For years, beverage brands have competed for shelf space, Google rankings, and social media attention. Now AI is changing the way consumers discover and research products.
Instead of looking up a specific brand, consumers are asking AI tools questions like, “What’s the healthiest energy drink?” or “What’s a good alcohol alternative?” The response is not a page of search results. It is a short list of recommendations.
A new report from 5W Public Relations looks at how functional beverage brands are appearing in AI-generated recommendations.
The firm’s 2026 Functional Beverages AI Visibility Index analyzed more than 60 consumer prompts across five AI platforms to measure which brands appeared most often in AI-generated recommendations.
Rethinking the Consumer’s Mindset
The functional beverage market is worth an estimated $152 billion globally, but the brands most often appearing in AI recommendations are not always the ones with the highest sales.
Red Bull and Monster have dominated the energy drink category for years, but the 5WPR AI Visibility Index found that brands like Celsius, Liquid Death, Olipop, and Poppi were among the most visible functional beverage brands across AI platforms.
The report analyzed more than 60 consumer prompts and found that the way a question is phrased can influence which brands appear in AI responses. Someone asking for the “best energy drink” may get different recommendations than someone looking for a “healthy energy drink” or a beverage for focus, hydration, or gut health.
Consumers are often searching for a solution, not just a category. They are looking for a drink that fits a specific need, occasion, or lifestyle.
Celsius is closely associated with energy and fitness. Olipop and Poppi are known for their focus on gut health, while Liquid Death has taken a different approach to bottled water and hydration.
The report also notes that Olipop, Poppi, Liquid Death, Alani Nu, and Ghost each reached billion-dollar valuations in a single year. These brands have appeared consistently across retail, digital platforms, social media, and media coverage, creating more information for AI tools to draw from when answering consumer questions.
Consumers Search for Benefits, Not Ingredients
Functional beverage marketing has traditionally focused on ingredients, formulations, and technology. Those details are important, but consumers usually want to understand the benefit first.
They are looking for drinks that fit a specific need or moment, whether that is better energy, hydration, recovery, relaxation, or an alternative to alcohol.
This is part of why categories like prebiotic soda, energy drinks positioned around fitness, and alcohol alternatives have grown. Consumers are increasingly choosing products based on the benefit they offer, not just the category they belong to.
What This Means for Hemp Beverages
The same applies to hemp beverages. Consumers may not begin with “5 mg THC,” “nanoemulsion,” or a specific cannabinoid. They start with what they want the drink to do: help them relax after work, enjoy a social occasion, or replace alcohol.
Cannabinoids, formulations, and delivery systems are important differentiators, especially in a category where science and product development continue to evolve. But they are not usually the first thing consumers think about.
A hemp beverage positioned around relaxation, social connection, or alcohol replacement is answering a different question than a product positioned only around its cannabinoid profile.
This does not make formulation science less important. Ingredients, dosage, bioavailability, and delivery systems can help differentiate products in a crowded market. But consumers first need to understand why the product fits the occasion they are looking for.
Beyond a Brand’s Website
A company’s website is only one source of information about a product. Retail listings, reviews, media coverage, and other sources all contribute to how AI tools understand a brand.
The 5WPR report found that brands appearing most often in AI recommendations were not relying on a single channel. Their presence extended across consumer media, business coverage, retail platforms, and other online sources.
The report also notes that brands need to consistently maintain that presence. New product launches, acquisitions, and major announcements can change how brands appear in AI-generated recommendations, while outdated product information can affect how a product is understood.
Third-party coverage and expert sources are especially important because they provide information beyond what a company says about itself. Ongoing media coverage, accurate product information, and consistent messaging across channels give AI more information to draw from when responding to consumer questions.
