Lilly and Novo Lead Pharma AI Citation Share: What the 5W Study Found
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are the most cited pharmaceutical companies across AI platforms, holding 12.5% and 11.5% of AI citation share respectively, according to a study by PR firm 5W covered by MM+M. Researchers ran common patient queries through ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, measuring which companies were named, cited and linked — and how extractable their source material was. Pfizer (8.5%), Johnson & Johnson (7%) and Merck (6%) round out the top five, with GLP-1 demand driving the leaders’ visibility. With roughly one-third of U.S. adults now using AI chatbots for health information, citation share is emerging as a measurable brand-visibility metric for healthcare marketers.
AI citation share is becoming the new share-of-voice, and the 5W methodology — who gets named, cited and linked, and how extractable the source content is — transfers directly to health systems, DSOs and practice groups. Machine-readable, extractable content is now a measurable competitive asset.
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Which pharma companies are cited most by AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity?
Eli Lilly leads with 12.5% of AI citation share, followed by Novo Nordisk at 11.5%, per a 2026 study by PR firm 5W. Pfizer (8.5%), Johnson & Johnson (7%) and Merck (6%) round out the top five, followed by AbbVie, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Consumer demand for GLP-1 information is a major driver of the two leaders’ visibility.
How was AI citation share measured in the 5W study?
Researchers ran common patient queries through five platforms — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews — and recorded which companies were named, which were cited and which were linked. The citation-share score combined how many platforms cited a company, how many questions it appeared in, and how extractable its source material was.
How many people use AI chatbots for health information?
About one-third of U.S. adults say they use AI chatbots for health information, roughly equal to the share who use social media for the same purpose, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey cited in the article. That scale is why AI citation share is emerging as a brand-visibility metric alongside traditional search rankings.