AbbVie and Galderma Control 80% of Aesthetic Medicine's AI Citations, New 5W Index Finds

5W AI Communications released the Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026, measuring how major AI answer engines route aesthetic medicine patients to brands and providers.

Rhea-AI Summary

5W AI Communications released the Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026, measuring how major AI answer engines route aesthetic medicine patients to brands and providers.

The study finds AbbVie/Allergan and Galderma control 80% of drug and device AI citation share, while Hydrafacial (NASDAQ: SKIN) and other device makers do not appear in the top 25.

Positive

• None.

Negative

• Hydrafacial (NASDAQ: SKIN) does not rank among the top 25 AI-cited aesthetic medicine brands

Argus Jun 23 session

-0.76% close to close Open Argus

Details

News Market Reaction – SKIN

On Jun 23, the day this news came out, SKIN closed 0.76% below the previous close.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Jun 23 session.

Key Figures

U.S. aesthetic market size: $25 billion Market growth rate: 15% per year Facility count: 12,000 facilities +5 more

U.S. aesthetic market size

$25 billion

Estimated U.S. aesthetic medicine market covered by the Index

Market growth rate

15% per year

Approximate annual growth for U.S. aesthetic medicine

Facility count

12,000 facilities

Estimated number of U.S. aesthetic medicine facilities

AI citation concentration

80% citation share

Controlled by AbbVie/Allergan and Galderma across drug and device brands

Top brands' AI share

95% citation share

Portion of AI citation share captured by top 25 brands

Independent med spas

11,500 facilities

Med spas competing for the remaining 5% AI citation share

Botox Index score

95 out of 100

Highest single-brand score in the AI Visibility Index

LaserAway locations

190+ locations

Scale of the largest national med spa chain by site count

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jun 02

5 events

1. Jun 02

   Product launch

   24h Move

   -5.3%

   Launch of HydraScalp with Keravive scalp treatment using Vortex-Fusion tech.

2. May 07

   Earnings results

   24h Move

   -36.3%

   Q1 2026 results with net sales decline and lowered full-year sales guidance.

3. Apr 29

   Earnings date

   24h Move

   -3.8%

   Announcement of timing for Q1 2026 earnings release and conference call.

4. Apr 22

   Board changes

   24h Move

   -8.2%

   Appointment of three independent directors with medtech and aesthetics expertise.

5. Apr 22

   Corporate rebrand

   24h Move

   +2.2%

   Rebranding to SkinHealth Systems and emphasis on medical aesthetics platform.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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Top 25 Brands Capture 95% of AI Citation Share; 11,500 Independent Med Spas Compete for the Remaining 5%

BOCA RATON, Fla., June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 5W AI Communications, the AI Communications Firm, today released The Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026, the first defensible measurement of how patients are routed to brands and providers by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews when researching aesthetic medicine treatments. The Index ranks the top 25 brands in U.S. aesthetic medicine by citation share across the five major AI answer engines.

Its central finding: two pharmaceutical companies — AbbVie/Allergan and Galderma — control 80% of all drug and device AI citation share in the category. AbbVie/Allergan (Botox, Juvederm, CoolSculpting, Kybella) holds 47%. Galderma (Dysport, Restylane, Sculptra) holds 33%. Merz Aesthetics and Revance split the remaining 20%.

The Index covers a roughly $25 billion U.S. market growing at approximately 15% per year, with an estimated 12,000 facilities operating nationwide.

"Citation share is the new market share. In aesthetic medicine, it is also the new patient pipeline," said Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications. "The brands that don't appear in AI answers are excluded from consideration before the patient ever calls a clinic."

Key Findings

• Botox scored 95 out of 100 — the highest single-brand score in the Index. The drug, the brand, and the category are the same word in nearly every AI answer about wrinkles.
• RealSelf, a patient-review marketplace, scored 86 — higher than every individual med spa, dermatology group, and device brand in the country. The marketplace owns the answer to "is this safe," "what's it like," "how much does it cost," and "how do I find a provider."
• Daxxify, launched by Revance in 2023, already ranks #9 — ahead of Merz's Xeomin, which has been on the market for over a decade.
• LaserAway, the largest national med spa chain at 190+ locations and $200M+ in revenue, ranks #7. Cited less than the smaller marketing budgets of RealSelf and AEDIT combined.
• Board-certified dermatology groups — Schweiger, U.S. Dermatology Partners, and Forefront Dermatology — outrank 19 of the 25 ranked brands. Authority signal beats scale in medical and aesthetic categories.
• Device manufacturers including InMode, Cutera, Lutronic, BTL Industries, Solta Medical, and Hydrafacial (NASDAQ: SKIN) failed to crack the top 25. Patients ask AI for outcomes, not machines.

The Visibility Gap

The Index also documents what 5W calls the "Visibility Gap": the top 25 ranked brands capture roughly 95% of all AI citation share in the category, leaving the remaining 11,500 facilities — 96% of every med spa in America — to split just 5%.

"AI did not create the compression we're measuring," Torossian said. "It exposed it. Two pharmaceutical companies effectively control the answer set. Every med spa in America books patients using one of four companies' molecules. The brand wars play out one tier above the clinic."

Methodology

5W ran a standardized prompt set of 65 patient-intent queries across ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Perplexity, Gemini (Google DeepMind), and Google AI Overviews. The prompt set spans toxins, fillers, body contouring, hair removal, skin treatments, location search, safety, cost, and provider selection. Composite scores weight citation frequency 40%, cross-engine breadth 20%, query-type breadth 20%, source-authority weight 15%, and crawl-access 5%. The Index refreshes quarterly.

Availability

The Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026 is published in full at 5wpr.com. 5W offers AI Citation Audits delivered in 10 business days and builds custom AI Visibility Indexes on request for aesthetic brands, med spa chains, device manufacturers, and dermatology groups. The full 5W AI Visibility Index series is available online. For licensing, custom Index commissions, or media inquiries, contact info@5wpr.com.

About 5W

5W is the AI Communications Firm, building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research to help clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research. Founded in 2003, 5W is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, honored as a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan, and named to Digiday's WorkLife Employer of the Year list. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors — Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit — and B2B specialties including Corporate Communications, Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing across Social, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO. Learn more at 5wpr.com.

Media Contact
5W AI Communications
info@5wpr.com
www.5wpr.com

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SOURCE 5W Public Relations

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What is the Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026 released by 5W?

The Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026 measures how top AI platforms cite aesthetic medicine brands. According to 5W, it ranks 25 leading U.S. brands by AI citation share across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews.

How does the 5W AI Visibility Index 2026 impact Hydrafacial (NASDAQ: SKIN) investors?

Hydrafacial is not listed among the Index’s top 25 AI-cited brands. According to 5W, several device makers, including Hydrafacial, failed to crack the ranking, suggesting limited AI-driven brand visibility compared with leading toxin, filler, and marketplace brands.

Which companies control most AI citation share in aesthetic medicine, according to 5W?

Two pharmaceutical companies dominate AI citations in aesthetic medicine. According to 5W, AbbVie/Allergan holds 47% and Galderma 33% of drug and device AI citation share, while Merz Aesthetics and Revance share the remaining 20% in the U.S. market.

What is the AI citation ‘Visibility Gap’ that 5W identifies in the 2026 Index?

The ‘Visibility Gap’ describes the concentration of AI citations among few brands. According to 5W, the top 25 brands capture about 95% of AI citation share, leaving roughly 11,500 remaining facilities to compete for only 5% of patient-intent visibility.

How large is the U.S. med spa and aesthetic medicine market analyzed in the 5W AI Index?

The Index covers a sizeable and growing U.S. aesthetic medicine market. According to 5W, it spans roughly a $25 billion market, expanding at about 15% annually, with an estimated 12,000 facilities operating nationwide in 2026.

How did 5W build the Med Spa & Aesthetic Medicine AI Visibility Index 2026?

5W used 65 standardized patient-intent prompts across major AI answer engines. According to 5W, composite scores weight citation frequency 40%, cross-engine breadth 20%, query-type breadth 20%, source-authority 15%, and crawl-access 5%, with the Index refreshed quarterly.

Which aesthetic medicine brands rank highest for AI citations in the 5W 2026 Index?

Several well-known brands lead AI citation rankings. According to 5W, Botox scores 95 out of 100, RealSelf scores 86, Daxxify ranks #9, and LaserAway ranks #7, while multiple device manufacturers do not appear in the top 25.