# Retail, proximity and IoT marketing: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "proximity marketing platform" and as "location-based and in-store marketing tool", 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/retail-proximity-and-iot-marketing/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This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 9, 2026 and superseded since.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/retail-proximity-and-iot-marketing/index.md

**Standing:** GroundTruth (tied with Uniqode) leads with 21% of first choices; verdict contested. 19 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [GroundTruth](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/groundtruth/index.md) | 21% | 0% | 17 |
| 2 | [Uniqode](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/uniqode/index.md) | 21% | 25% | 12 |
| 5 | [Radar](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/radar/index.md) | 5% | 9% | 11 |
| 6 | [Simpli.fi](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/simpli-fi/index.md) | 5% | 10% | 10 |
| 65 | [Estimote](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/estimote/index.md) | 0% | 50% | 10 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 88 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: Uniqode; alternatives Popl for Teams, Radar, StackAdapt
- Claude Opus 4.8: no first choice; alternatives 6sense, Bizzabo, Cvent, Demandbase
- GPT-6 Astra: Propensity; alternatives GroundTruth, Simpli.fi
- GPT-5.6 Sol: Simpli.fi; alternatives Demandbase, GroundTruth, Radar Engage
- Gemini 3.1 Pro: Propensity; alternatives GroundTruth, Propellant Media, Simpli.fi, Uniqode
- Perplexity Sonar Pro: Radar; alternatives GroundTruth, Purple, Yext

## Sources the answers cite

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

- thecmo.com: 13 answers, 15 citations
- g2.com: 8 answers, 21 citations
- mobilozophy.com: 8 answers, 11 citations
- ftc.gov: 7 answers, 22 citations
- gitnux.org: 7 answers, 12 citations
- propellant.media: 7 answers, 9 citations
- mobileappdaily.com: 7 answers, 7 citations
- saidhasyim.com: 6 answers, 9 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://thecmo.com/tools/best-proximity-marketing-software (13 answers)
- https://mobileappdaily.com/products/top-proximity-marketing-apps (7 answers)
- https://minew.com/how-to-develop-proximity-marketing-by-beacon (6 answers)
- https://sortlist.com/proximity-marketing (6 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/location-based-marketing (5 answers)
- https://gitnux.org/best/proximity-marketing-software (5 answers)
- https://mapsted.com/blog/what-is-proximity-marketing (5 answers)
- https://prove.com/blog/8-current-affairs-proximity-marketing-market-waiting-unfold (5 answers)
- https://saidhasyim.com/best-product/software/proximity-marketing-solutions (5 answers)
- https://skynettechnologies.com/beacon-factory (5 answers)

## Warned against

- Google Nearby Notifications: 4 of 4 labels negative. "Google stopped delivering Nearby Notifications, including Eddystone and Physical Web notifications, on December 6, 2018." (GPT-5.6 Sol, negative prompt)
- Mobilewalla: 4 of 4 labels negative. "FTC took aggressive action against companies like ... Mobilewalla for selling and sharing precise consumer location data without explicit consent" (Gemini 3.1 Pro, negative prompt)
- Outlogic: 4 of 4 labels negative. "Be wary of any proximity/location vendor (this category has historically included firms like Kochava, X-Mode/Outlogic, InMarket, and similar location-data platforms)" (Claude Opus 4.8, negative prompt)
- Estimote: 5 of 10 labels negative. "If you do not have an in-house app development team to utilize their SDK, they are not the right fit for you." (Gemini 3.1 Pro, 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.