How AI wants pensions
Vanguard is the most desired pensions brand the answers name: Desire 73% of maximum, above indifference. 14% of the 29 brands rated sit above indifference; the rest leave the models indifferent. The category is most divided on reinforced experience. The brand the answers name most often is Hargreaves Lansdown, not the category's market leader.
29 brands rated · 14 named in the answers · 60 AI answers behind presence · rated by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
Indices: 100 = the average brand in the same category.Indices: 100 = the average brand across every category in the index. Desire % and status are absolute and read the same either way.
Every brand, named first
14% above indifference · 86% indifferent · 0% below · 29 brands
| # | Brand | Desire index | Desire % | Status | Attraction | Affinity | Attachment | Summary | Named in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanguard | 123121 | 73% | Above indifference | 133123 | 118123 | 120117 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 8% |
| 2 | PensionBee | 116114 | 69% | Above indifference | 119110 | 111116 | 119117 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 3% |
| 3 | Hargreaves Lansdown | 114112 | 67% | Above indifference | 113105 | 107112 | 122120 | Chosen, not lovedRelied on, not exciting | 10% |
| 4 | Aviva | 109107 | 64% | Indifferent | 10597 | 108112 | 113111 | Relied on, not excitingCredible, not first choice | 7% |
| 5 | AJ Bell | 108106 | 64% | Indifferent | 109101 | 105110 | 111109 | Relied on, not excitingCredible, not first choice | 10% |
| 6 | Legal & General | 108106 | 64% | Indifferent | 10497 | 108113 | 112109 | Relied on, not excitingCredible, not first choice | 5% |
| 7 | Interactive Investor | 107105 | 63% | Indifferent | 113105 | 103107 | 106104 | Noticed, not returned toAverage on all three | 8% |
| 8 | Fidelity International | 104102 | 61% | Indifferent | 10295 | 105110 | 103101 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 3% |
| 9 | Smart Pension | 103101 | 61% | Indifferent | 10699 | 101105 | 10199 | Average on all threeAverage on all three | 2% |
| 10 | Freetrade | 10199 | 59% | Indifferent | 110102 | 9296 | 102100 | Noticed, not returned toAverage on all three | 2% |
| 11 | InvestEngine | 10199 | 59% | Indifferent | 10698 | 9599 | 102100 | Average on all threeAverage on all three | 2% |
| 12 | NEST | 9998 | 59% | Indifferent | 9588 | 101105 | 10199 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 3% |
| 13 | Scottish Widows | 9290 | 54% | Indifferent | 9084 | 9599 | 8987 | Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen | 5% |
| 14 | Aegon | 8583 | 50% | Indifferent | 8276 | 8993 | 8281 | Behind on all threeLiked, not chosen | 3% |
Rated but never named (15)
The models rated these brands when asked, but none of the category's answers named them.
| # | Brand | Desire index | Desire % | Status | Attraction | Affinity | Attachment | Summary | Named in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Monzo | 126124 | 74% | Above indifference | 134125 | 109114 | 135133 | Chosen, not lovedAhead on all three | 0% |
| — | Zurich | 105103 | 62% | Indifferent | 10496 | 109113 | 10199 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| — | Royal London | 104102 | 61% | Indifferent | 9891 | 110115 | 10199 | Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| — | Nutmeg | 102101 | 60% | Indifferent | 10496 | 98102 | 106104 | Average on all threeAverage on all three | 0% |
| — | LV= | 10098 | 59% | Indifferent | 9891 | 103108 | 9795 | Average on all threeAverage on all three | 0% |
| — | Wealthify | 10099 | 59% | Indifferent | 10295 | 97101 | 102100 | Average on all threeAverage on all three | 0% |
| — | Standard Life | 10099 | 59% | Indifferent | 9488 | 103107 | 104102 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| — | Prudential | 9897 | 58% | Indifferent | 9790 | 101105 | 9695 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| — | Just Group | 9694 | 57% | Indifferent | 9386 | 99103 | 9694 | Average on all threeCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| — | Barnett Waddingham | 9492 | 55% | Indifferent | 9487 | 100104 | 8685 | Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen | 0% |
| — | Peoples Pension | 8987 | 52% | Indifferent | 8478 | 9296 | 8987 | Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen | 0% |
| — | Canada Life | 8786 | 51% | Indifferent | 8276 | 9498 | 8483 | Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen | 0% |
| — | Master Trust | 8382 | 49% | Indifferent | 8478 | 8992 | 7674 | Behind on all threeLiked, not chosen | 0% |
| — | NOW: Pensions | 7675 | 45% | Indifferent | 7771 | 7982 | 7372 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| — | Phoenix Life | 7170 | 42% | Indifferent | 6762 | 7882 | 6866 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
Indexed against the average of the 29 indexed pensions brands, so 100 is the category average and a brand is read against the rivals it actually competes with.Indexed against the average of every indexed brand in the whole index — 2,582 brands across 67 categories — so 100 is the average brand anywhere here and a number reads the same on every board. 29 pensions brands rated by the assistants in the latest weekly run; Named in is the share of 60 AI answers that name each brand.
What this category is rated on
The brands are most divided on reinforced experience: Monzo is rated 5.2 and Phoenix Life 2.4 on the 1–7 scale, a spread of 138 against the feature's usual spread (100 = as contested as usual). Against every category, pensions is rated highest on values & integrity (110) and lowest on emotional magnetism (79).
| Feature | Driver | Category mean | Vs all categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perceived superiority | Attraction | 4.4/7 | 100 |
| Emotional magnetism | Attraction | 2.9/7 | 79 |
| Positive influence | Attraction | 4.4/7 | 97 |
| Identity & belonging | Affinity | 3.7/7 | 98 |
| Values & integrity | Affinity | 4.6/7 | 110 |
| Trust & legitimacy | Affinity | 5.2/7 | 104 |
| Emotional bond | Attachment | 4.0/7 | 96 |
| Reinforced experience contested | Attachment | 3.8/7 | 98 |
| Part of my routine | Attachment | 4.2/7 | 100 |
A feature's category mean is the average of its brands' ratings, 1–7. Vs all categories indexes it against every indexed brand across every category (100 = the average brand anywhere). The contested feature is the one the category's brands are most spread on, measured against how spread that feature usually is.
Rated well is not the same as named
Across the 29 brands, how highly the models rate a brand when asked and how often their answers name it go loosely together (rank correlation 0.53).
Rated well, rarely named
- Monzo74% Desire · named in 0%
- PensionBee69% Desire · named in 3%
- Legal & General64% Desire · named in 5%
- Zurich62% Desire · named in 0%
- Royal London61% Desire · named in 0%
Showing 5 of 8.
Named, not desired
- AJ Bellnamed in 10% · 64% Desire
- Interactive Investornamed in 8% · 63% Desire
- Avivanamed in 7% · 64% Desire
- Legal & Generalnamed in 5% · 64% Desire
- Scottish Widowsnamed in 5% · 54% Desire
Showing 5 of 8.
Rated well, rarely named: Desire above the category median, named in 5% of answers or fewer. Named, not desired: among the most-named quarter of the category, yet indifferent or below. A relationship inside one week's run, never a cause.
Where the models disagree
The models broadly agree on these brands (mean correlation 0.86 across 3 pairs: ChatGPT–Claude 0.82 · ChatGPT–Gemini 0.89 · Claude–Gemini 0.86). Still, 103 of 899 brand-statement ratings (11%) split by 2 points or more on the 1–7 scale, and the typical brand's Desire differs by 9 points between its most and least generous model.
| Brand | Statement | Rated highest | Rated lowest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | Healthy | Claude 4 | ChatGPT 1 |
| NOW: Pensions | Digital experience | Claude 6 | Gemini 3 |
| NOW: Pensions | Simplify | Claude 6 | Gemini 3 |
| Smart Pension | Good feeling | Claude 5 | ChatGPT 2 |
| Vanguard | Would miss it | Gemini 7 | Claude 4 |
The widest 5 of 103 splits.
Across the whole index, on the same brands: Gemini rates +4.5 points of Desire % against its peers; ChatGPT rates −1.7 points of Desire % against its peers; Claude rates −3.0 points of Desire % against its peers. A generous model lifts every brand it rates, which is why scores are combined across models and indexed within the category.
What sets the leading brands apart
For the category's leading named brands, the glossary statements each is rated furthest above and below the category's average, in points on the 1–7 scale.
Method & limitations
Every week, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are each asked directly, the way a survey asks a respondent, to rate every brand in the category on the 31 statements of the Havas Science of Desire glossary, on the survey's own 1–7 agreement scale. Statements roll up to nine features and the three Drivers of Desire (a feature is the mean of its statements; a driver is the sum of its three features, out of 21; Desire is the sum of the drivers, out of 63). Each brand is indexed against the average brand in its own category — 100 is the category average, 115 is fifteen per cent above it — and the Vs all categories switch re-indexes the same scores against every indexed brand in the index. Desire % is Desire as a share of its maximum. A brand is above indifference when its Desire is above two-thirds of its maximum (42 of 63), below indifference at or under one-third (21), and indifferent in between. The summary beside each brand says where it stands on the three drivers: an index of 110 or more counts as ahead, 90 or less as behind.
These are the assistants' own ratings when asked. They are not a survey of people and not an endorsement, and they are not read from what the assistants happen to say in an answer: the answers to the category's unbranded consumer prompts are used only to count how often each brand is named, and as supporting evidence. Relationships between ratings and how often a brand is named are correlational. A brand is indexed only when all 31 statements have been rated in a run by at least two models, and a category needs at least 4 such brands to get a board. See the full methodology.
Read the category report
Which pensions brands the models recommend, the sources they trust and how often a brand page is read but not cited: Pensions · The Category Report.
Other categories
Where next
This edition measures what AI wants from these brands. These answer what comes next — which brands AI names, which websites feed those answers, and how any of it is counted.