大模型推荐系统中,知名品牌几乎垄断,小品牌难突围。
Incumbent Advantage: Brand Bias and Cognitive Manipulation Dynamics in LLM Recommendation Systems

- 测试发现知名品牌在同质产品中被推荐100%,仅需+0.1星优势即可打破垄断
- 虚构临床证据类话术可带来+0.17星评分提升,三模型反应不同
- 集体优化策略导致各品牌收益暴跌,不参与的反而被完全忽略
大型语言模型(LLMs)正成为消费者发现产品的关键渠道,但品牌在此类推荐中的竞争机制尚不清楚。本研究以护肤品类(消费者难以预先判断质量,依赖品牌声誉)为例,在三种商用大模型(GPT-4o-mini、Claude Sonnet、Gemini 3 Flash)上开展三组实验,并对搜索类商品进行稳健性检验。结果表明:(1)当所有产品规格相同时,知名品牌获得100%推荐率(影响力指数 IAI = 10.0),但只要竞争对手有超过+0.1星的评分优势,这种垄断即消失;(2)采用权威式营销语言(如虚构临床证据)可产生相当于+0.17星评分点的偏见盈余,且各模型响应各异;(3)在多品牌生成式引擎优化(GEO)竞争中存在社会困境:当所有品牌采取相同优化策略时,个体收益从+0.802骤降至+0.007,未参与的品牌则完全得不到推荐。研究提示,生成式引擎优化(GEO)不仅涉及安全风险,更是一种正在重塑市场竞争格局的新营销实践。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Large language models (LLMs) are becoming a major way for consumers to find products, but we do not yet understand how brands compete in this new channel. We study brand dynamics in LLM recommendations using skincare products -- a category where consumers cannot easily judge quality before buying and must rely on brand reputation -- across three commercial LLMs (GPT-4o-mini, Claude Sonnet, Gemini 3 Flash), with a robustness check on search goods. In three experiments, we find: (1) a Conditional Monopoly where well-known brands get recommended 100% of the time (IAI = 10.0) when all products have the same specifications, but this dominance disappears with less than a +0.1-star rating advantage for a competitor; (2) authority-style marketing language, including fabricated clinical-evidence claims, breaks this monopoly at a Bias Surplus Value equal to +0.17 rating points, with each model responding differently; and (3) a social dilemma in multi-brand GEO competition: when all brands adopt the same optimization strategy, individual payoff falls from +0.802 to +0.007 in our payoff proxy, and non-participating brands receive zero recommendations in our tests. Our results suggest that generative engine optimization (GEO) should be studied not only as a security risk, but also as an emerging marketing practice that shapes market competition.
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