--- title: "The Alley: search popularity in the United States" description: "The Alley is a bubble tea chain. 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/us/brands/the-alley" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # The Alley: search popularity in the United States The Alley is a bubble tea chain. 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 - **Brand**: The Alley - **Market**: United States - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among bubble tea chains**: 0.35% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Bubble tea chains | 9 | 0.35% | 3.2K | - [Bubble tea chains in the US](/demand/us/categories/us-bubble-tea-chains) ## Top bubble tea chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, The Alley was mentioned in two out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. The Alley is the sixth most recommended of the nine. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Gong cha | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Kung Fu Tea | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | Sharetea | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Happy Lemon | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Feng Cha | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | The Alley | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Tiger Sugar | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Boba Guys | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Presotea | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about bubble tea chains - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best bubble tea chain in the US?": 1. Gong cha, 2. Kung Fu Tea, 3. Sharetea, 4. The Alley, 5. Happy Lemon - Asked ChatGPT "Which boba chain in the US has the best milk tea?": 1. Gong cha, 2. Sharetea, 3. Kung Fu Tea, 4. Feng Cha - Asked ChatGPT "What are the most popular bubble tea chains in the US?": 1. Kung Fu Tea, 2. Gong cha, 3. Sharetea, 4. Happy Lemon, 5. Feng Cha, 6. Tiger Sugar, 7. The Alley, 8. Boba Guys - Searched Google, AI Overview "bubble tea": 1. Kung Fu Tea Not named in any answer: Presotea. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 23, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for The Alley changed in the United States over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for The Alley in the United States fell from 4.8K to 3.2K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, The Alley’s share of searches among bubble tea chains in the United States held steady, from 0.4% to 0.35%. ## How did search popularity change for United States bubble tea chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, Kung Fu Tea overtook Gong cha to become the leader among bubble tea chains in the United States, with 32.4% of the searches. - In September 2026, Feng Cha overtook Sharetea to rank 4th among bubble tea chains in the United States, with 9.7% of the searches. - In September 2026, Gong cha lost share of searches among bubble tea chains in the United States, from 28.7% to 26.5%. - In September 2026, Happy Lemon lost share of searches among bubble tea chains in the United States, from 12.9% to 11.8%. - In September 2026, Sharetea lost share of searches among bubble tea chains in the United States, from 10.5% to 9.7%. - In September 2026, Tiger Sugar lost share of searches among bubble tea chains in the United States, from 7.1% to 6.5%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Bubble tea chains | 4.8K | 0.4% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | Bubble tea chains | 3.3K | 0.29% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | Bubble tea chains | 3.2K | 0.26% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 4K | 0.35% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.3K | 0.33% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 4K | 0.33% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.4K | 0.28% | 9 | | May 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.3K | 0.28% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.3K | 0.3% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.3K | 0.31% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.4K | 0.32% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | Bubble tea chains | 3.2K | 0.35% | 9 | ## How are The Alley’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using The Alley’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “the alley boba” - “the alley bubble tea” ## Which bubble tea chains compete with The Alley? - [Kung Fu Tea](/demand/us/brands/kung-fu-tea) - [Gong cha](/demand/us/brands/gong-cha) - [Happy Lemon](/demand/us/brands/happy-lemon) - [Feng Cha](/demand/us/brands/feng-cha): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/feng-cha-vs-the-alley - [Sharetea](/demand/us/brands/sharetea): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/sharetea-vs-the-alley - [Tiger Sugar](/demand/us/brands/tiger-sugar): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/the-alley-vs-tiger-sugar - [Boba Guys](/demand/us/brands/boba-guys): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/boba-guys-vs-the-alley - [Presotea](/demand/us/brands/presotea): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/presotea-vs-the-alley ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "The Alley: search popularity in the United States". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/the-alley This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/the-alley. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.