• by Sarah Mahoney , 93 minutes ago

The loyalty landscape is undergoing a shakeup, with Brand Keys' new annual ranking showing five trends redefining what people expect from their favorite brands.

Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple and ChatGPT are the five highest-performing on this year’s list, with Samsung, Coca-Cola, Netflix, TikTok and Walmart rounding out the top 10.

“Consumers are showing a stronger affinity for AI-enabled platforms, digital ecosystems, subscription services, and membership models,” writes Robert Passikoff, founder and president of the brand research consultancy. “What’s notable is that the list isn’t simply dominated by ‘cool’ brands. It reflects high-frequency, high-dependency relationships and brands that play a central role in everyday life.”

The annual ranking -- this is the 18^th -- combines psychological modeling and advanced statistical analyses to identify what Brand Keys calls Loyalty Leaders. And because it added a new AI-prerequisite benchmarking category, only 42 brands -- not the usual 100 -- managed to make the list. That means just 3% of the 1,385 assessed made the final cut. (Rankings are based on 75,500 U.S. consumers, aged 16 to 65.)

Five clear trends propelled those companies to the top.

*AI enters the mainstream. With its appearance as No. 5 on this year’s list, ChatGPT’s rank shows AI isn’t just something businesses talk about, but something consumers use heavily, both to find information and make decisions. And that such a new brand could vault into the No. 5 position among some of the world's most established brands “is a pretty definitive indication that AI has moved from novelty to necessity.”

*The new face of streaming. All those endless niche platforms? They are less interesting to watchers who are now gravitating toward fewer, broader streaming networks, including Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu. Yes, they want content. But they want convenience, too.

*Easy-peasy payments. While consumers may worry more about money, they want to think about it less when buying something. Brands that make shopping easier command more loyalty, including PayPal, Amex and Visa.

*Welcome to our ecosystem. Speaking of easier shopping, people are increasingly locking into fully integrated brand ecosystems, led by Amazon, Apple and Costco. These brands favor everyday convenience and holistic experiences over one-off purchases.

*Just-for-you personalization. The intensity of TikTok’s fan base shows that brands that can leverage data and advanced technology are permanently raising consumer expectations. “Once consumers experience something personally relevant, generic starts feeling bad,” Passikoff adds.

Ultimately, the 2026 loyalty lesson is clear: The brands winning loyalty are those making consumers feel more capable, connected, and confident, and AI is increasingly helping them do all three.

“Loyalty isn't about just getting consumers to choose your brand one more time,” Passikoff concludes. “It's about becoming so useful, so relevant, and so emotionally aligned with their expectations that choosing anything else starts to feel like a step backward.”