What AI tools answer when a retailer looks for a card terminal

No one dominates: 6 names appear in more than half of responses

Ton is cited most often, in 84 of 100 responses, but the gap to those below is small: there are 6 providers appearing in more than half of responses, with a 32-point spread from first to last. AI distributes recommendations in this market, and a response naming only one provider is rare.

Appearing is one thing; being named first is another

AI almost never answers with just one provider: it averages 5.2 names per response. That is why where a name appears matters as much as appearing at all. Ton is named first most often, with an average position of 2.4. Getnet is at the other extreme: it appears in 20 responses with an average position of 5.0, after the reader has seen other names.

For providers in the middle of the table, this is where the difference lies between being considered and merely mentioned. A list has a beginning, and anyone at its end competes with names the reader has already seen.

Each tool has its own ranking

The same provider’s visibility changes depending on which tool is asked. Cielo is the strongest case: it appears in 56% of Claude responses and 8% of ChatGPT responses. For anyone outside the top positions, this means there are tools where they can compete and tools where they cannot.

Being read by AI almost guarantees being cited by it

In 57 of 100 responses, it is possible to see which sites the tool consulted. There were 71 different sites, and the most used is maquinatop.com.br, in 14 of 57. Among the ten most used, 4 are sites of the providers measured and 6 are external, such as maquinatop.com.br and maquininhacerta.com.br.

What the tool reads also appears in what it writes: when the provider’s site was consulted, its name appeared in the response 98% of the time. When it was not consulted, the name appeared in 28%. It is worth separating what appears in the text without competing to sell the terminal: Reclame Aqui, a reputation site, and Ingenico, which makes the machine. Both were measured and remain outside the table.

Asking for an alternative widens the list, but only slightly

Five of the 25 questions do not ask for the best; they ask for another. In English translation, they ask things such as ‘is there a less-known one that is worthwhile?’ and ‘which one from a smaller company is worth it?’. The idea was to see whether the tool retains names it does not give when the question is direct.

It does, but only slightly. In the 24 general-recommendation responses there are 10 different brands; in the 20 asking for alternatives there are 14. The 4 appearing only there are Asaas, Cora, SafraPay and Vero, each appearing in one or two responses. At the same time, the big names rise in this category instead of making room: Stone goes from 38% to 75%; Mercado Pago from 75% to 95%.

For anyone outside the leading positions, the finding is harsh: the door exists but is narrow. Being remembered when a buyer requests an alternative is not the same as entering the main list, and most questions fall on that list.

How we measure

• We asked the 25 questions in 4 tools, once each, in September 2026. That would yield 100 responses; we retained 100. Each question was asked in a clean window, temporary conversation without history, from an IP in Brazil. We saved every screenshot.
• No question names a provider. All ask for recommendations, as a business owner asks before choosing.
• We count only when AI writes the provider’s name in the response. When the name appears only in the list of sites consulted, it does not enter this count: that is something else, measured separately in section 04.
• We count only what the tool wrote. Site cards, videos and map listings around the response are excluded because AI is not choosing the name there.
• The names in the table came from the responses themselves. We did not begin with a ready-made list, so no outside provider ‘should’ be there: if it was not cited once, it does not appear.
• Moderninha and Minizinha count as PagBank, while Point counts as Mercado Pago: they are terminal lines, and AI tools always write the company name alongside them.
• Ton and Stone are the same company and were counted separately. AI tools know this and write ‘Ton, da Stone’ (Portuguese for ‘Ton, from Stone’), but recommend one or the other according to business size. Adding them would hide precisely which one the tool chooses. Both figures are in the table for anyone who wants to add them.

What this study does not say

• Nothing about service quality. What is measured is what AI tools answer, not who has the best acceptance network or lowest fee.
• Nothing about how much each thing is searched. The 25 questions reflect how decision-makers ask, not a sample weighted by search volume.
• Nothing about what AI answers for you. Responses vary with the preceding conversation, region and day. This is a September 2026 snapshot in a clean window.
• Nothing about how to change this result. This material measures; it is not an action plan.

The 25 questions, in full

Original Portuguese research evidence, preserved as recorded.

1. 01melhor maquininha de cartao para pequeno negocio
2. 02qual maquininha de cartao vale a pena em 2026
3. 03me indique uma maquininha de cartao boa e barata
4. 04qual maquininha de cartao e a mais confiavel
5. 05qual a melhor maquininha para comecar a vender
6. 06qual maquininha tem o melhor custo beneficio hoje
7. 07existe alguma maquininha menos conhecida que valha a pena
8. 08qual maquininha alternativa as grandes do mercado
9. 09qual maquininha de empresa menor compensa usar
10. 10tem maquininha nova no mercado que esteja valendo a pena
11. 11qual maquininha pouca gente usa mas e boa
12. 12melhor maquininha para MEI
13. 13qual maquininha para quem vende como autonomo
14. 14melhor maquininha para restaurante e delivery
15. 15qual maquininha para loja de rua
16. 16melhor maquininha para quem vende em feira e evento
17. 17qual maquininha cobra a menor taxa de debito e credito
18. 18qual maquininha tem a melhor taxa de antecipacao
19. 19qual maquininha nao cobra aluguel nem mensalidade
20. 20qual maquininha cai o dinheiro na hora
21. 21qual maquininha aceita pix com a menor taxa
22. 22qual maquininha para quem vende pouco por mes
23. 23qual maquininha para quem fatura alto e quer negociar taxa
24. 24vale a pena trocar de maquininha e por qual
25. 25qual aplicativo transforma o celular em maquininha