# Q04 ChatGPT — "Best cleanser for acne-prone skin"

Captured 2026-09-02, logged out, 5 fresh sessions, full-page.

## Runs

| Run | Top pick | Card | Other brands | Citations | Ad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser | $14.24·Walmart | CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream ($14.97·Walmart); Cetaphil Gentle Clear ($12.97·Walmart); LRP Effaclar (**$18.99·Target**) | AAD ×2 | **none** |
| 2 | CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser | $14.24·Ulta | Cetaphil ($16.79·CVS); CeraVe Foaming ($14.97·Walmart); LRP Effaclar (**$8.99·Ulta**) | AAD ×3 | **none** |
| 3 | CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser | $14.24·Walmart | **PanOxyl** Acne Creamy Wash 4% ($10.12·Ulta); LRP Effaclar ($8.99·Ulta); Cetaphil ($16.79·CVS) | AAD ×3 | **none** |
| 4 | CeraVe Acne Control Face Cleanser | $14.24·Walmart | Cetaphil Gentle Clear Pore Clearing; CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream; LRP Effaclar | AAD ×3 | **none** |
| 5 | CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser | $14.24·Walmart | CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Wash ($14.97·Walmart); Cetaphil ($12.97·Walmart); LRP Effaclar ($8.99·Ulta) | AAD ×3 | **none** |

**Top pick: CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser, 5/5. Brand set: only 4 — CeraVe, Cetaphil,
La Roche-Posay, PanOxyl.**

## 1. The hypothesis holds — and this is the cleanest confirmation

**Every citation in all five runs is the American Academy of Dermatology.** No magazines at all.
The most purely medical query in the study.

| ChatGPT brand | Google position |
|---|---|
| CeraVe | #1 ✅ |
| La Roche-Posay | #3 ✅ |
| PanOxyl | #4 ✅ |
| Cetaphil | #11 (top 40) |

**Top 40: 4/4 = 100%. Top 10: 3/4 = 75%.**

### The pattern across four queries

| Query | Citation character | Brands named | Top 40 | Top 10 | SKU exact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| q01 moisturizer | Medical | 3 | 100% | 100% | 3 |
| q02 sunscreen | Prevention-led | 6 | 100% | 50% | 2 |
| q03 vitamin C | **Magazine-saturated** | **10** | **70%** | **40%** | — |
| q04 acne cleanser | **Pure AAD** | **4** | **100%** | **75%** | **5** |

**Medical citations → narrow shelf, high Google overlap, precise SKUs.
Magazine citations → wide shelf, low Google overlap, loose SKUs.**

Four data points, consistent direction. Six queries left to test it.

## 2. The unpredicted correlation: ads track the same axis

| Query | Citations | Ads |
|---|---|---|
| q01 moisturizer | Medical | 2/5 |
| q02 sunscreen | Prevention | 3/5 |
| q03 vitamin C | Magazines | **5/5** |
| q04 acne cleanser | Pure AAD | **0/5** |

**Zero ads across five runs — the first query with none.** Against q03's 5 of 5.

Plausible explanation to test, not assert: acne treatments are **regulated OTC drugs** (salicylic
acid, benzoyl peroxide), and ad policy commonly restricts those categories, while vitamin C
serums are unregulated cosmetics in a hot advertising category. If that holds, **ad presence is
a function of regulatory category, not of query popularity** — which would be a genuinely
useful thing for a brand marketer to know.

Running ad total: **10 of 20 runs (50%)**.

## 3. Best SKU precision in the study

Exact Google top-40 SKU matches: CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser (G#1); La Roche-Posay Effaclar
Medicated Gel Cleanser (G#3); PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash 4% (G#8); CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream
Cleanser (G#6); Cetaphil Gentle Clear Pore Clearing Acne Cleanser (G#11).

**Five exact matches**, against 2 on q02 and 3 on q01. SKU precision tracks the medical-citation
axis too.

## 4. Most extreme price variance in the study

**La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser:**
- **$18.99 · Target** (run 1)
- **$8.99 · Ulta Beauty** (runs 2, 3, 5)

**A 111% difference. More than double, same product name, same query, same day.**

Google's shelf carries both figures at similar names — "Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser" at
$11.19 (#3) and "Effaclar Medicated Gel **Face** Cleanser" at $18.99 (#7) — so this is very
likely a size/SKU difference (Effaclar ships 200ml and 400ml). **Frame as ambiguity, not error.**
But the consumer-facing fact stands: same displayed name, 2.1x price, no size shown.

Also Cetaphil Gentle Clear: **$12.97·Walmart** (runs 1, 5) vs **$16.79·CVS** (runs 2, 3) — 29%.