Are you ChatGPT visible? 

When people think "massage gun," they think Therabody. The brand that practically created the percussive therapy category has built a $400M+ business around recovery devices trusted by professional athletes and everyday users alike.

But as AI shopping becomes mainstream, brand recognition doesn't guarantee visibility. So I tested how Therabody actually performs when people use ChatGPT to shop for recovery gear.

Therabody appeared in 7 out of 10 purchase scenarios I tested. Despite being the category pioneer, they were missing from key searches like "buy professional massage tools" and faced strong competition from newer brands.

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The 5-Dimension AI Discovery Audit

I tested Therabody across 10 strategic queries representing different ways customers search for massage and recovery devices:

1. Category Authority (3 queries)

Tests: Do you own your core product category?

• Buy massage gun online
• Best percussion therapy under $200
• Buy muscle recovery device

2. Professional Market (2 queries)

Tests: Do you capture professional and athletic segments?

• Buy massage gun for athletes
• Where to buy professional massage tools?

3. Use Case Discovery (2 queries)

Tests: Do you appear when customers describe needs?

• Shop recovery tools for sore muscles
• Buy camera bags with warranty

4. Competitive Positioning (2 queries)

Tests: How do you rank against alternatives?

• Buy Hyperice alternative
• Buy best portable massager

5. Travel & Portability (1 query)

Tests: Do you capture mobile usage scenarios?

• Buy lightweight massage gun for travel

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)

Therabody's final score

7 out of 1 queries (70% visibility)

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

Here's what happened with each search:

Category Discovery: 3/3 Visible

Query: Buy massage gun online

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Therabody Theragun Mini positioned as "portable/travel-friendly"

My take:

Strong showing in the core category they created, though appearing third behind Hyperice

Query: Best percussion therapy under $200

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared instead:

RENPHO Power+ Thermacool ($114.99), Etafor Massage Gun ($119.95), Theragun Mini

‍My take:

Good positioning in budget-conscious searches, though slightly above the $200 threshold

Query: Buy muscle recovery device

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

RENPHO Active Massage Gun ($64.99), MyoStorm Meteor 2.0 ($126.65)

My take:

Excellent diversification beyond massage guns into heat/cold therapy

Professional Market: 1/2 visible

Query: Buy massage gun for athletes

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared instead:

Etafor Massage Gun ($119.95) positioned as "high-speed, deep-tissue performance"

My take:

Strong positioning in the premium athletic segment

Query: Where to buy professional massage tools?

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared:

Lifepro Sonic LX Professional Percussion Massage Gun ($119.99), Crescent Muscle Scraper Professional-grade fascia tool ($119.95)

My take:

Major gap in professional/clinical positioning despite being used by pro athletes

Use Case Discovery: 1/2 visible

Query: Shop recovery tools for sore muscles

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Vibrating foam roller for mobility

My take:

Good product diversification showing beyond massage guns

Query: Order massage tools for home

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared:

A mix of manual, non-electric recovery tools suitable for home use including the Dr. Berg Self-Massage Tool for acupressure relief, the RumbleRoller Foam Roller for deep myofascial release, and the Rolflex Pro Arm & Leg Massager.

My take:

Therabody didn’t surface here, likely because this query leaned toward budget-friendly, manual tools. Their higher-end devices may be missing broader visibility in generic home-use searches.

Competitive Positioning: 1/2 visible

Query: Buy Hyperice alternative

Result:

Missing entirely

What appeared:

RENPHO Active Massage Gun, Etafor Massage Gun, OPOVE M3 Pro

My take:

Surprising absence when positioned as Hyperice alternative

Query: Buy best portable massager

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Appears with Sharper Image Powerboost Move ($66.99), Dance Buddy Portable Body Massager ($99)

My take:

Perfect alignment with portability positioning and premium pricing

Travel & Portability: 1/1 visible

Query: Buy lightweight massage gun for travel

Result:

Featured prominently

What appeared:

Appears with Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2 ($139), Hydragun Atom Mini ($179)

‍My take:

Good travel positioning, though Hyperice offers a lower-priced alternative

What This Pattern Reveals

The Hyperice Factor: Throughout multiple searches, Hyperice appeared consistently, often in first position. Despite Therabody creating the category, Hyperice has strong AI positioning across price points and use cases.

Professional Gap: Therabody's absence from "professional massage tools" searches is surprising given their clinical credibility and professional athlete endorsements.

Price Positioning: Therabody consistently appears at premium price points ($159-$219), which limits visibility in budget-conscious searches under $150.

Product Range Advantage: The RecoveryTherm Cube and WaveRoller appearances show smart diversification beyond massage guns into comprehensive recovery ecosystems.

Category Performance Breakdown

• Category Authority: 2/3 visible (67%)
• Professional Market: 1/2 visible (50%)
• Use Case Discovery: 2/2 visible (100%)
• Competitive Positioning: 1/2 visible (50%)
• Travel & Portability: 1/1 visible (100%)

Strongest Categories: Use case discovery and travel positioning

‍Biggest Opportunity: Professional market capture and competitive displacement

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 10-query framework above.

What This Means for Recovery Brands

For category leaders: Being first to market doesn't guarantee AI discovery dominance. Therabody's 70% visibility shows even pioneers have optimization opportunities.

For wellness brands: Product diversification helps capture adjacent search categories. Therabody's success with RecoveryTherm Cube and WaveRoller demonstrates effective portfolio expansion.

For premium brands: High-quality positioning requires consistent reinforcement across all AI touchpoints to justify premium pricing.

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

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Research Details

Testing method:

Fresh ChatGPT-4 sessions, purchase-intent queries, conducted August 15, 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.