--- title: "McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United States?" 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 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/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United States? 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 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**: McDonald's and Shake Shack - **Competitive set**: Burger chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **McDonald's Share of Search**: 45.6% - **Shake Shack Share of Search**: 2.3% ## 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 States. McDonald's had about 30.4 million branded searches, while Shake Shack had 1.5 million. McDonald's made up 45.6% of all burger chain searches we track, and Shake Shack accounted for 2.3%. - 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 States moved from 51.7% to 45.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 37.2M to 30.4M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Shake Shack’s share of searches among burger chains in the United States moved from 2.5% to 2.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.8M to 1.5M. ## Top burger chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Shake Shack was mentioned in three out of four: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. McDonald's was mentioned in two out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Shake Shack was listed before McDonald's in every answer that named either. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | In-N-Out Burger | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | Five Guys | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Culver's | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Shake Shack | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Whataburger | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Wendy's | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | The Habit Burger Grill | 7th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | McDonald's | 8th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Burger King | 9th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Smashburger | 10th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about burger chains - Asked ChatGPT "Which burger chain has the best burgers in the US?": 1. Five Guys, 2. In-N-Out Burger, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Culver's, 5. The Habit Burger Grill, 6. Burger King - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best fast food burger chains in the US?": 1. In-N-Out Burger, 2. Five Guys, 3. Culver's, 4. Shake Shack, 5. Whataburger, 6. Wendy's, 7. Burger King, 8. McDonald's, 9. The Habit Burger Grill - Asked ChatGPT "Where can I get the best fast food burger and fries in the US?": 1. In-N-Out Burger, 2. Five Guys, 3. Culver's, 4. Shake Shack, 5. Whataburger, 6. McDonald's, 7. The Habit Burger Grill, 8. Smashburger - Searched Google, AI Overview "fast food burgers": 1. In-N-Out Burger, 2. Wendy's 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 burger chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, McDonald's lost share of searches among burger chains in the United States, from 50.8% to 45.6%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Shake Shack in the United States fell 18% over 12 measured months, from 1.8M to 1.5M in September 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 | 37.2M | 51.7% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.5% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | 30.4M | 47.2% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.8% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | 37.2M | 50% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.5% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | 30.4M | 49.7% | 1 | 1.8M | 3% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | 30.4M | 50.6% | 1 | 1.8M | 3% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 30.4M | 44.5% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.7% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | 30.4M | 46.9% | 1 | 1.5M | 2.3% | 7 | | May 2026 | 30.4M | 45.9% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.8% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 30.4M | 47% | 1 | 1.5M | 2.3% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | 37.2M | 51.2% | 1 | 1.5M | 2.1% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | 37.2M | 50.8% | 1 | 1.8M | 2.5% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | 30.4M | 45.6% | 1 | 1.5M | 2.3% | 7 | ## 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 term “mcdonald's”. - **Shake Shack**: Measured on the search term “shake shack”. - [McDonald's profile](/demand/us/brands/mcdonalds) - [Shake Shack profile](/demand/us/brands/shake-shack) - [All burger chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-burger-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 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 States. McDonald's had about 30.4 million branded searches, while Shake Shack had 1.5 million. McDonald's made up 45.6% of all burger chain searches we track, and Shake Shack accounted for 2.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "McDonald's vs Shake Shack: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/mcdonalds-vs-shake-shack. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.