Pitman Comms to launch First Edition of its Visibility Index Report for beauty ingredient suppliers
A finding manufacturers should investigate: distributors occupied 80% of recommendation places across three functional-ingredient answers, including repeated names.
A wider perspective: six pillars frame the research, with Simon Pitman’s direct involvement in search testing, analysis and editorial review drawing on more than 30 years of industry experience.
Pitman Comms will publish the First Edition of its Visibility Index Report: Beauty Ingredients 2026 on Monday 2 November 2026, introducing a new specialist intelligence resource for beauty and personal care ingredients suppliers. The report tackles a practical marketing question: when a prospective customer describes an ingredient need to an AI platform, which suppliers receive recognition by name?
The first edition puts AI discovery at the centre of a broader visibility framework. Its purpose is to help ingredients marketing teams identify what deserves closer investigation and turn the findings into practical communication priorities.
When AI recommends a supplier, who receives the recognition?
In one part of the research, distributors occupied 12 of the 15 supplier recommendation places across three answers to a UK-focused functional-ingredient sourcing question. That represents 80%, including repeated names.
For manufacturers, the question is whether customers who encounter their ingredients through distribution partners can also identify the manufacturer and the expertise behind the product.
Distributors provide an important route to customers. Their visibility is not automatically a weakness for manufacturers. However, marketing teams can check whether their own and their partners’ descriptions clearly connect an ingredient, its applications and the business that makes it.
The finding is a snapshot of three answers to one question. It does not establish distributor dominance across AI platforms, buyer preferences or lost sales.
One supplier appeared in every ingredient answer
Across five UK-focused ingredient sourcing questions, each repeated three times, one supplier appeared in all 15 ChatGPT answers. The report will reveal which business achieved that consistency, how other suppliers compared and why category specialism matters when interpreting the results.
The report compares both appearance frequency and category footprint: the number of ingredient categories in which a supplier was named. This helps distinguish recognition across a broad portfolio from consistent appearances in a particular specialism.
These are observations from a defined research collection. They do not establish a universal winner on ChatGPT, and appearing in every category is not a target for every supplier.
Why AI discovery belongs in a wider visibility review
AI discovery is an important new question for supplier marketing teams, but it sits alongside established routes through which customers encounter expertise.
The Pitman Comms Visibility Index (PC VI) brings six areas into one framework: Media Authority, Conventional Search Visibility, GEO Visibility & Authority, Executive & Expert Authority, Professional Network Visibility, and Competitive Position & Share of Voice. GEO means Generative Engine Optimisation.
The first edition uses this framework to connect its AI findings with practical checks across wider communications. It does not establish that any one pillar causes AI recommendations or provide a complete six-pillar company ranking.
AI-powered research, guided by human expertise
The report is developed through a hybrid process. AI supports the collection and organisation of information, while I contribute directly to search testing, evidence selection, analysis and editorial review. My interpretation draws on more than 30 years in beauty journalism, analysis and communications.
The headline collection consists of 18 ChatGPT answers: six UK-focused sourcing questions, each repeated three times. Earlier ChatGPT and Claude tests remain separate and are not pooled into those figures.
The report introduces a selected group of 26 businesses and defines the business areas examined. The wider developing database contained 224 supplier records and 242 product or product-group entries at the October checkpoint, with varying detail and verification.
As the database is enriched and repeated observations accumulate, future editions will aim to offer broader comparisons, deeper insight and a clearer picture of visibility over time. Beauty ingredients are the starting point for a longer-term ambition covering the beauty supply chain.
The First Edition arrives on 2 November
The report will explore supplier recognition, consistency and category relevance, with practical questions and next steps for ingredients marketing teams.
Ahead of publication, consider one question: which commercially important capabilities should buyers recognise your business for, and how clearly do your communications connect those capabilities to your name?
For publication enquiries or a conversation about your visibility priorities, contact Simon Pitman at simon@pitmancomms.com
About the author
Simon Pitman is the founder of Pitman Comms. He brings more than 30 years of experience in B2B beauty journalism, analysis and communications to the agency’s visibility-intelligence research.
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