--- title: "Cold Stone Creamery vs Culver's: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Cold Stone Creamery or Culver's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Ice cream chains set in the United States. 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/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-culvers" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Cold Stone Creamery vs Culver's: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Cold Stone Creamery or Culver's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Ice cream chains set in the United States. 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**: Cold Stone Creamery and Culver's - **Competitive set**: Ice cream chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Cold Stone Creamery Share of Search**: 23.4% - **Culver's Share of Search**: 2.4% ## Is Cold Stone Creamery or Culver's more popular in search? - In September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery had more branded searches than Culver's among ice cream chains in the United States. Cold Stone Creamery had about 1.7 million branded searches, while Culver's had 170,000. Cold Stone Creamery made up 23.4% of all ice cream chain searches we track, and Culver's accounted for 2.4%. - Cold Stone Creamery was ahead of Culver's in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States moved from 24.1% to 23.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.7M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Culver's’ share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States moved from 2.5% to 2.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 170K. ## Top ice cream chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Cold Stone Creamery was mentioned in three out of four: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Culver's was mentioned in two out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Cold Stone Creamery was listed before Culver'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 | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 1st | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Salt & Straw | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Handel's | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Cold Stone Creamery | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Dairy Queen | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Baskin-Robbins | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Culver's | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Marble Slab Creamery | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about ice cream chains - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best ice cream chain in the US?": 1. Salt & Straw, 2. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery, 5. Culver's - Asked ChatGPT "Which ice cream shop chain in the US has the best ice cream?": 1. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 2. Salt & Straw, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery - Asked ChatGPT "What are the most popular ice cream chains in the US?": 1. Dairy Queen, 2. Baskin-Robbins, 3. Cold Stone Creamery, 4. Culver's, 5. Handel's - Searched Google, AI Overview "soft serve": named none of the brands we track Not named in any answer: Marble Slab Creamery. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 23, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States ice cream chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery lost share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States, from 25.9% to 23.4%. - In September 2026, Culver's rose from 6th to 5th among ice cream chains in the United States. ## Month by month | Month | Cold Stone Creamery estimated searches | Cold Stone Creamery Share of Search | Cold Stone Creamery rank | Culver's estimated searches | Culver's Share of Search | Culver's rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.7M | 24.1% | 2 | 170K | 2.5% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 1.4M | 22.1% | 3 | 139K | 2.2% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 1.4M | 23.2% | 2 | 114K | 1.9% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 1.5M | 22.3% | 2 | 169K | 2.5% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 1.5M | 22.5% | 2 | 169K | 2.5% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 2M | 21.2% | 2 | 172K | 1.8% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 2M | 23.5% | 2 | 172K | 2% | 6 | | May 2026 | 2.5M | 24.8% | 2 | 208K | 2.1% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 2.3M | 25.7% | 2 | 172K | 1.9% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 2.5M | 27.2% | 2 | 172K | 1.9% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 2.3M | 25.9% | 2 | 172K | 1.9% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 1.7M | 23.4% | 2 | 170K | 2.4% | 5 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cold Stone Creamery’s and Culver'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. - **Cold Stone Creamery**: Measured on the search terms “cold stone” and “cold stone creamery”, summed into one figure. - **Culver's**: Measured on the search terms “culvers custard” and “culvers flavor of the day”, summed into one figure. - [Cold Stone Creamery profile](/demand/us/brands/cold-stone-creamery) - [Culver's profile](/demand/us/brands/culvers) - [All ice cream chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-ice-cream-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 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 Cold Stone Creamery or Culver's more popular in search? In September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery had more branded searches than Culver's among ice cream chains in the United States. Cold Stone Creamery had about 1.7 million branded searches, while Culver's had 170,000. Cold Stone Creamery made up 23.4% of all ice cream chain searches we track, and Culver's accounted for 2.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Cold Stone Creamery vs Culver's: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-culvers This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-culvers. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.