Burger chains in the United Kingdom:Which are most popular?

Name: Burger chains in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?
Creator: Brandwave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In September 2026, McDonald's was the most searched burger chain in the United Kingdom, accounting for 86.8% of all searches among the seven chains we track. When we checked with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, Burger King, Five Guys, Shake Shack and Honest Burgers showed up in every answer. Five Guys was recommended most often, coming first in two out of three responses.

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Top burger chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions, Burger King, Five Guys, Shake Shack and Honest Burgers appeared every time. Five Guys was recommended most often, coming first in two out of three answers. Honest Burgers was second, and Shake Shack was third. GBK, which ranked sixth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

How many AI answers named each brand
Brand	ChatGPT	Answers that named it
Burger King	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	3 of 3
Five Guys	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	3 of 3
Shake Shack	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	3 of 3
Honest Burgers	Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers	3 of 3
McDonald's	Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers	2 of 3
GBK	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	0 of 3
Byron	Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers	0 of 3

Burger King3 of 3Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers
Five Guys3 of 3Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers
Shake Shack3 of 3Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers
Honest Burgers3 of 3Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answers
McDonald's2 of 3Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answers
GBK0 of 3Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers
Byron0 of 3Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answers

See every answer about burger chains

3 answers

Asked ChatGPT
“Which burger chain has the best burgers in the UK?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best burger chains in the UK?”
Asked ChatGPT
“Where can I get the best burger from a chain restaurant in the UK?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“burger places”
Google showed no AI Overview for this search.
Searched Google, AI Overview
“burger restaurants”
Google showed no AI Overview for this search.

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026.

Which burger chains do people search for most?

This chart shows how often people search Google for each burger chain by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all seven burger chains we track, month by month, from searches in United Kingdom.

Share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom, by month

Month	McDonald's	Burger King	Five Guys	Shake Shack	Honest Burgers	GBK	Byron
Oct 2025	85.4%	9.3%	2.8%	0.85%	1%	0.46%	0.14%
Nov 2025	84.2%	9.3%	3.4%	1.2%	1.2%	0.46%	0.17%
Dec 2025	84.6%	9.3%	3.4%	1.2%	1%	0.37%	0.14%
Jan 2026	82.8%	11.1%	3.3%	1.2%	1%	0.45%	0.16%
Feb 2026	84.7%	9.3%	3.4%	1%	1%	0.37%	0.14%
Mar 2026	85.5%	9.4%	2.8%	1%	0.85%	0.31%	0.11%
Apr 2026	86.6%	9.5%	1.9%	0.86%	0.7%	0.31%	0.09%
May 2026	84.5%	11.3%	2.3%	0.84%	0.68%	0.31%	0.07%
Jun 2026	87%	9.5%	1.9%	0.7%	0.58%	0.26%	0.06%
Jul 2026	86.4%	9.5%	2.3%	0.86%	0.57%	0.31%	0.08%
Aug 2026	86.8%	9.5%	1.9%	0.86%	0.58%	0.26%	0.09%
Sep 2026	86.8%	9.5%	1.9%	0.86%	0.57%	0.26%	0.08%

Rank	Brand	Share of searches	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month	Share change
1, held 1st	McDonald's	86.8%	9.1M	-17.7%	+0.1 points
2, held 2nd	Burger King	9.5%	1M	-18%	0 points
3, held 3rd	Five Guys	1.9%	201K	-18.3%	0 points
4, held 4th	Shake Shack	0.86%	90.5K	-17.7%	0 points
5, held 5th	Honest Burgers	0.57%	60.5K	-18.2%	0 points
6, held 6th	GBK	0.26%	27.1K	-18.1%	0 points
7, held 7th	Byron	0.08%	8.1K	-33.1%	0 points

1.McDonald's
86.8%
Held 1st. 9.1M estimated branded searches, -17.7% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.
2.Burger King
9.5%
Held 2nd. 1M estimated branded searches, -18% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
3.Five Guys
1.9%
Held 3rd. 201K estimated branded searches, -18.3% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
4.Shake Shack
0.86%
Held 4th. 90.5K estimated branded searches, -17.7% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
5.Honest Burgers
0.57%
Held 5th. 60.5K estimated branded searches, -18.2% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
6.GBK
0.26%
Held 6th. 27.1K estimated branded searches, -18.1% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
7.Byron
0.08%
Held 7th. 8.1K estimated branded searches, -33.1% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Which brand is most popular in search among burger chains in the United Kingdom?

7 brands

In September 2026, McDonald's was the most searched among burger chains in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 9.1M branded searches, 86.8% of all searches for the seven we track. Burger King is in 2nd place, 77.3 percentage points behind at 9.5%.

United Kingdom burger chains, last 12 months ending September 2026
Brand	Share of searches	Peak	Low	Rank
McDonald's	85.4% → 86.8%	87%Jun 2026	82.8%Jan 2026	1st
Burger King	9.3% → 9.5%	11.3%May 2026	9.3%Dec 2025	2nd
Five Guys	2.8% → 1.9%	3.4%Feb 2026	1.9%Apr 2026	3rd
Shake Shack	0.85% → 0.86%	1.2%Dec 2025	0.7%Jun 2026	5th → 4th
Honest Burgers	1% → 0.57%	1.2%Nov 2025	0.57%Jul 2026	4th → 5th
GBK	0.46% → 0.26%	0.46%Oct 2025	0.26%Sep 2026	6th
Byron	0.14% → 0.08%	0.17%Nov 2025	0.06%Jun 2026	7th

Each finding as a sentence

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McDonald's’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom increased from 85.4% to 86.8%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Five Guys’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom decreased from 2.8% to 1.9%.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McDonald's’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 87% in June 2026 and was lowest at 82.8% in January 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Burger King’s share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 11.3% in May 2026 and was lowest at 9.3% in December 2025.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Five Guys’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 3.4% in February 2026 and was lowest at 1.9% in April 2026.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Shake Shack rose from 5th to 4th among burger chains in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Honest Burgers fell from 4th to 5th among burger chains in the United Kingdom.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Burger King, GBK and Byron held steady: their share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for United Kingdom burger chains in September 2026?

4 changes

Estimated monthly branded searches for Byron in the United Kingdom fell 45.3% over 12 measured months, from 14.8K to 8.1K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for GBK in the United Kingdom fell 45.3% over 12 measured months, from 49.5K to 27.1K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Honest Burgers in the United Kingdom fell 45% over 12 measured months, from 110K to 60.5K in September 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Five Guys in the United Kingdom fell 33.2% over 12 measured months, from 301K to 201K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted for burger chains?

10 search terms

Each brand's share of searches among burger chains comes from the terms listed under its name. When people mostly search for a brand because of something else it sells, only the searches that name this product count here.