Which payment provider the AI assistants actually recommend to a US business at the point of decision, across a multi-turn buying conversation covering fees, in-person and online payments, and ease of setup.
Based on 540 multi-turn probe conversations — 20 providers, each probed across 3 assistants × 3 buyer lenses × 3 repeats. ARQ (0–100) = 50% recommendation at the decision + 25% resilience under challenge + 25% head-to-head. · Updated Aug 2026 — next refresh Nov 2026.
| # | Brand | Recommended @ decision | ARQ | Known (unprompted) | Linkage Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Square | 83.3% | 81.0 | 100.0% | +16.7 | Get report → |
| 2 | Shopify Payments | 44.4% | 60.6 | 85.2% | +40.7 | Get report → |
| 3 | Helcim | 42.6% | 55.6 | 33.3% | -9.3 | Get report → |
| 4 | Stripe | 33.3% | 45.4 | 100.0% | +66.7 | Get report → |
| 5 | Stax | 20.4% | 30.6 | 18.5% | -1.9 | Get report → |
| 6 | PayPal | 20.4% | 25.0 | 92.6% | +72.2 | Get report → |
| 7 | Adyen | 7.4% | 23.6 | 14.8% | +7.4 | Get report → |
| 8 | Braintree | 14.8% | 20.8 | 18.5% | +3.7 | Get report → |
| 9 | SumUp | 9.3% | 19.4 | 0.0% | -9.3 | Get report → |
| 10 | QuickBooks Payments | 9.3% | 19.4 | 22.2% | +13.0 | Get report → |
| 11 | Toast | 9.3% | 16.7 | 3.7% | -5.6 | Get report → |
| 12 | National Processing | 13.0% | 14.4 | 7.4% | -5.6 | Get report → |
| 13 | Chase Payment Solutions | 7.4% | 12.0 | 0.0% | -7.4 | Get report → |
| 14 | Amazon Pay | 3.7% | 11.6 | 0.0% | -3.7 | Get report → |
| 15 | Clover | 9.3% | 11.6 | 18.5% | +9.3 | Get report → |
| 16 | Nuvei | 1.9% | 9.3 | 0.0% | -1.9 | Get report → |
| 17 | Worldpay | 5.6% | 8.3 | 0.0% | -5.6 | Get report → |
| 18 | Elavon | 1.9% | 6.9 | 0.0% | -1.9 | Get report → |
| 19 | Authorize.net | 7.4% | 6.5 | 29.6% | +22.2 | Get report → |
| 20 | Checkout.com | 5.6% | 6.0 | 0.0% | -5.6 | Get report → |
This table is the headline. Your report shows the exact moments an AI recommends a competitor instead of you, who's capturing that demand, the revenue at stake, and how far behind you are — with what it takes to close the gap.
These rankings are not the views or opinions of AIVO Meridian. They are results derived from multi-turn conversations with large language models (ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini), measured August 2026 and scored by our documented method. AIVO Meridian holds no opinion on which brands or products are better than others. AI models change, so results reflect the period tested and are refreshed periodically. This ranking is generated from 540 multi-turn probe conversations. Provided for information only — not advice or a recommendation to buy. Brand names are the property of their respective owners; their inclusion is comparative and implies no association or endorsement. For a more detailed, personalised analysis, please get in touch.