AI propels unprecedented growth of world’s top 100 with Google crowned new no.1

Sydney, 14 May 2026: CommBank has been listed as the 68th most valuable brand in the world in Kantar’s BrandZ 2026 Most Valuable Global Brands released today, which quantifies how brand contributes to enterprise value. CommBank achieved a brand value of USD $43.3 billion, rising six places from 2025. It also enters the top 10 this year in the most valuable financial services brands category at #10, rising one place from 2025.

The rankings solidify CommBank’s position as a leader in financial services and highlights its impact on consumers. Globally, the financial services sector experienced significant growth, with gains driven by a strong performance in traditional banks like Chase and HSBC building stronger consumer relationships rooted in trust.

Kantar Australia Head of Brand Strategy Ryan France says success through brand investment has seen CommBank enjoy a long run of strong year-on-year performance, almost tripling its brand value since before the pandemic.

“CommBank’s strength is that it doesn’t rely on telling people it’s better. It shows them. The experience matches the promise: it’s smoother, the tech is more intuitive, and improvements are visible over time. It’s in how the brand shows up too: more human, less institutional, and connected to modern Australian life, all wrapped in distinctive and consistent brand codes.”

“While many competitors are investing in similar areas, CommBank has been more successful at turning that investment into something customers genuinely notice and value. This goes beyond simply being ‘big’. CommBank is sustaining brand-driven demand that is strong enough for customers to tolerate frictions like fees and rate moves better than they might with a more commoditised bank.”

CommBank Chief Marketing Officer Jo Boundy says, “Being recognised as one of the world’s most valuable brands, and the only Australian brand in the Global 100, reflects the work our teams do every day to deliver better experiences for our customers. Across the bank, we’re focused on making banking simpler, more intuitive and more relevant to people’s everyday lives through digital tools, technology and how we show up in communities. Supporting the communities we serve is central to this, because building trust and long-term value is a whole of bank effort that goes beyond products and services.”

The other Australian highlight is Woolworths ($10.7 billion) rising one place in the retail category at #19. It’s been a positive year overall for retail globally, as its top brands grow 18%. Category leader Amazon remains far ahead and has risen 17% year on year. Like many leading retail brands, it has benefitted from two big sector shifts: AI’s move from pilot to mainstream and the rise of retail media networks.

AI’s acceleration results in a profound shift in brand value
AI is pushing the threshold to enter the Kantar BrandZ global top 100 ranking to its highest level. People are now experiencing brands through thousands of AI-shaped moments, from personalised feeds to LLMs that influence what they see and choose. As machines increasingly surface and weigh content, standing out as meaningful and different has become more important for brands, not less.

Kantar’s latest data proves that the power of brand persists, with the combined value of the BrandZ global top 100 now a record $13.1 trillion (up 22% on last year). In a historic first, three brands have simultaneously broken the trillion-dollar threshold, with Google (#1: $1.5tn), Microsoft (#3: $1.1tn) and Amazon (#4: $1.0tn) joining Apple (#: $1.4tn).

Google’s brand value surged by 57% year-on-year to claim the number one spot for the first time since 2018, ending Apple’s four consecutive years at the top. Its rise has been carefully built around the integration of Gemini into all existing products, the introduction of agentic features in search and continued investment in data centres.

A standout in the ranking this year, Claude has debuted in the global top 100 at #27, with a brand value of just under $100bn ($96.6bn). Meanwhile, ChatGPT recorded the highest year-on-year brand value increase, rising by 285%; the only brand in history to see a bigger increase in the top 100 was Blackberry, which rose by 390% in 2008.

Zara has also become the world’s most valuable apparel brand, overtaking longstanding leader Nike in a clear testament to its ability to build relevance through personalised AI-powered shopping experiences.

Gareth O’Neill, Head of Brand Guidance for Kantar in Australia and APAC, says “AI is accelerating growth. And it has also made marketing harder. Marketers are digesting more signals than ever, decisions have to be made faster, and it’s less clear what actually matters. The brands outperforming the market are using AI to bring judgement back into the system: to identify which signals to trust, connect what people are doing to real business choices, and do so quickly and confidently. In a market this fragmented, sustained growth is coming from clarity.”