Which small business insurance providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? (October 2026)
When US small businesses ask AI engines where to buy business insurance, two names are in almost every answer. The Hartford and NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) were named most often, each in 53 of 57 answers (93.0%), followed by Hiscox (42). All 57 answers named at least one firm, and 33 different firms were named in total, 14 of them only once.
By Frederik Jakobsen, founder of Danish Lead Co and SourceRank AI. Measured 11 October 2026, published October 2026.
The firms AI named most often
Share of all 57 answers that named the firm as a provider, and how many answers on each engine named it. An answer counts once per firm however often it repeats the name.
100.0%
Answers that named at least one provider firm: 57 of 57. Every answer named firms.
33 firms
Distinct firms named across all 57 answers. 14 of them were named in only one answer.
46.1%
Share of all 321 firm mentions taken by the three most named firms, The Hartford, NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) and Hiscox.
| # | Firm | Answers naming it | Engines | ChatGPT of 12 | Gemini of 12 | Copilot of 9 | AI Mode of 12 | AI Overviews of 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hartford | 53 of 57 93.0% | 5 of 5 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| 2 | NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) | 53 of 57 93.0% | 5 of 5 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Hiscox | 42 of 57 73.7% | 5 of 5 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | biBERK | 30 of 57 52.6% | 5 of 5 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Travelers | 22 of 57 38.6% | 5 of 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | Chubb | 19 of 57 33.3% | 5 of 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Nationwide | 15 of 57 26.3% | 4 of 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | Simply Business | 15 of 57 26.3% | 5 of 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | Thimble | 14 of 57 24.6% | 5 of 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Progressive Commercial | 13 of 57 22.8% | 5 of 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Insureon | 7 of 57 12.3% | 3 of 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Liberty Mutual | 6 of 57 10.5% | 2 of 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Vouch | 4 of 57 7.0% | 4 of 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Acuity | 3 of 57 5.3% | 3 of 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | Embroker | 3 of 57 5.3% | 3 of 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Top 15 of 33 firms. Engine columns show answers naming the firm out of that engine's measured answers. Firms with the same count are listed in the order the data was read.
What the answers show
- +The Hartford and NEXT Insurance were each named in 53 of 57 answers, 93.0%, the highest share for a leading firm in all 22 categories we measured. Hiscox (42) and biBERK (30) follow. The answers used both Next Insurance and ERGO NEXT for the second; they are counted as one firm.
- +It is the most concentrated category we measured: the three most named took 46.1% of all firm mentions, and only 33 firms were named in total, the fewest of all 22 categories.
- +All 12 questions had two engines agree on the first firm. Gemini and Google AI Overviews named The Hartford in 12 of 12 and 12 of 12 answers; ChatGPT named NEXT Insurance in 12 of 12.
- +Finance comparison publishers carry the sources: fitsmallbusiness.com and moneygeek.com were each cited in 10 of the 34 answers with sources and nerdwallet.com in 8. The most cited domain was insureon.com (11); Insureon itself was named in 7 answers.
What each engine named
The most named firm per engine. Every engine's leader was The Hartford or NEXT Insurance.
| Engine | Answers | Named a provider | Distinct firms | Most named firm on that engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 13 | NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) (12 of 12) |
| Gemini | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 17 | The Hartford (12 of 12) |
| Microsoft Copilot | 9 | 9 of 9 100.0% | 20 | The Hartford, NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) (8 of 9) |
| Google AI Mode | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 19 | NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) (11 of 12) |
| Google AI Overviews | 12 | 12 of 12 100.0% | 16 | The Hartford (12 of 12) |
First-pick agreement: in 12 of the 12 questions where at least two engines named a firm, two or more engines named the same firm first. The Hartford was named by 5 of 5 engines.
The sources behind the recommendations
Most cited domains in the 34 answers that showed a source list. Comparison publishers and the insurers' own sites dominate.
| # | Cited domain | Kind | Answers citing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | insureon.com | A named firm's own website | 11 of 34 32.4% |
| 2 | fitsmallbusiness.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 10 of 34 29.4% |
| 3 | moneygeek.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 10 of 34 29.4% |
| 4 | nerdwallet.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 8 of 34 23.5% |
| 5 | hiscox.com | A named firm's own website | 8 of 34 23.5% |
| 6 | thehartford.com | A named firm's own website | 8 of 34 23.5% |
| 7 | simplybusiness.com | A named firm's own website | 7 of 34 20.6% |
| 8 | nextinsurance.com | A named firm's own website | 7 of 34 20.6% |
| 9 | biberk.com | A named firm's own website | 7 of 34 20.6% |
| 10 | techinsurance.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 6 of 34 17.6% |
| 11 | usnews.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 5 of 34 14.7% |
| 12 | forbes.com | Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 5 of 34 14.7% |
Out of the 34 answers that carried a source list (81 distinct domains). Sources per engine: ChatGPT 0 of 12, Gemini 10 of 12, Copilot 9 of 9, AI Mode 3 of 12, AI Overviews 12 of 12.
| Source kind | Answers citing at least one |
|---|---|
| Other (blogs, listicles, publishers, other vendors) | 32 of 34 94.1% |
| A named firm's own website | 24 of 34 70.6% |
| Social and video | 5 of 34 14.7% |
| Community forum | 1 of 34 2.9% |
An answer can cite several kinds, so the rows do not sum to the total. "A named firm's own website" means the domain matches the name of a firm named in this category.
What the named firms have in common
Seven of the ten most named firms had their own website cited by at least one engine, and a named firm's own site was cited in 24 of the 34 answers with sources. In this category the comparison publishers and the insurers' own pages are read side by side.
How a firm in this category gets named
Being named depends on what the engines read. In this category, of the 34 answers that showed their sources, 24 cited a named firm's own website and 0 cited a directory, review or analyst site. With two names in almost every answer, the realistic target for a smaller insurer is the specific question (restaurants, contractors, ecommerce, a 25-person team, a state), and the comparison publishers the engines cite for it. Being reviewed accurately on those publishers is where most of the movement is. This is the work SourceRank AI does, described on the services page. The free site readiness check shows whether your site is structurally ready to be cited; it checks your site, it does not measure answers like the ones on this page. To see where your own firm stands in these answers, book a call.
Exactly what was measured
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 11 October 2026, one run |
| Buyer questions | 12, each phrased as a buyer asking for a provider, varied by size, budget, situation and switching. Full list below |
| Answer engines | 5: ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews |
| Engine cells | 60. One question on one engine |
| Answers measured | 57 of 60. The denominator for every share on this page. 3 Copilot answers were written for a buyer outside the US, a side effect of the third-party service we query Copilot through, and are excluded |
| Market | United States, English. Google AI Mode and AI Overviews were queried with a US location. ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot were not given a location, the same as in our client measurement runs; Copilot answers that assumed a buyer abroad are excluded |
| Sources | Cited sources come from Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews. ChatGPT's answers in this run came back without a machine-readable source list, so ChatGPT is not in the source tables |
| Firm extraction | One language model call per answer listed the firms the answer named as providers, excluding directories, publications, citation labels and tools. Names were normalised and aliases merged. A hand check of 20 answers across the study is reported on the hub page |
| Not measured | Location personalisation for the chat engines, logged-in or personalised sessions, run-to-run variation (this is a single run, and the same question asked again can return different firms), and model versions, which change without notice |
All 12 buyer questions
- Best small business insurance companies in the US
- Where should a small business buy general liability insurance online?
- Which insurance company is best for a 10-person consulting firm's business owner's policy?
- Cheapest business insurance for a small LLC
- Best insurance provider for a small contractor that needs general liability and workers comp
- Which small business insurance companies are best for restaurants?
- Top online business insurance providers for startups
- We are paying too much for our small business insurance. Which insurer should we switch to?
- Best small business insurance for an ecommerce company
- Which insurance company offers the best professional liability insurance for small businesses?
- Best small business insurance providers in Florida
- Which business insurance providers are best for a small business with 25 employees?
Cite this research
Journalists, analysts and writers are welcome to quote, chart and republish the figures on this page. Please credit SourceRank AI and link to this page as the source. For the underlying data, a comment from Frederik Jakobsen or a category we have not covered, see the press page.
Suggested citation
SourceRank AI (2026). Which small business insurance providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? Measured 11 October 2026. https://sourcerankai.com/research/who-ai-recommends/small-business-insurance-providers/
Link to copy
<a href="https://sourcerankai.com/research/who-ai-recommends/small-business-insurance-providers/">Which small business insurance providers do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend? (SourceRank AI, October 2026)</a>Where to go next
All 22 category studies
Who AI recommends across 22 B2B categories, with the cross-category findings and the full method.
What AI engines cite by industry
The source mix behind AI answers in ten industries, from our September 2026 measurement runs.
AEO for this industry
What we do for firms in this space, and the questions their buyers ask AI.
Common questions
Which small business insurance providers does ChatGPT recommend?
In this October 2026 run ChatGPT named NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) most often, in 12 of its 12 answers. Across all five engines the most named were The Hartford (53 of 57 answers), NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) (53) and Hiscox (42).
Do ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI recommend the same small business insurance providers?
Partly. The Hartford was named by 5 of the 5 engines, and in 12 of the 12 questions at least two engines named the same firm first. Below the top few names the lists diverge: 14 of the 33 firms were named in only one answer.
How was this measured?
12 buyer questions asking for small business insurance providers were put once to ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews on 11 October 2026, from a US English context. 57 answers were measured, and the firms each answer named as providers were extracted and counted once per answer. It is a single run, and the same question asked again can return different firms.