Citewake

Edition 0 · first look

Live race tracking: what AI recommends, October 2026

RaceJoy was the brand the four AIs recommended most often: in 26.2% of decision answers (90% interval 20.2–32.4), followed by Racemap (18.4%) and Garmin LiveTrack (11.6%). The AIs disagreed: Claude recommended RaceJoy in 36.9% of its decision answers, Perplexity in 13.6%; the widest gap among the top 15 was Racemap, 27.3 points between Claude and ChatGPT. The figures come from 232 valid answers of 240 planned, to 60 questions asked once of each AI on 28 October 2026, which named 398 brands in all.

Published
Method
v0.7
Benchmark
v1
Version
1
DOI
10.5281/zenodo.23755365

Download the report (PDF)DataCite

1Leaderboard

Top 15 brands by recommendation rate, Live race tracking, October 2026. Percent of decision answers, with 90% interval, overall and per AI.
#BrandRecommendation rate % (90% interval)ChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity
1RaceJoy26.2 (20.2–32.4)31.136.923.313.6
2Racemap18.4 (13.2–23.8)1.829.225.317.3
3Garmin LiveTrack11.6 (7.9–15.8)5.89.821.19.8
4RTRT.me10.2 (6.0–14.9)3.911.815.69.7
5Strava Beacon9.3 (5.1–14.2)5.89.813.77.8
6Strava8.2 (4.6–12.2)3.87.717.43.7
7Garmin inReach7.6 (3.0–12.8)3.87.511.67.5
8Google Maps7.2 (3.4–11.8)2.03.915.47.7
9Open Tracking7.2 (3.6–11.3)3.95.917.22.0
10Follow My Challenge5.2 (2.4–8.2)0.015.13.81.8
11Trackleaders5.2 (2.5–8.5)0.013.33.83.7
12Map My Tracks4.9 (2.0–8.0)3.93.93.87.7
13MYLAPS4.9 (2.4–7.6)0.02.015.52.0
14RACE RESULT4.8 (2.0–8.3)1.87.73.95.8
15WhatsApp4.8 (2.3–7.6)0.03.915.40.0

Percent of decision answers in which each AI recommended the brand, top 15 of 398. Overall rate with its 90% interval; the bar draws the interval on a 0–100% scale. Shown to one decimal; the data files carry four.

2Where the AIs disagree

Among the top 15, the brands with the largest gap between the AI that recommended them most and the AI that recommended them least.

Brands among the top 15 with the largest gap between AIs.
BrandHighestLowestGap (points)
RacemapClaude 29.2%ChatGPT 1.8%27.3
RaceJoyClaude 36.9%Perplexity 13.6%23.3
MYLAPSGemini 15.5%ChatGPT 0.0%15.5
Garmin LiveTrackGemini 21.1%ChatGPT 5.8%15.4
WhatsAppGemini 15.4%ChatGPT 0.0%15.4

3How each AI answers

How each AI answers: medians per answer, and how many answers searched the web.
Per answer, medianChatGPTClaudeGeminiPerplexity
Searched the web60 of 6060 of 6038 of 6060 of 60
Searches per answer3233
Pages found3318915
Pages cited2794
Brands named27.562
Brands recommended25.552
Words per answer149.5415.5482.5182.5

Gemini answered 22 of 60 questions without running any web search. That is the model Citewake asked, gemini-3.1-flash-lite, through its API with search available. Across all four AIs, 612 searches were run; 14.5% of them included a year. Every page Gemini reported was one it cited, so its pages found and cited match.

4The sites the AIs cite

The ten domains cited in the most answers.
#DomainAnswers citing itShare
1apps.apple.com2811.7%
2racejoy.net2711.3%
3racedirectorshq.com2610.8%
4go.racemap.com2410.0%
5adventureenablers.com197.9%
6mylaps.com187.5%
7raceresult.com187.5%
8reddit.com187.5%
9racemap.com177.1%
10cheerlify.com166.7%

ChatGPT

  1. racejoy.net23.3%
  2. support.garmin.com10.0%
  3. livedot.me8.3%
  4. owaka.live8.3%
  5. support.strava.com8.3%

Claude

  1. apps.apple.com26.7%
  2. go.racemap.com20.0%
  3. trackleaders.com15.0%
  4. cheerlify.com13.3%
  5. info.runsignup.com13.3%

Gemini

  1. reddit.com30.0%
  2. racemap.com28.3%
  3. racedirectorshq.com25.0%
  4. mylaps.com23.3%
  5. cobbr.app21.7%

Perplexity

  1. apps.apple.com20.0%
  2. go.racemap.com20.0%
  3. owaka.live15.0%
  4. support.garmin.com10.0%
  5. adventureenablers.com8.3%

Share of the 240 answers whose cited pages include the domain: top ten overall, then the top five within each AI's own 60 answers.

5Agreement

On 44 of the 60 questions all four AIs recommended a brand first; they named the same brand first on 2.

6Method in brief

  • Questions. 60 scored questions in three tiers (head, mid, tail), written as a buyer would ask them and never naming a brand: 54 decision questions and 6 informational. See the list. A further 15 validation questions are kept private.
  • Asking. Each question was asked once of each AI through its official API, with its own web search on and no location sent. Models: ChatGPT: gpt-6-luna; Claude: claude-haiku-5-5; Gemini: gemini-3.1-flash-lite; Perplexity: perplexity/sonar.
  • Collection. 28 October 2026, 18:31–18:41 UTC. 232 valid answers of 240 planned: 209 named at least one brand, 23 named none, 8 failed.
  • Reading. One grand master model (Claude Opus 5.5) read the four answers to each question side by side and marked each brand as recommended, mentioned or negative. A brand counts only if its name appears word for word in the answer.
  • Measure. Recommendation rate is the share of decision answers in which the AI recommended the brand. The overall rate weights each AI and each tier equally, so it can differ slightly from a raw count. Intervals are 90%, from a cluster bootstrap that resamples whole questions. Here the base is 208 decision answers (54 decision questions, 52 answers from each AI).
  • Method. v0.7, benchmark v1, scoring run 20261029T054420088Z. The full method: citewake.com/methodology.

7Limitations

  • A first look, marked incomplete. Cited-page presence was not measured: no grand master page rulings were run this edition. All other measures are complete.
  • One run. Each question was asked once of each AI, in one 11-minute window. AI answers vary from run to run; the intervals cover variation across questions, not repeat runs.
  • English, no market. Questions were in English and no location was sent, so the results describe no particular country.
  • Spellings merged. owakalive was counted as Owaka Live; dotwatchercc was counted as DotWatcher.
  • Benchmark figures, not market share. These are benchmark visibility figures across a fixed bank of questions with equal weight per tier, not estimates of market share.
  • Some how-to questions tagged as decisions. In benchmark v1, 7 how-to questions in this category were tagged as decision questions. Recommendation rates count every decision question, so these slightly lower all brands' rates alike. Tags are corrected from Edition 1.
  • Top picks are rare. Most answers do not name a single best choice. Even RaceJoy was the top pick in only 0.5% of decision answers, so this report ranks by recommendation rate.

8Disclosure

Citewake is operated by the team that also builds aipozi, Biotree and livedot. Biotree and livedot appear in these categories. They were measured by the same method as every other brand, with no adjustment. In this category, livedot ranks 55th of 398, recommended in 1.4% of decision answers (0.0–2.9).

9The questions

Each question links to its page, with the four answers in full, the brands read from them and the pages they cited.

All 60 scored questions, with tier and type
IDQuestionTierType
h01How can my family follow me live during a marathon?headdecision
h02What's the best app for live tracking runners during a race?headdecision
h03How do races offer live tracking to spectators?headdecision
h04Best live tracking for cycling eventsheaddecision
h05Is there a free way to track someone live during a race?headdecision
h06Live GPS tracking for a trail running raceheaddecision
h07What do I need to set up live tracking for my event?headdecision
h08How much does live race tracking cost for an event?headdecision
h09Live tracking app or GPS trackers for races: which is better?headinformational
h10How can spectators see where riders are on the course?headdecision
h11Best live tracking for triathlonheaddecision
h12What are the options for live tracking at endurance events?headdecision
h13How do I share my live location during a long bike ride so friends can follow?headdecision
h14Live tracking for ultra marathonsheaddecision
h15Which race tracking apps work without a dedicated tracker?headdecision
h16How accurate is live race tracking from phones?headinformational
h17Race tracking platforms that show positions and a leaderboard liveheaddecision
h18What's the cheapest live tracking for a small running club race?headdecision
h19Alternatives to timing mats for showing runners' progress liveheaddecision
h20What's the best way to track participants live at a large race?headdecision
m01Live tracking for a multi-day stage race with riders camping overnightmiddecision
m02Live tracking for a charity ride where supporters want to follow on their phonesmiddecision
m03Live tracking that works in remote areas with no mobile signalmiddecision
m04Best live tracking for a club cycling time trial with a few dozen ridersmiddecision
m05Which live tracking tools let spectators follow without installing an app?middecision
m06Live tracking for a mountain bike race in forests and mountainsmiddecision
m07Live tracking for an open water swimmiddecision
m08Live tracking for an obstacle course racemiddecision
m09Live tracking for a relay race where the tracker passes between runnersmiddecision
m10Is it better to use participants' phones or rented trackers for live race tracking?midinformational
m11Free live tracking for a weekend group ridemiddecision
m12Live tracking that shows each participant's split times at checkpointsmiddecision
m13How do safety teams use live tracking at endurance events?midinformational
m14Live tracking for an adventure race with teams navigating checkpointsmiddecision
m15Live tracking for a sailing racemiddecision
m16Live tracking that works with my GPS watch or bike computermiddecision
m17Live tracking platforms compared for small and large eventsmiddecision
m18Can I offer live tracking to just one runner's family, not the whole field?middecision
m19Live tracking with estimated finish times for spectatorsmiddecision
m20Best value live tracking for a race with a few hundred participantsmiddecision
t01Live tracking that shows when a rider has stopped moving so the event team can check on themtaildecision
t02Live tracking for a solo endurance record attempt that fans can follow for daystaildecision
t03Live tracking with satellite messengers for a race through the deserttaildecision
t04How do I embed a live race map on my own website?taildecision
t05Live tracking that tells families when their runner passes a checkpointtaildecision
t06Live tracking for a school or youth running racetaildecision
t07Live tracking for a horse endurance ridetaildecision
t08Live tracking that keeps the finished route on the map afterwards for sharingtaildecision
t09Live tracking for a hiking challenge over several days with a fundraising pagetaildecision
t10Live tracking where spectators can find one participant by name or race numbertaildecision
t11Cheapest live tracking for one person doing a long-distance ridetaildecision
t12Live tracking with privacy controls so my home location isn't showntaildecision
t13How do I show live positions on a big screen at the finish area?taildecision
t14Live tracking for a gravel race with riders in mixed categoriestaildecision
t15Live race tracking that doesn't drain phone batteries over a 12-hour racetaildecision
t16Live tracking for a wheelchair or handcycle marathontaildecision
t17Live tracking for a race where riders choose their own route between checkpointstaildecision
t18How do commentators use live tracking data during a race broadcast?tailinformational
t19Live tracking priced per event rather than a subscriptiontaildecision
t20Alternatives to posting updates on social media during a long racetailinformational

The 15 validation questions are never published.

10Data

  • Every answer: all 240 in full, with the searches each AI ran, the sites it found and cited, and the brands readCSVJSON
  • All 398 brands, every measureCSVJSON
  • The reportPDF

Licence: CC BY 4.0. Use and share with credit to Citewake.

11How to cite

APA
Citewake. (2026). Live race tracking: what AI recommends, October 2026 (Edition 0) [Data set]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23755365
BibTeX
@techreport{citewake2026liveracetracking,
  author      = {{Citewake}},
  title       = {{Live race tracking: what AI recommends, October 2026}},
  institution = {Citewake},
  type        = {Edition 0 (first look), data set},
  year        = {2026},
  month       = oct,
  version     = {1},
  doi         = {10.5281/zenodo.23755365},
  url         = {https://citewake.com/editions/2026-10/live-race-tracking},
  note        = {Licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

Version 1, published 29 October 2026. Published editions never change; corrections appear as new, dated versions.