2026-09.1 record
CRM
Most named checked vendor
113 of 150 valid answers named HubSpot CRM
113 of 150 valid answers, 75.3% (Wilson 95% interval 67.9% to 81.5%)
Observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking. This is not a judgment of product quality.
Release 2026-09, version 2026-09.1. Method v1.1. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22907695
Systems that centralize customer and prospect records, sales activity, pipeline management, and related revenue workflows.
Observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking. This is not a judgment of product quality.
Capture date: 2026-08-28. The Index measures observed naming, not service quality or product merit.
Commissioned engagement: no.
Dispute policy · Explore the buyer questions
Discuss this category's evidence
Full checked set, sorted by observed counts, not a ranking.| Vendor | Named | Vendor domain cited |
|---|
| HubSpot CRM | 113 of 150 valid answers, 75.3% (Wilson 95% interval 67.9% to 81.5%) | 34 of 150 valid answers, 22.7% (Wilson 95% interval 16.7% to 30.0%) |
|---|
| Salesforce Sales Cloud | 109 of 150 valid answers, 72.7% (Wilson 95% interval 65.0% to 79.2%) | 37 of 150 valid answers, 24.7% (Wilson 95% interval 18.5% to 32.1%) |
|---|
| Pipedrive | 97 of 150 valid answers, 64.7% (Wilson 95% interval 56.7% to 71.9%) | 29 of 150 valid answers, 19.3% (Wilson 95% interval 13.8% to 26.4%) |
|---|
| Zoho CRM | 73 of 150 valid answers, 48.7% (Wilson 95% interval 40.8% to 56.6%) | 23 of 150 valid answers, 15.3% (Wilson 95% interval 10.4% to 22.0%) |
|---|
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | 36 of 150 valid answers, 24.0% (Wilson 95% interval 17.9% to 31.4%) | 9 of 150 valid answers, 6.0% (Wilson 95% interval 3.2% to 11.0%) |
|---|
| Freshsales | 22 of 150 valid answers, 14.7% (Wilson 95% interval 9.9% to 21.2%) | 0 of 150 valid answers, 0.0% (Wilson 95% interval 0.0% to 2.5%) |
|---|
| Close | 12 of 150 valid answers, 8.0% (Wilson 95% interval 4.6% to 13.5%) | 4 of 150 valid answers, 2.7% (Wilson 95% interval 1.0% to 6.7%) |
|---|
| Insightly | 10 of 150 valid answers, 6.7% (Wilson 95% interval 3.7% to 11.8%) | 4 of 150 valid answers, 2.7% (Wilson 95% interval 1.0% to 6.7%) |
|---|
| Copper | 4 of 150 valid answers, 2.7% (Wilson 95% interval 1.0% to 6.7%) | 0 of 150 valid answers, 0.0% (Wilson 95% interval 0.0% to 2.5%) |
|---|
| Nimble | 0 of 150 valid answers, 0.0% (Wilson 95% interval 0.0% to 2.5%) | 0 of 150 valid answers, 0.0% (Wilson 95% interval 0.0% to 2.5%) |
|---|
The ten buyer questions
Each question was put to every engine 3 times on the stated dates. Counts are over valid answers to the exact question.
What is the best CRM for a growing B2B sales team?
Question 1. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: best option.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
Which CRM is best for managing a complex sales pipeline?
Question 2. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: specific workflow.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
What are the top CRM tools for a mid-market company?
Question 3. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: top tools.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
What are good alternatives to a traditional CRM?
Question 4. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: alternative.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
Which CRM options work well for a small sales team that is scaling?
Question 5. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: best option.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
What CRM should a revenue team consider when replacing spreadsheets?
Question 6. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: specific workflow.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
How do the main CRM platforms compare for reporting and forecasting?
Question 7. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: buyer evaluation.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
Which CRM approach is better for a team with multiple sales motions?
Question 8. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: buyer evaluation.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
What should a buyer evaluate in a CRM?
Question 9. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: buyer evaluation.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
How can a sales team use a CRM to improve handoffs and follow-up?
Question 10. 15 valid answers. Excluded answers: 0. Type: specific workflow.
Ask the engine yourself; answers vary by run.ChatGPTPerplexityClaude
Release and method
- Release
- 2026-09, version 2026-09.1
- Published
- 2026-09-23
- Answer capture date
- 2026-09-22
- Source capture dates
- 2026-08-28
- Engines
- ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode
- Configuration
- 10 fixed target questions, 5 engines, 3 repeats. Five controls were run outside the scored base.
- Method version
- v1.1
- Excluded answers
- 0 target answers excluded; exact reasons are listed. Controls were run outside the scored base.
- Commissioned engagement
- No commissioned engagement is declared for this category.
Exact names and listed aliases are matched without case sensitivity at word boundaries. Plain word names require a listed qualifier nearby in the same sentence or the canonical domain among cited URLs. A vendor citation counts only when that answer also names the vendor under this rule.
Verbatim answer text is retained privately with the measurement input and import audit. No answer quotations are published here.
Download and cite
Release JSON · Category CSV · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22907695
How to cite: Broadcastwell. The Absence Index, CRM, version 2026-09.1. Permanent record. CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Broadcastwell.
The Absence Report
A monthly letter on who AI names when buyers ask for software. Published observations, source links and the limits of each release.
Subscribe free
Delivered by Substack. Unsubscribe any time.
About this page
Observed answers on stated dates, not a ranking. This is not a judgment of product quality.
This public record reports the checked set, fixed questions and stated dates. Claim a vendor page, file a dispute or ask for a re-run, or read the dispute policy and log.
Read this page as JSON · Dataset and page metadata