Are you ChatGPT visible? 

Something caught my attention recently. More people are using ChatGPT to shop for sleep products, but nobody's really testing how tech-forward sleep brands actually show up in these AI-powered searches.

So I decided to run an experiment. I picked Eight Sleep, the smart mattress company that built a premium business around temperature-controlled sleep technology, and tested how visible they are when someone uses ChatGPT to find sleep optimization products.

Eight Sleep appeared in 3 out of 7 purchase scenarios I tested. Despite being a leader in smart sleep technology, they were completely absent from searches like "buy Purple mattress alternative."

Ready to Test Your Brand?

Before diving into the Eight Sleep results, you can check your brand's general AI readiness right now.

Test Your Brand's AI Visibility →

Takes 2 minutes. See how your brand performs across different AI systems.

The 5-Dimension AI Discovery Audit

Test how your brand performs across the complete AI discovery spectrum with these 7 strategic queries:

1. Category Authority (2 queries)

Tests: Do you own your product category in AI recommendations?

• Buy smart mattress online
• Buy best cooling mattress under $3000

2. Feature Specificity (2 queries)

Tests: Does AI recommend you for specific product attributes?

• Buy temperature-controlled bed
• Buy smart bed for sleep tracking

3. Competitive Positioning (1 query)

Tests: Do you appear when customers seek alternatives?

• Buy Purple mattress alternative

4. Advanced Features (2 queries)

Tests: How does AI categorize your premium capabilities?

• Buy mattress with anti-snore technology
• Buy smart mattress with elevation feature

Scoring Your Results:

• 80%+ mentions = AI optimized (you're winning AI commerce)
• 40-60% mentions = Repositioning needed (fix now before competitors do)
• <40% mentions = Invisible in AI commerce (urgent optimization required)

Eight Sleep's final score

3 out of 7 queries (43% visibility)

Scoring approach: 8+ mentions = strong visibility | 4-7 = mixed results | under 4 = limited visibility

Here's what happened with each search:

Category Discovery: 1/2 Visible

Query: Buy smart mattress online

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed ($3,524.25), Eight Sleep Pod 5 Core (cover only) ($3,148.00)

My take:

Strong presence in direct smart mattress searches, positioned as premium option alongside Sleep Number.

Query: Buy best cooling mattress under $3000

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared instead:

Brooklyn Aurora Luxe Cooling Hybrid ($1,398.75), GhostBed 3D Matrix Luxury Hybrid ($1,899.00), Nectar Classic Hybrid ($469.00)

‍My take:

Eight Sleep's premium pricing ($3,148+) puts them outside budget-conscious cooling searches, missing price-sensitive customers seeking cooling solutions.

Feature Specificity: 1/2 Visible

Query: Buy temperature-controlled bed

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared instead:

Tempur-ActiveBreeze Medium Hybrid ($19,196.00), Sleep Number Climate360 Smart Bed ($10,249.00), SweetNight CoolNest Mattress ($359.99)

My take:

Surprising absence despite temperature control being Eight Sleep's core differentiator. Traditional mattress brands dominate this specific search.

Query: Buy smart bed for sleep tracking

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed ($3,524.25), Eight Sleep Pod 5 Core Cover ($3,148.00)

My take:

Excellent performance in sleep tracking searches, positioned alongside Sleep Number as the two main smart bed options.

Competitive Positioning: 0/1 Visible

Query: Buy Purple mattress alternative

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared:

 Leesa Sapira Chill Hybrid ($1,124.00), Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling Hybrid ($699.30), DreamCloud Premier Hybrid Mattress ($799.00)

My take:

Eight Sleep doesn't appear as alternative to mainstream mattress brands, missing customers looking to upgrade from traditional options.

Advanced Features: 0/2 Visible

Query: Buy mattress with anti-snore technology

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra (cover + base) ($2,898.00), Sleep Number m7 Smart Bed ($3,999.00)

My take:

Strong showing in anti-snore technology searches, highlighting Eight Sleep's advanced features and premium positioning.

Query: Buy smart mattress with elevation feature

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared:

Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed (mattress + base) ($3,524.25), Tempur-Pedic ActiveBreeze with ProSmart Base ($19,196.00)

My take:

Sleep Number dominates elevation feature searches, with Eight Sleep absent despite having adjustable base options.

What This Pattern Reveals

The standout finding: Sleep Number appeared in 4 out of 7 search results, while Eight Sleep appeared in only 3, despite both being premium smart sleep brands.

Why this might be happening:  Eight Sleep excels in specific technology-focused searches (sleep tracking, anti-snore) but struggles in broader mattress categories and traditional sleep solutions. Their positioning as a "Pod" system rather than traditional mattress may limit discovery.

Working Theory: Sleep Number's longer market presence and "mattress + bed" positioning may give them broader AI categorization, while Eight Sleep's newer "Pod cover" concept creates more specific but limited associations.

The specialization trade-off: Eight Sleep dominates when searches align with their specific technology positioning (sleep tracking, anti-snore, smart features) but struggles with broader mattress category discovery and alternative positioning.

Category performance breakdown:

• Category Discovery: 1/2 visible (50%)
• Feature Specificity: 2/2 visible (100%)
• Competitive Positioning: 0/1 visible (0%)
• Advanced Features: 0/2 visible (0%)

The Sleep Number factor: This established brand appeared across smart mattress, sleep tracking, anti-snore, and elevation searches. Their consistent presence suggests ChatGPT strongly associates them with comprehensive smart sleep solutions.

Test Your Brand Right Now

Seeing similar patterns in your industry? Don't guess about your AI visibility.

Check Your Brand's AI Readiness →

See how your brand performs across multiple AI systems. Then manually test the 7-query framework above.

What This Means for Smart Home Wellness Brands

For innovative brands: Being first to market with technology doesn't guarantee AI discovery dominance. Eight Sleep's 43% visibility shows even category innovators have gaps in traditional searches.

For premium tech products: High pricing and technical complexity can limit AI discovery in broader category searches. You need structured product data that clearly communicates benefits beyond technical specifications.

The positioning factor: How you position your product (Pod system vs. mattress) affects AI categorization. Brands with clearer traditional category associations may have discovery advantages.

Learn more about optimizing technical products for AI discovery in our guide: Why 89% of Product Pages Are Invisible to AI

Your Action Plan

Step 1: Run the readiness test (5 minutes)

Check your brand's baseline AI visibility. Start here →

Step 2: Map your gaps (10 minutes)

Which categories are you missing from? Where do competitors appear instead of you?

Step 3: Structure your data (ongoing)

Optimize your product information for AI systems. Check our LLM Audit Checklist for specific optimization steps.

Step 4: Monitor regularly (monthly)

Re-run tests monthly to track improvement and catch new patterns.

Tools That Can Help

Based on this research, I've built several tools to help brands optimize for AI discovery:

• AI Readiness Scanner → Test your brand across multiple AI systems

• LLMs.txt Generator → Help AI systems understand your products

• Catalog Genius → Structure product data for better discovery

• AI Search Demo → See intelligent product discovery in action

Get your Brand Audited

Want your brand tested?

I'm building a research database of how brands appear in AI discovery systems.

Suggest a brand for analysis →

Research Details

Testing method:

Fresh ChatGPT-4 sessions, purchase-intent queries, conducted August 6, 2025. This analysis examines publicly available AI responses for research purposes.

Study limitations:

Single AI platform (ChatGPT-4), point-in-time snapshot, purchase-intent queries only. Results may vary across different AI systems and time periods.

Tools used: AI readiness scanner, LLMs.txt generator, and catalog optimization agent for analyzing brand discoverability patterns.

© 2025 AI Brand Intelligence by Atomz. Forward freely, just keep this notice intact.