Sole Fitness AI Market Strategy Report - Treadmills

Answer Capsule

Sole Fitness holds the second-strongest recommendation position in the treadmill category, with 58.04% valid recommendation coverage in September 2026, behind only NordicTrack at 69.70%. The brand is recommended in a valid shortlist in 249 of 429 qualified observations and appears in the top three in 40.79% of them. Its clearest weakness is first-position conversion: Sole Fitness earns rank one in only 4.66% of qualified observations, while NordicTrack holds rank one in 51.98%. The clearest opportunity is converting its broad top-three presence into first-position recommendations, particularly on ChatGPT, where it already holds a 68.57% top-three rate.

Who This Report Is For

This report is for Sole Fitness marketing, ecommerce, and brand strategy leaders who need to understand how AI systems recommend treadmills, where the brand is winning, and where it is losing the first-position recommendation to competitors.

Report Card

Executive Summary

Sole Fitness is the strongest challenger in the treadmill category, holding 58.04% valid recommendation coverage in September 2026. The brand was mentioned in 307 of 429 qualified observations, a raw mention presence rate of 71.56%, and appeared in a valid recommendation shortlist in 249 of them. This places Sole Fitness second behind NordicTrack at 69.70% and ahead of Horizon Fitness at 57.81%.

The brand's recommendation footprint is broad but shallow at the top. Sole Fitness holds a 40.79% top-three rate, meaning it appears among the first three recommendations in 175 of 429 qualified observations. However, its rank-one rate is only 4.66%, or 20 observations. NordicTrack, by contrast, holds rank one in 51.98% of observations. This gap between top-three presence and first-position conversion is the defining characteristic of Sole Fitness in the September 2026 benchmark.

Sentiment framing is strongly positive. Sole Fitness recorded 269 positive mentions, 37 neutral mentions, and 1 negative mention, producing a net sentiment score of 0.873. This is the highest net sentiment among the top three brands and indicates that when AI systems mention Sole Fitness, they frame it favorably.

The strongest platform signal for Sole Fitness is ChatGPT, where the brand holds a 68.57% top-three rate and a 14.29% rank-one rate. On Copilot, Sole Fitness holds a 52.08% top-three rate but a 0.00% rank-one rate. On Gemini, the brand holds a 25.71% top-three rate and a 5.71% rank-one rate.

The clearest platform gap is AI Mode, where Sole Fitness holds a 34.23% top-three rate but only a 5.41% rank-one rate despite the platform carrying the largest share of qualified observations. The brand is present and recommended on AI Mode but rarely named as the single best answer.

The category-level benchmark shows that recommendation-shaped answers declined from 52.2% in July 2026 to 46.4% in September 2026, and valid recommendation shortlist share declined from 76.1% to 73.4%. These shifts suggest a slightly more selective recommendation environment, which makes first-position conversion more valuable.

What Sole Fitness Is Winning

Questions This Section Answers

• How does Sole Fitness's recommendation coverage and sentiment compare with NordicTrack and the rest of the treadmill field?
• On which AI platforms does Sole Fitness perform best in the treadmill category?
• What does Sole Fitness's average recommended rank of 2.66 say about where it typically lands among rank-eligible recommendations?

Sole Fitness holds the second-highest valid recommendation coverage in the category at 58.04%, trailing only NordicTrack. The brand is recommended in 249 of 429 qualified observations, a substantial footprint that places it well ahead of Peloton at 46.15% and ProForm at 27.51%.

The brand's net sentiment score of 0.873 is the highest among the top three brands and the second-highest in the category behind Echelon at 0.9109. With 269 positive mentions against 1 negative mention, Sole Fitness benefits from consistently favorable framing when AI systems discuss it.

On ChatGPT, Sole Fitness holds a 68.57% top-three rate, the second-highest on that platform behind NordicTrack at 71.43%. The brand also holds a 14.29% rank-one rate on ChatGPT, its strongest first-position performance across all platforms.

Sole Fitness shows no negative visibility on Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, or AI Mode. The only negative mention in the dataset appears on ChatGPT, where the brand recorded 1 negative mention against 28 positive mentions.

The brand's average recommended rank of 2.66 is the second-best in the category behind NordicTrack at 1.37, indicating that when Sole Fitness earns a rank-eligible recommendation, it typically lands in the second position.

Where Sole Fitness Has the Clearest AI Visibility Gaps

Questions This Section Answers

• Why does Sole Fitness's top-three presence fail to convert into rank-one recommendations?
• On which AI platforms is the rank-one gap between Sole Fitness and NordicTrack largest?
• Which high-intent treadmill questions remain unmeasured because the Pricing and Value and Multi-Brand Comparison clusters registered zero qualified observations?

The primary gap for Sole Fitness is first-position conversion. The brand holds a 40.79% top-three rate but a rank-one rate of only 4.66%. This means that in the majority of observations where Sole Fitness is recommended, it is not the first brand named. NordicTrack converts 51.98% of qualified observations into rank-one placements, a rate more than eleven times higher than Sole Fitness.

On AI Mode, which carries 111 qualified observations, Sole Fitness holds a 34.23% top-three rate but a rank-one rate of only 5.41%. NordicTrack holds a 52.25% top-three rate and a 38.74% rank-one rate on the same platform. The gap on AI Mode is the largest single-platform first-position gap between the two brands.

On Copilot, Sole Fitness holds a 52.08% top-three rate but a 0.00% rank-one rate. The brand is recommended on Copilot but never named as the single best answer. NordicTrack holds a 72.92% top-three rate and a 70.83% rank-one rate on Copilot.

On Perplexity, Sole Fitness holds a 20.34% top-three rate and a 0.00% rank-one rate. Horizon Fitness holds a 27.12% top-three rate on the same platform, and NordicTrack holds a 52.54% top-three rate with a 47.46% rank-one rate.

The brand's presence on Gemini is comparatively weaker. Sole Fitness holds a 25.71% top-three rate on Gemini, behind NordicTrack at 55.71% and Horizon Fitness at 52.86%. The rank-one rate on Gemini is 5.71%, tied with Life Fitness.

The category benchmark does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing and Value or Multi-Brand Comparison clusters. This means the report cannot assess how Sole Fitness performs when AI systems are asked to compare brands head-to-head or identify the best value option. Those commercial questions remain unmeasured in the current public series.

Biggest Opportunity

The clearest opportunity for Sole Fitness is converting its broad top-three recommendation presence into first-position recommendations on AI Mode and Copilot. The brand already appears in valid recommendation shortlists at a high rate on both platforms but rarely earns the single-best-answer position. Closing even a portion of that gap would shift Sole Fitness from a strong second choice to a default recommendation in a meaningful share of high-intent treadmill queries.

Competitive Landscape

Questions This Section Answers

• Who leads the treadmill category when top-three rate, rank-one rate, and average recommended rank are combined?
• Why does Sole Fitness rank higher on top-three rate than on rank-one rate compared with NordicTrack and Horizon Fitness?
• Which treadmill brands trail the top tier on recommendation strength?

NordicTrack holds dominant recommendation-stage strength in the treadmill category, with Sole Fitness and Horizon Fitness forming a clear second tier. Peloton sits in the middle of the field, while ProForm, Bowflex, Life Fitness, Echelon, Precor, and Schwinn trail well behind.

Average recommended rank covers rank-eligible recommendations only.

Sole Fitness ranks second in top-three rate and second in average recommended rank, but its rank-one rate places it fourth in the category, behind NordicTrack, Life Fitness, and Horizon Fitness. The table shows that Sole Fitness converts top-three presence into first-position recommendations at a much lower rate than its overall recommendation strength would suggest.

Prompt Evidence

Questions This Section Answers

• What did specific treadmill prompts reveal about Sole Fitness's top-three and rank-one performance across ChatGPT, AI Mode, Copilot, and Perplexity?
• On which treadmill prompt did Sole Fitness hold strong top-three presence but zero rank-one placements?

ChatGPT / Brand Recommendation Prompt: "What is the best treadmill for home use in 2024?" Result: Sole Fitness was recommended in the top three in 68.57% of ChatGPT observations, with a 14.29% rank-one rate.

AI Mode / Brand Recommendation Prompt: "What is the most reliable treadmill?" Result: Sole Fitness held a 34.23% top-three rate on AI Mode but converted only 5.41% of observations into rank-one placements.

Copilot / Brand Recommendation Prompt: "Who makes the highest quality treadmills?" Result: Sole Fitness held a 52.08% top-three rate on Copilot but recorded a 0.00% rank-one rate, meaning it was never named as the single best answer.

Perplexity / Brand Recommendation Prompt: "What are the top 5 treadmills?" Result: Sole Fitness held a 20.34% top-three rate on Perplexity with a 0.00% rank-one rate, while NordicTrack held a 47.46% rank-one rate on the same platform.

What CiteWorks Studio Would Do Next

Phase 1: AI Market Discovery Audit Map the specific prompts and platforms where Sole Fitness earns top-three placement but loses the first-position recommendation, and identify which competitors absorb those rank-one placements.

Phase 2: Recommendation Readiness Plan Prioritize the AI Mode and Copilot prompt clusters where Sole Fitness holds strong top-three presence but weak rank-one conversion, and define the evidence and framing changes needed to compete for the first position.

Phase 3: Owned Answer Layer Buildout Strengthen the owned content and product pages that AI systems retrieve when forming treadmill recommendations, with a focus on the comparison, reliability, and quality signals that drive first-position selection.

Phase 4: Citation / Authority Layer Development Develop the public evidence layer, including third-party reviews, expert sources, and structured product data, that AI systems draw on when ranking treadmill brands.

Phase 5: Monthly AI Visibility and Recommendation Tracking Track Sole Fitness recommendation coverage, top-three rate, rank-one rate, and sentiment across all six platforms on a monthly basis to measure progress against NordicTrack and Horizon Fitness.

Why This Matters

AI systems are now forming the buyer shortlist for treadmill purchases. When a shopper asks ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, or AI Mode for a treadmill recommendation, the brands named in the response become the default consideration set. Sole Fitness is consistently included in that set, but it is rarely named first.

The difference between appearing in a recommendation and being the recommendation is commercially significant. Sole Fitness holds a 40.79% top-three rate but a 4.66% rank-one rate. Closing that gap requires targeted work on the prompt, page, and citation layers that shape how AI systems rank treadmill brands. Presence alone is not enough.

Core Metrics

Sentiment Score

Questions This Section Answers

• How is Sole Fitness's net sentiment score of 0.873 calculated for the treadmill category?
• Why does a high positive sentiment score not guarantee first-position treadmill recommendations?

Sentiment Score = (positive mentions × 1 + neutral mentions × 0 + negative mentions × -1) / total mentions

For Sole Fitness in September 2026: (269 × 1 + 37 × 0 + 1 × -1) / 307 = 268 / 307 = 0.873.

This score matters because unclassified mention counts are misleading. A brand can appear frequently in AI responses without being recommended, and a neutral reference is not the same as a positive recommendation. Counting all mentions as wins overstates visibility and hides the difference between being named and being chosen.

Share of voice is a diagnostic metric, not a business KPI. A positive recommendation, a neutral reference, a cautionary mention, and a competitor-displaced mention are not equal in commercial value. Sole Fitness benefits from a high positive mention rate, but the brand's low rank-one rate shows that positive framing does not automatically translate into first-position selection.

Classified sentiment is required before interpreting AI visibility. The 0.873 net sentiment score for Sole Fitness indicates that AI systems frame the brand favorably, but the 4.66% rank-one rate shows that favorable framing alone does not make Sole Fitness the default recommendation.

Sentiment by Platform

Questions This Section Answers

• Which AI platforms show the strongest sentiment for Sole Fitness, and which show weaker sentiment?
• Why does AI Mode record a lower sentiment score for Sole Fitness than other platforms?

Methodology

1. This report is a benchmark-based analysis of AI-generated recommendations for the treadmill category, produced from the LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index for September 2026.
2. The reporting window is September 2026, with comparison data from July 2026 and August 2026 where available.
3. Six AI platforms were tracked: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.
4. The September 2026 benchmark comprised 429 qualified observations, drawn from a raw collection universe of 800 prompt-surface observations and 557 unique questions.
5. Ten brands were tracked: NordicTrack, Sole Fitness, Horizon Fitness, Peloton, ProForm, Bowflex, Life Fitness, Echelon, Precor, and Schwinn.
6. All qualified observations in September 2026 fell into the Brand Recommendation cluster. The Pricing and Value and Multi-Brand Comparison clusters registered zero qualified observations.
7. Stage 0 extraction retained the query, AI surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and, where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources.
8. A mention is counted when a brand appears in a qualified AI response, regardless of whether it is recommended.
9. A valid recommendation is counted when a brand appears in a valid recommendation shortlist within a qualified observation.
10. Top-three rate is the share of qualified observations where the brand appears among the first three recommendations. Rank-one rate is the share where the brand is the first recommendation.
11. Average recommended rank covers rank-eligible recommendations only. Brands with no rank-eligible recommendations are marked N/A.
12. The August 2026 benchmark recorded a measurement-side interruption for Horizon Fitness and Precor, which registered 0% coverage that month. Both brands returned to near-baseline levels in September 2026. The September readings for those brands are interpreted against the July 2026 baseline.
13. The qualified denominator of 429 observations differs from the raw collection universe of 800 prompts. All percentages in this report are calculated on the qualified set.
14. Small observation counts for brands like Schwinn and Precor mean their percentages are more sensitive to small absolute changes than larger brands.
15. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that a source caused a recommendation.

See Where Sole Fitness Stands in AI Recommendations

The public benchmark shows where Sole Fitness is winning and losing in AI-generated treadmill recommendations. A company-level AI visibility audit maps the specific prompts, platforms, competitors, and evidence sources that shape those outcomes into a prioritized strategy.