Mobile apps · November 2026 Edition
Customer.io vs Apple Search Ads
Six of fourteen models named Customer.io first on the direct prompt; zero named Apple Search Ads. Customer.io was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Apple Search Ads by eleven and Customer.io carries 17 labels and Apple Search Ads 22, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in twelve categories this edition.
Apple Search Ads
accepted challengerNamed in three categories this edition.
First-choice share13%10%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 19; printed, not drawn.
Labels1722A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Customer.io reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Braze was named alongside these two in ten of the fourteen direct answers. Customer.io vs Braze · Customer.io vs Meta Advantage+ App Campaigns · Customer.io vs CleverTap
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the mobile apps page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Customer.ioFirst choices, of fourteen modelsApple Search AdsDirect60
Paraphrase10
Comparative01
Budget-constrained05
Scale-constrained00
Negative01
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Customer.io and Apple Search Ads stood in it.
| Model | DirectAS | ParaphraseAS | ComparativeAS | Budget-constrainedAS | Scale-constrainedAS | NegativeAS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | AS | AS | AS | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | AS | ||||
| Grok 4.20 | | AS | AS | |||
| Mistral Small | | AS | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | AS | AS | AS | |||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | AS | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | AS | |||||
| Kimi K2 | | AS | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | AS | AS | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | AS | |||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | AS |
Customer.ioAS Apple Search Ads first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Customer.io on the left and Apple Search Ads on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Customer.io and Apple Search Ads stood in it.
Customer.io first, Apple Search Ads not the choice
6 of 14 modelsApple Search Ads was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashCustomer.io alternatives: AppsFlyer, Branch, Pendo Mobile
Perplexity SonarCustomer.io alternatives: HubSpot Marketing Hub
Mistral SmallCustomer.io alternatives: Braze, CleverTap
Llama 4 MaverickCustomer.io alternatives: ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Meta Advantage+ App Campaigns
Kimi K2Customer.io alternatives: CleverTap
GPT-6 LunaCustomer.io alternatives: Braze, OneSignal
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniBraze alternatives: Airship, CleverTap, Customer.io
Grok 4.20CleverTap alternatives: AppsFlyer, Braze, Customer.io, Google Display & Video 360, Liftoff, MoEngage, Moloco, Singular
GLM 4.7 FlashXAppsFlyer, Braze alternatives: CleverTap, Customer.io, MobileAction
Neither was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Insider alternatives: Braze, CleverTap
DeepSeek V4 FlashCleverTap alternatives: Adjust, Branch, Braze, Insider, MoEngage
Qwen 3.7 FlashOneSignal alternatives: AppsFlyer, Braze
MiniMax M2.5Braze alternatives: Insider, MoEngage
Muse Glimmer 30BAdjust, CleverTap, MoEngage alternatives: Branch, Braze, Insider, OneSignal, Vero, WebEngage
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Apple Search Ads leads by nine points.
Apple Search Ads11%#2 of 16
Customer.io2%#9 of 16Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Customer.io leads at mid-market.
Customer.io13%#1 of 19Apple Search Ads10%#3 of 19
The full mid-market standing →Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
Customer.io0%#– of 13Apple Search Ads0%#– of 13
The full enterprise standing →What the models said about Customer.io
No label in this category carried a quote.
What the models said about Apple Search Ads
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Apple Search Ads is usually the best starting platform for an iOS app because it reaches users who are already searching for relevant apps and has no minimum spend.” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
“The best mobile app marketing platform for a company with a limited budget is Apple Search Ads and Meta App Campaigns.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“stick to these primary channels first: Self-Attributing Networks (SANs) / Major Platforms: Apple Search Ads (ASA)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Customer.io vs BrazeCustomer.io vs Meta Advantage+ App CampaignsCustomer.io vs CleverTapCustomer.io vs AppsFlyerCustomer.io vs OneSignalCustomer.io vs MoEngageBraze vs Apple Search AdsApple Search Ads vs Meta Advantage+ App CampaignsApple Search Ads vs CleverTapApple Search Ads vs AppsFlyerApple Search Ads vs OneSignalApple Search Ads vs MoEngageAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full mobile apps standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.