This October, DLG launches The 2026 Luxury GEO Briefing, a new diagnostic of how luxury brands appear within AI-generated answers in China. The report tracks 194 brands on Doubao, DeepSeek and Yuanbao, across six categories: watches, jewellery, fashion handbags, wine and spirits, automotive and hospitality. When consumers ask AI what to buy, three questions follow. Which brands are named? Which rise to the top of the answer? And which are left out altogether?

Search is giving way to conversation. China now counts 602 million generative AI users (CNNIC, Dec 2025), and more than 80% of AI users consult AI before a purchase (iResearch, Feb 2026). Among luxury buyers, 64% used AI in their most recent purchase, the highest share of any market tested. Of those, 97% say they would use it again (Bain × Comité Colbert, Jun 2026). This shift is taking place even as mainland China’s personal luxury market contracted by 3 to 5% in 2025 (Bain, Jan 2026). Yet the AI answer arrives without a results page and often without a click. Brands have little sight of whether they are being recommended, overlooked or misrepresented.

The findings point to a highly concentrated landscape. In watches, the top six brands each exceed a 50% mention rate, whilst 22 of the 35 brands tracked fall below 20%. Frequency alone tells only part of the story. Louis Vuitton is named most often in handbags, yet Hermès leads on Visibility Index and average position. In hospitality, large groups led by Marriott dominate mentions, but Aman, Mandarin Oriental and The Peninsula appear higher in the answer when they are named. Domestic brands also hold their ground. Chow Tai Fook ranks fifth in jewellery, and Wuliangye and Moutai secure the strongest average positions in wine and spirits.