# Digital asset management: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "digital asset management system" and as "DAM platform", six framings each, to six frontier models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/marketing/digital-asset-management/2026-09-expanded

This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 9, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/marketing/digital-asset-management/index.md

**Standing:** Canto leads with 28% of first choices; verdict contested. 25 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Canto](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/canto/index.md) | 28% | 12% | 25 |
| 3 | [Bynder](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/bynder/index.md) | 20% | 25% | 24 |
| 4 | [Brandfolder](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/brandfolder/index.md) | 16% | 17% | 23 |
| 8 | [Frontify](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/frontify/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 12 |
| 9 | [Acquia DAM](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/acquia-dam/index.md) | 0% | 8% | 13 |
| 43 | [Adobe Experience Manager Assets](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/adobe-experience-manager-assets/index.md) | 0% | 60% | 15 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 43 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Opus 5: Canto, MediaValet; alternatives Acquia DAM
- Claude Opus 4.8: Brandfolder, Bynder; alternatives Canto, Cloudinary, MediaValet
- GPT-6 Astra: Brandfolder; alternatives Bynder, Canto, Frontify
- GPT-5.6 Sol: Canto; alternatives Brandfolder, Bynder, Frontify
- Gemini 3.1 Pro: Brandfolder; alternatives Bynder, Canto, Frontify
- Perplexity Sonar Pro: Bynder; alternatives Brandfolder, Canto, MediaValet

## Sources the answers cite

32 of 36 answers came back with a source list, from 6 of 6 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- canto.com: 20 answers, 24 citations
- g2.com: 14 answers, 28 citations
- thedigitalprojectmanager.com: 13 answers, 22 citations
- mediavalet.com: 13 answers, 18 citations
- getmasset.com: 13 answers, 14 citations
- bynder.com: 11 answers, 20 citations
- gartner.com: 9 answers, 12 citations
- brandfolder.com: 9 answers, 11 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://getmasset.com/digital-asset-management-software (12 answers)
- https://canto.com/blog/top-dam-software (11 answers)
- https://mediavalet.com/blog/best-digital-asset-management-platform (11 answers)
- https://celum.com/en/blog/digital-asset-management-systems (8 answers)
- https://gartner.com/reviews/market/digital-asset-management (8 answers)
- https://bynder.com/en/blog/brandfolder-vs-canto-comparison (6 answers)
- https://cmswire.com/digital-asset-management/examining-19-enterprise-digital-asset-management-solutions (6 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/digital-asset-management (6 answers)
- https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/tools/digital-asset-management-software (6 answers)
- https://lingoapp.com/blog/digital-asset-management-systems (5 answers)

## Warned against

- Adobe Experience Manager Assets: 9 of 15 labels negative. "Avoid massive enterprise platforms like Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) or Veeva" (Gemini 3.1 Pro, paraphrase prompt)
- Brandfolder: 4 of 23 labels negative. "What to avoid at this budget ... G2 reviewers describe Brandfolder as "costly"" (Claude Opus 5, budget prompt)
- Bynder: 6 of 24 labels negative. "Enterprise platforms like Brandfolder and Bynder are excellent but not budget tools" (Claude Opus 5, budget prompt)
- Canto: 3 of 25 labels negative. "its relatively high cost may be a barrier for smaller teams, and some users note occasional glitches with file previews" (Claude Opus 5, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, September 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/gtm.