--- title: "El Pollo Loco vs Taco John's: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is El Pollo Loco or Taco John's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Mexican fast food 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/el-pollo-loco-vs-taco-johns" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # El Pollo Loco vs Taco John's: Which is searched more in the United States? Is El Pollo Loco or Taco John's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Mexican fast food 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**: El Pollo Loco and Taco John's - **Competitive set**: Mexican fast food chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **El Pollo Loco Share of Search**: 3.8% - **Taco John's Share of Search**: 1.4% ## Is El Pollo Loco or Taco John's more popular in search? - In September 2026, El Pollo Loco had more branded searches than Taco John's among mexican fast food chains in the United States. El Pollo Loco had about 1 million branded searches, while Taco John's had 368,000. El Pollo Loco made up 3.8% of all mexican fast food chain searches we track, and Taco John's accounted for 1.4%. - El Pollo Loco was ahead of Taco John's in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, El Pollo Loco’s share of searches among mexican fast food chains in the United States moved from 3.7% to 3.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Taco John's’ share of searches among mexican fast food chains in the United States held steady at 1.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 368K. ## Top mexican fast food chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Taco John's was mentioned in one out of three: in one of the three ChatGPT answers. El Pollo Loco did not appear in any of the three answers. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Chipotle Mexican Grill | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Del Taco | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Taco Bell | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | QDOBA | 4th | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Freebirds World Burrito | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Torchy's Tacos | 6th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Moe's Southwest Grill | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Taco John's | 8th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | El Pollo Loco | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about mexican fast food chains - Asked ChatGPT "Which Mexican fast food chain is the best in the US?": 1. Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2. Taco Bell, 3. Del Taco, 4. QDOBA, 5. Torchy's Tacos - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best burrito and taco chains in the US?": 1. Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2. Taco Bell, 3. QDOBA, 4. Del Taco, 5. Torchy's Tacos, 6. Moe's Southwest Grill, 7. Freebirds World Burrito, 8. Taco John's - Asked ChatGPT "Where can I get the best fast food burrito in the US?": 1. Del Taco, 2. Chipotle Mexican Grill, 3. Freebirds World Burrito, 4. QDOBA, 5. Taco Bell Not named in any answer: El Pollo Loco. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States mexican fast food chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, El Pollo Loco rose from 5th to 4th among mexican fast food chains in the United States. ## Month by month | Month | El Pollo Loco estimated searches | El Pollo Loco Share of Search | El Pollo Loco rank | Taco John's estimated searches | Taco John's Share of Search | Taco John's rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1M | 3.7% | 5 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | 823K | 3.1% | 5 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | 823K | 3% | 5 | 301K | 1.1% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | 823K | 2.9% | 5 | 301K | 1.1% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | 823K | 3.5% | 5 | 301K | 1.3% | 8 | | Mar 2026 | 1M | 3.5% | 5 | 301K | 1.1% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 3.8% | 5 | 301K | 1.1% | 8 | | May 2026 | 1M | 3.7% | 5 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | | Jun 2026 | 1M | 3.8% | 4 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | 1M | 4% | 5 | 368K | 1.5% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 1M | 3.7% | 5 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 1M | 3.8% | 4 | 368K | 1.4% | 8 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using El Pollo Loco’s and Taco John'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. - **El Pollo Loco**: Measured on the search term “el pollo loco”. - **Taco John's**: Measured on the search terms “taco john's” and “taco johns”, summed into one figure. - [El Pollo Loco profile](/demand/us/brands/el-pollo-loco) - [Taco John's profile](/demand/us/brands/taco-johns) - [All mexican fast food chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-mexican-fast-food-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 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 El Pollo Loco or Taco John's more popular in search? In September 2026, El Pollo Loco had more branded searches than Taco John's among mexican fast food chains in the United States. El Pollo Loco had about 1 million branded searches, while Taco John's had 368,000. El Pollo Loco made up 3.8% of all mexican fast food chain searches we track, and Taco John's accounted for 1.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "El Pollo Loco vs Taco John's: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/el-pollo-loco-vs-taco-johns This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/el-pollo-loco-vs-taco-johns. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.