Which retailers and products does AI recommend for Black Friday gifts in the UK?

John Lewis is the retailer AI cites most for UK Black Friday gifts

Across all four AI engines and all ten gift types, John Lewis is cited in 30% of answers. That is well clear of Boots (18%) and Menkind (13%), and no other retailer reaches 7%.

Below those three, the field is flat. Four retailers, from Currys (6.1%) to Amazon UK (5.2%), sit within a point of each other, so their order tells you little.

John Lewis is a top-two website on every engine we tested. It leads both Google engines, with 40% of Google AI Overviews answers and 31% of Google AI Mode answers, and only Which? is cited more often on ChatGPT and Gemini.

Share of answers to UK Black Friday gift questions citing each retailer

John Lewis

John Lewis: 30.3%

30.3%

Boots

Boots: 17.9%

17.9%

Menkind

Menkind: 13.3%

13.3%

Currys

Currys: 6.1%

6.1%

Argos

Argos: 6.0%

6.0%

Buyagift

Buyagift: 5.9%

5.9%

Amazon UK

Amazon UK: 5.2%

5.2%

Find Me A Gift

Find Me A Gift: 4.7%

4.7%

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AI cites retailers' deals and gift pages for Black Friday gift questions, rarely their product pages

We sorted every page AI cited from the six most-cited retailers by type, and split our questions in two: those that mention deals or sales, and general gift questions such as "Black Friday gifts for her under £100".

The wording changes what AI links to. For questions about deals, deals pages make up 76% to 98% of each retailer's cited pages. Ask a general gift question and gift and category pages take over at the retailers that have them: 60% of John Lewis's cited pages and 57% of Menkind's, against 49% for the six retailers combined.

Product pages stay a small share either way, under 5% of the six retailers' cited pages for both kinds of question.

Share of each retailer's cited pages by page type, by how the question is worded

Deals or sales questionsGeneral gift questions

Deals pageGift or category pageProduct pageOther

John Lewis

78.3%78%John Lewis, deals page: 78.3%

16.5%17%John Lewis, gift or category page: 16.5%

3.2%John Lewis, product page: 3.2%

2.0%John Lewis, other: 2.0%

Boots

76.1%76%Boots, deals page: 76.1%

18.3%18%Boots, gift or category page: 18.3%

4.9%Boots, product page: 4.9%

0.7%Boots, other: 0.7%

Menkind

86.3%86%Menkind, deals page: 86.3%

9.6%10%Menkind, gift or category page: 9.6%

3.6%Menkind, product page: 3.6%

0.5%Menkind, other: 0.5%

Currys

89.3%89%Currys, deals page: 89.3%

5.0%Currys, gift or category page: 5.0%

5.0%Currys, product page: 5.0%

0.7%Currys, other: 0.7%

Argos

75.7%76%Argos, deals page: 75.7%

8.1%8%Argos, gift or category page: 8.1%

10.3%10%Argos, product page: 10.3%

5.9%Argos, other: 5.9%

Buyagift

98.3%98%Buyagift, deals page: 98.3%

1.7%Buyagift, other: 1.7%

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Retailers are the most-cited website for 7 of 10 UK Black Friday gift types

For each gift type, we looked at which website AI cites most often. John Lewis leads three outright: mum and her, both at 51%, and home and kitchen at 37%. Menkind leads dad and him, and Boots leads beauty.

Two gift types are led by a reviews site instead. Which? is the most-cited website for teens (38%) and tech (30%), and LEGO's own site leads kids (28%). YouTube matters too, cited in 22% of Google AI Overviews answers and 23% of Google AI Mode answers.

The most-cited website for each gift type, and the share of that gift type's answers citing it

RetailerOther website

Her

John Lewis50.9%

of answers cite it

Mum

John Lewis50.7%

of answers cite it

Beauty

Boots40.2%

of answers cite it

Teens

Which?38.1%

of answers cite it

Home and kitchen

John Lewis37.0%

of answers cite it

Dad

Menkind34.2%

of answers cite it

Tech

Which?30.0%

of answers cite it

Secret Santa and budget

John Lewis and Boots29.8%

of answers cite it

Kids

LEGO27.6%

of answers cite it

Him

Menkind27.5%

of answers cite it

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Shark's CryoGlow and the Instax Mini 12 lead AI's Black Friday gift picks, while four of ten UK gift types have no clear favourite

Counting named models only, Shark's CryoGlow LED mask is AI's most-recommended product for her (18%) and for mum (15%). The Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 leads gifts for teens at 23%, just ahead of Sol de Janeiro's perfume mist (20.5%), and the Toniebox leads kids at 17%. Home and kitchen has a clearer favourite too: Ninja's Dual Zone air fryer, at 13%.

Four gift types have no clear favourite at all. The top Secret Santa product is named in just 3% of answers. Gifts for him are led by the Bose SoundLink Flex at 7%, dad by the Apple AirTag at 8.5% and beauty by Shark's FlexStyle at 9%. In each of these four, the leader is less than two points ahead of the next product, so no brand has yet become AI's default answer. They are the most open gift types for retailers and sellers to compete in.

No single product leads every engine. Shark's CryoGlow LED mask leads Google AI Mode and ties with Sol de Janeiro's perfume mist on Google AI Overviews, the Sony WH-CH520 headphones lead ChatGPT and the Apple AirTag leads Gemini.

Share of each gift type's answers naming its top product: the lower the share, the more open the gift type

Secret Santa and budgetSoap & Glory gift set

Secret Santa and budget: 3.4%

3.4%

HimBose SoundLink Flex

Him: 6.6%

6.6%

DadApple AirTag

Dad: 8.5%

8.5%

BeautyShark FlexStyle

Beauty: 9.3%

9.3%

TechApple AirPods Pro

Tech: 11.3%

11.3%

Home and kitchenNinja Dual Zone Air Fryer

Home and kitchen: 12.6%

12.6%

MumShark CryoGlow LED Mask

Mum: 15.1%

15.1%

KidsTonies Toniebox

Kids: 17.2%

17.2%

HerShark CryoGlow LED Mask

Her: 18.1%

18.1%

TeensFujifilm Instax Mini 12

Teens: 22.7%

22.7%

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The products AI names most for each UK Black Friday gift type

MumDadHerHimKidsTeensTechBeautyHome and kitchenSecret Santa and budgetGeneric models

Her: Shark CryoGlow LED Mask leads at 18.1% of answers, 7.6 points ahead of the next product.

Shark CryoGlow LED Mask

Shark CryoGlow LED Mask: 18.1%

18.1%

Dyson Airwrap i.d.

Dyson Airwrap i.d.: 10.5%

10.5%

Oura Ring

Oura Ring: 10.5%

10.5%

Shark FlexStyle

Shark FlexStyle: 10.5%

10.5%

Diptyque candle

Diptyque candle: 7.2%

7.2%

John Lewis Cashmere Gloves

John Lewis Cashmere Gloves: 6.1%

6.1%

Therabody TheraFace Mask

Therabody TheraFace Mask: 5.4%

5.4%

Monica Vinader jewellery

Monica Vinader jewellery: 4.7%

4.7%

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: 4.3%

4.3%

Mejuri jewellery

Mejuri jewellery: 4.3%

4.3%

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Share of each gift type's answers naming the product. Named models sold in the UK only; each model counts separately. Generic models: product lines named without a model, share of all answers.

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UK Black Friday questions to AI chatbots start rising a month before the sales

Searchable also looked at an opted-in panel of UK AI chatbot users to see when Black Friday questions pick up. In the week of Black Friday 2025, one in 50 (2%) asked the models about Black Friday.

In mid-October 2025, only one in 400 users asked about Black Friday each week. The share doubled in the week of 27 October and rose every week after that, peaking in Black Friday week.

UK shoppers expect to use AI this year as well. In Shopify's Holiday Retail 2026 survey, 64% said they are likely to use AI for at least one shopping task this season, and 52% are comfortable letting AI recommend the right product.

Share of UK AI chatbot users asking about Black Friday each week, autumn 2025 (week starting)

0.10%

Week of 1 Sep 2025: 0.10%

0.08%

Week of 8 Sep 2025: 0.08%

0.08%

Week of 15 Sep 2025: 0.08%

0.16%

Week of 22 Sep 2025: 0.16%

0.23%

Week of 29 Sep 2025: 0.23%

0.28%

Week of 6 Oct 2025: 0.28%

0.24%

Week of 13 Oct 2025: 0.24%

0.25%

Week of 20 Oct 2025: 0.25%

0.51%

Week of 27 Oct 2025: 0.51%

0.75%

Week of 3 Nov 2025: 0.75%

0.93%

Week of 10 Nov 2025: 0.93%

1.84%

Week of 17 Nov 2025: 1.84%

1.99%

Week of 24 Nov 2025: 1.99%

0.55%

Week of 1 Dec 2025: 0.55%

0.22%

Week of 8 Dec 2025: 0.22%

1 Sep8 Sep15 Sep22 Sep29 Sep6 Oct13 Oct20 Oct27 Oct3 Nov10 Nov17 Nov24 Nov1 Dec8 Dec

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How UK retailers can get cited by AI before Black Friday on 27 November

• Get your Black Friday deals page live now, not on the day: when people ask AI about Black Friday deals, 82% of the retailer pages it cites are deals pages. Last year, Black Friday questions to AI doubled in late October, so a page that goes live this week is in place for the peak.
• Give each recipient a gift page: for gift-idea questions, gift and category pages are the most-cited retailer pages, at 49% overall and 60% at John Lewis. A page for mum, dad or teens gives AI something to cite when shoppers ask for ideas rather than deals.
• Get your products into the reviews and videos AI cites: Which? leads teens and tech gifts, and YouTube appears in more than one in five Google AI answers. These are the pages AI uses beyond your own site.