--- title: "McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is McDonald's or Shake Shack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Burger chains set in the United Kingdom. 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/uk/compare/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is McDonald's or Shake Shack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Burger chains set in the United Kingdom. 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**: McDonald's and Shake Shack - **Competitive set**: Burger chains - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **McDonald's Share of Search**: 86.8% - **Shake Shack Share of Search**: 0.86% ## Is McDonald's or Shake Shack more popular in search? - In September 2026, McDonald's had more branded searches than Shake Shack among burger chains in the United Kingdom. McDonald's had about 9.1 million branded searches, while Shake Shack had 90,500. McDonald's made up 86.8% of all burger chain searches we track, and Shake Shack accounted for 0.86%. - McDonald's was ahead of Shake Shack in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McDonald's’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom moved from 85.4% to 86.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 9.1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Shake Shack’s share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom moved from 0.85% to 0.86%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 90.5K. ## Top burger chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Shake Shack appeared in all three answers. McDonald's was mentioned in two out of three: in two of the three ChatGPT answers. Shake Shack was listed before McDonald's 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 | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Five Guys | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Honest Burgers | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Shake Shack | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Burger King | 4th | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | McDonald's | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | GBK | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Byron | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about burger chains - Asked ChatGPT "Which burger chain has the best burgers in the UK?": 1. Five Guys, 2. Honest Burgers, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King, 5. McDonald's - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best burger chains in the UK?": 1. Honest Burgers, 2. Five Guys, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King, 5. McDonald's - Asked ChatGPT "Where can I get the best burger from a chain restaurant in the UK?": 1. Five Guys, 2. Honest Burgers, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King Not named in any answer: GBK and Byron. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom burger chains in September 2026? Neither McDonald's nor Shake Shack moved beyond provider rounding among burger chains in Sep 2026. ## Month by month | Month | McDonald's estimated searches | McDonald's Share of Search | McDonald's rank | Shake Shack estimated searches | Shake Shack Share of Search | Shake Shack rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 9.1M | 85.4% | 1 | 90.5K | 0.85% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 7.5M | 84.2% | 1 | 110K | 1.2% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 9.1M | 84.6% | 1 | 135K | 1.2% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 7.5M | 82.8% | 1 | 110K | 1.2% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 7.5M | 84.7% | 1 | 90.5K | 1% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 9.1M | 85.5% | 1 | 110K | 1% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 9.1M | 86.6% | 1 | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 | | May 2026 | 9.1M | 84.5% | 1 | 90.5K | 0.84% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 9.1M | 87% | 1 | 74K | 0.7% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 9.1M | 86.4% | 1 | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 11.1M | 86.8% | 1 | 110K | 0.86% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 9.1M | 86.8% | 1 | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using McDonald's’ and Shake Shack’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. - **McDonald's**: Measured on the search terms “mcdonald's” and “mcdonalds”, summed into one figure. - **Shake Shack**: Measured on the search term “shake shack”. - [McDonald's profile](/demand/uk/brands/mcdonalds) - [Shake Shack profile](/demand/uk/brands/shake-shack) - [All burger chains in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-burger-chains): 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 McDonald's or Shake Shack more popular in search? In September 2026, McDonald's had more branded searches than Shake Shack among burger chains in the United Kingdom. McDonald's had about 9.1 million branded searches, while Shake Shack had 90,500. McDonald's made up 86.8% of all burger chain searches we track, and Shake Shack accounted for 0.86%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.