--- title: "Bowers & Wilkins vs Sony: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Bowers & Wilkins or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bowers-wilkins-vs-sony" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Bowers & Wilkins vs Sony: Which is searched more? Is Bowers & Wilkins or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Bowers & Wilkins and Sony - **Competitive set**: Over-ear headphone brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Bowers & Wilkins Share of Search**: 4.8% - **Sony Share of Search**: 34.1% ## Is Bowers & Wilkins or Sony more popular in search? - In September 2026, Sony had more branded searches than Bowers & Wilkins among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Sony had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Bowers & Wilkins had 165,000. Sony made up 34.1% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Bowers & Wilkins accounted for 4.8%. - Sony was ahead of Bowers & Wilkins in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bowers & Wilkins’ share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 5.2% to 4.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 201K to 165K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sony’s share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 30.6% to 34.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.2M. ## Top over-ear headphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Sony appeared in all five answers. Bowers & Wilkins was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Sony was listed before Bowers & Wilkins in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sony | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods Max | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Bowers & Wilkins | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Audio-Technica | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Beyerdynamic | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about over-ear headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which over ear headphone brand should I buy?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best over ear headphone brands?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Bowers & Wilkins, 5. Apple AirPods Max - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best over ear headphone brand for everyday listening?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods Max - Searched Google, AI Overview "best over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Searched Google, AI Overview "wireless over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose Not named in any answer: Audio-Technica and Beyerdynamic. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for over-ear headphone brands worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Sony gained share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide, from 33.3% to 34.1%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Bowers & Wilkins worldwide fell 17.9% over 12 measured months, from 201K to 165K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Bowers & Wilkins estimated searches | Bowers & Wilkins Share of Search | Bowers & Wilkins rank | Sony estimated searches | Sony Share of Search | Sony rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 201K | 5.2% | 5 | 1.2M | 30.6% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 246K | 4.5% | 5 | 1.7M | 30.3% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 246K | 4.7% | 5 | 1.6M | 29.8% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 201K | 4.8% | 5 | 1.2M | 28.3% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 165K | 5.1% | 5 | 1M | 32.2% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 165K | 4.6% | 5 | 1.1M | 31.2% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 165K | 5.3% | 5 | 915K | 29.4% | 2 | | May 2026 | 201K | 5.9% | 5 | 1.1M | 32.6% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 201K | 6.4% | 5 | 997K | 32% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 165K | 5.3% | 5 | 997K | 32.3% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 165K | 4.7% | 5 | 1.2M | 33.3% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 165K | 4.8% | 5 | 1.2M | 34.1% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Bowers & Wilkins’ and Sony’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Bowers & Wilkins**: Measured on the search terms “bowers & wilkins”, “bowers wilkins” and “bowers&wilkins”, summed into one figure. - **Sony**: Measured on the search terms “sony headphone”, “sony headphones”, “sony wh 1000xm5” and “sony wh 1000xm6”, summed into one figure. - [Bowers & Wilkins profile](/demand/global-en/brands/bowers-wilkins) - [Sony profile](/demand/global-en/brands/sony) - [All over-ear headphone brands worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/over-ear-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Bowers & Wilkins or Sony more popular in search? In September 2026, Sony had more branded searches than Bowers & Wilkins among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Sony had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Bowers & Wilkins had 165,000. Sony made up 34.1% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Bowers & Wilkins accounted for 4.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Bowers & Wilkins vs Sony: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bowers-wilkins-vs-sony This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bowers-wilkins-vs-sony. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.