, but only a minority recommended one. Because a single answer can recommend several companies, the number of company-level recommendations exceeds the number of answers carrying any recommendation. That overlap is why company totals should not be summed into an answer count.

Answers without a tracked recommendation are not empty of recommendations; they may name companies outside this comparison. Coverage therefore describes the tracked set, not the whole market.

Reach and affirmative recommendation

Mercury Insurance ranks 1 by recommendation count. Mentions: 118 (34.91%); recommendations: 20 (5.92%). Top 3 placements: 9 (2.66%); first-place placements: 6 (1.78%).

Wording about the company: 29 positive, 89 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 16.9%. The net framing score was 0.25 (defined in Methodology).

98 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 45.00% were Top 3 and 30.00% were first-place.

Mercury Insurance leads on recommendation count, but its mentions far outnumber its recommendations, so most appearances carried no endorsement. Mention measures presence in an answer; recommendation measures affirmative endorsement. The gap between them is the central reading here.

Its placements are a fraction of its recommendations, and its wording was largely neutral. None of this establishes why answers mentioned or recommended it, and the leading rank is a count ordering, not a quality judgment.

Recommendation order and placement

Placement describes where a recommended company sat in an answer's ordering. Top 3 and first-place counts are nested within recommendations, so they cannot be added to recommendation totals or compared as if they shared a different base. A company with few recommendations can still show a high placement share, but sparse bases make such ratios fragile.

Placement is about position and framing, not about customer choice or conversion.

Classified framing in context

Framing records the wording attached to each mention: positive, neutral or negative. Most mentions across companies were neutral, and negative wording was uncommon but present for a few. Net framing summarizes that balance on a bounded scale.

Framing is not customer sentiment, reputation or company quality, and neutral wording does not explain why a recommendation was or was not recorded. It describes how the selected answers phrased their mentions.

Company results in detail

Mercury Insurance

Questions This Section Answers

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

Mercury Insurance ranks 1 by recommendation count. Mentions: 118 (34.91%); recommendations: 20 (5.92%). Top 3 placements: 9 (2.66%); first-place placements: 6 (1.78%).

Wording about the company: 29 positive, 89 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 16.9%. The net framing score was 0.25 (defined in Methodology).

98 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 45.00% were Top 3 and 30.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Mercury Insurance's mention count fell from 166 to 118, while its recommendation count fell from 87 to 20. The recommendation rate was 30.85% and 5.92% respectively.

Mercury Insurance tops the recommendation count while appearing in roughly a third of answers, so its reach is broad relative to its endorsements. Most of its mentions were neutral, and the share of mentions that also carried a recommendation was modest. Its placements form a minority of its recommendations.

The prior-month comparison shows both counts lower in November, but the samples differ and the figures do not establish why.

Direct Auto Insurance

Questions This Section Answers

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

Direct Auto Insurance ranks 2 by recommendation count. Mentions: 190 (56.21%); recommendations: 19 (5.62%). Top 3 placements: 16 (4.73%); first-place placements: 14 (4.14%).

Wording about the company: 23 positive, 163 neutral, 4 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 10.0%. The net framing score was 0.10 (defined in Methodology).

171 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 84.21% were Top 3 and 73.68% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Direct Auto Insurance's mention count rose from 90 to 190, while its recommendation count fell from 51 to 19. The recommendation rate was 18.09% and 5.62% respectively.

Direct Auto Insurance appears in more answers than any other tracked company, yet its recommendations are comparatively few, giving it one of the widest mention-to-recommendation gaps in the set. Its wording was overwhelmingly neutral with a small negative share. Among its recorded recommendations, most were shortlisted and a large majority were first-place.

November mentions were higher than October while recommendations were lower; the changed samples do not explain that pattern.

Root Insurance

Questions This Section Answers

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

Root Insurance ranks 3 by recommendation count. Mentions: 61 (18.05%); recommendations: 14 (4.14%). Top 3 placements: 13 (3.85%); first-place placements: 9 (2.66%).

Wording about the company: 16 positive, 44 neutral, 1 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 23.0%. The net framing score was 0.25 (defined in Methodology).

47 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 92.86% were Top 3 and 64.29% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Root Insurance's mention count fell from 91 to 61, while its recommendation count fell from 69 to 14. The recommendation rate was 24.47% and 4.14% respectively.

Root Insurance combines moderate reach with a comparatively strong recommendation-to-mention ratio, and nearly all of its recommendations were shortlisted, with most also first-place. Its wording was mostly neutral with little negative framing.

Both its mention and recommendation counts were lower in November than October, but the monthly samples differ, so the comparison records change without identifying a cause.

Clearcover

Questions This Section Answers

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

Clearcover ranks 4 by recommendation count. Mentions: 69 (20.41%); recommendations: 13 (3.85%). Top 3 placements: 13 (3.85%); first-place placements: 4 (1.18%).

Wording about the company: 16 positive, 53 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 18.8%. The net framing score was 0.23 (defined in Methodology).

56 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 100.00% were Top 3 and 30.77% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Clearcover's mention count rose from 50 to 69, while its recommendation count fell from 40 to 13. The recommendation rate was 14.18% and 3.85% respectively.

Clearcover's recommendations were all shortlisted, though fewer reached first place, giving it a distinctive placement profile relative to its recommendation total. Its mentions were mostly neutral and none were negative. The recommendation-to-mention ratio sits in the middle of the tracked set.

November mentions were higher than October while recommendations were lower, a recorded comparison whose cause the evidence does not supply.

Mile Auto

Questions This Section Answers

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

Mile Auto ranks 5 by recommendation count. Mentions: 61 (18.05%); recommendations: 10 (2.96%). Top 3 placements: 3 (0.89%); first-place placements: 1 (0.30%).

Wording about the company: 11 positive, 50 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 16.4%. The net framing score was 0.18 (defined in Methodology).

51 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 30.00% were Top 3 and 10.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Mile Auto's mention count rose from 44 to 61, while its recommendation count fell from 40 to 10. The recommendation rate was 14.18% and 2.96% respectively.

Mile Auto's recommendations were mostly outside the shortlist, so its placement profile is weaker than its recommendation count alone might suggest. Its mentions were largely neutral with no negative wording recorded. The recommendation-to-mention ratio is moderate.

Mentions rose from October to November while recommendations fell; because the samples differ, this is a recorded change rather than an explanation.

SafeAuto

Questions This Section Answers

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

SafeAuto ranks 6 by recommendation count. Mentions: 71 (21.01%); recommendations: 4 (1.18%). Top 3 placements: 3 (0.89%); first-place placements: 2 (0.59%).

Wording about the company: 8 positive, 57 neutral, 6 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 5.6%. The net framing score was 0.03 (defined in Methodology).

67 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 75.00% were Top 3 and 50.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, SafeAuto's mention count rose from 56 to 71, while its recommendation count fell from 17 to 4. The recommendation rate was 6.03% and 1.18% respectively.

SafeAuto has relatively high reach but few recommendations, producing one of the lowest recommendation-to-mention ratios in the set. It also carries the largest negative wording count among tracked companies, alongside mostly neutral mentions. Its handful of recommendations were mostly shortlisted.

With so few recommendations, placement shares rest on a sparse base and should be read cautiously.

Elephant Insurance

Questions This Section Answers

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

Elephant Insurance ranks 7 by recommendation count. Mentions: 22 (6.51%); recommendations: 3 (0.89%). Top 3 placements: 3 (0.89%); first-place placements: 3 (0.89%).

Wording about the company: 7 positive, 15 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 13.6%. The net framing score was 0.32 (defined in Methodology).

19 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 100.00% were Top 3 and 100.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Elephant Insurance's mention count rose from 16 to 22, while its recommendation count fell from 4 to 3. The recommendation rate was 1.42% and 0.89% respectively.

Elephant Insurance appears in relatively few answers, but every recorded recommendation was both shortlisted and first-place, an unusually concentrated placement profile. Its mentions were mostly neutral with some positive wording and none negative.

The recommendation total is small, so the strong placement share rests on a narrow base and does not by itself indicate broader standing.

The General®

Questions This Section Answers

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

The General® ranks 7 by recommendation count. Mentions: 37 (10.95%); recommendations: 3 (0.89%). Top 3 placements: 2 (0.59%); first-place placements: 0 (0.00%).

Wording about the company: 4 positive, 33 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 8.1%. The net framing score was 0.11 (defined in Methodology).

34 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 66.67% were Top 3 and 0.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, The General®'s mention count rose from 31 to 37, while its recommendation count fell from 16 to 3. The recommendation rate was 5.67% and 0.89% respectively.

The General® has moderate reach but few recommendations, and none of its recorded recommendations reached first place, though most were shortlisted. Its wording was almost entirely neutral with no negative mentions.

Its recommendation count was lower in November than October, while mentions were higher; the differing samples mean the comparison shows change without establishing why.

Kemper Auto

Questions This Section Answers

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

Kemper Auto ranks 9 by recommendation count. Mentions: 17 (5.03%); recommendations: 1 (0.30%). Top 3 placements: 1 (0.30%); first-place placements: 0 (0.00%).

Wording about the company: 1 positive, 15 neutral, 1 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 5.9%. The net framing score was 0.00 (defined in Methodology).

16 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, 100.00% were Top 3 and 0.00% were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Kemper Auto's mention count rose from 13 to 17, while its recommendation count fell from 8 to 1. The recommendation rate was 2.84% and 0.30% respectively.

Kemper Auto appears in a small share of answers and recorded a single recommendation, which was shortlisted but not first-place. Its wording was mostly neutral with one positive and one negative mention, leaving net framing near zero.

With such a sparse recommendation base, ratios and placement shares are fragile and should not be read as stable patterns.

Branch Insurance

Questions This Section Answers

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

Branch Insurance ranks 10 by recommendation count. Mentions: 9 (2.66%); recommendations: 0 (0.00%). Top 3 placements: 0 (0.00%); first-place placements: 0 (0.00%).

Wording about the company: 0 positive, 9 neutral, 0 negative mentions. The proportion of mentions that also included a recommendation was 0.0%. The net framing score was 0.00 (defined in Methodology).

9 mentions had no recorded recommendation. Of recorded recommendations, Unavailable were Top 3 and Unavailable were first-place.

From October 2026 to November 2026, Branch Insurance's mention count rose from 3 to 9, while its recommendation count fell from 1 to 0. The recommendation rate was 0.35% and 0.00% respectively.

Branch Insurance recorded no recommendations in November, so its placement counts are also zero and its recommendation-to-mention ratio is undefined rather than missing. Its mentions were all neutral. A measured zero is a result, not an absent observation.

Its mention count was higher than October while recommendations fell to zero; the samples differ, and the figures do not explain the outcome.

Earlier ranking snapshot context

Questions This Section Answers

• How do the available Car Insurance snapshots from May 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.

The monthly table shows separate selected samples, each with its own answer total and coverage. Counts and rates should be read together: a rate depends on the denominator, so a smaller answer total changes the base against which recommendations are measured.

Rank positions across months describe those recorded samples only. They do not establish rank stability, equivalent sampling or the reasons behind any movement.

What the November Rankings Show

These sections answer different questions. Reach asks how often a company appeared; recommendation asks whether an answer affirmatively endorsed it; placement asks where an endorsement sat; framing asks how the mention was worded. A company can be prominent on one measure and modest on another, which is why the leaderboard orders by recommendation count rather than by mentions.

Ratios describe the recorded answers, not customers, sales or conversion, and framing is not sentiment or quality. The monthly comparisons show change across differing samples without explaining it.

Methodology

Questions This Section Answers

• How were the November 2026 Car Insurance 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:

May 2026 measured a different set of companies, so it is excluded from this comparison. Reliable results for June 2026 are unavailable. This is a gap in the history, not a result of zero. July 2026 measured a different set of companies, so it is excluded from this comparison. August 2026 measured a different set of companies, so it is excluded from this comparison.

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 the available answer set. The reporting month labels the period, though exact collection dates are unverified. Each company is counted at most once per qualifying answer, and one answer can mention or recommend several companies, so company totals overlap.

Recommendation requires affirmative endorsement plus positive wording. Top 3 and first-place results are nested within recommendations. Net framing is a bounded wording measure, not satisfaction or quality. Monthly samples differ, so comparisons show recorded change without establishing cause.