AI recommendation index · ranked by measured share, not opinion

Grocery — Greater Toronto

These are the 37 grocery banners serving the Greater Toronto Area, eligible for the Trust Index. The index will measure which ones AI assistants send Toronto shoppers to, and whether they name Canadian-owned options when asked.

Editorial pilot · eligible list published · first reading in capture 6–8 November 2026 · method v2.3 · 16 questions × scored assistants × 3 runs

How a reading is built

3runs

Every scored question is put to every scored assistant three times, under identical settings, inside one 72-hour window.

Same questionsSame settings72 hours

What the score means

0 – 100

AI recommendation share: how often a business is named, weighted by its position in the answer. The spread across runs is published with it.

Never namedAlways first

What a place costs

No business can pay to be scored, listed, moved or removed. Eligibility comes from a published list, fixed before any assistant is asked.

No pay-to-play

This reading's movers

UNIVERSE

37 banners

Grocery banners with GTA stores or delivery, under 9 parent groups plus independents. 32 Canadian-owned. Constructed list, editorial pilot.

PROMPTS

16 scored, frozen

16 scored questions across five pillars, frozen 6 November 2026, plus one question about each banner named, reported, not ranked.

IN CAPTURE

First reading: 6–8 November 2026

ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, three runs. The reading publishes after the human check.

The ranking

Share is the position-weighted share of answers that recommend the business, 0 to 100, across every scored question, assistant and run in the reading. Spread is the variation between runs. Engines shows which of the scored assistants named the business at least once.

The eligible list: 37 grocery banners with stores or delivery in the Greater Toronto Area (30 October 2026), grouped by parent company. 32 are Canadian-owned. Scores fill in after the first reading.

Editorial pilot. No single register lists grocers, so this list is constructed from parent-company disclosures, store locators and news of openings and closures, and published before any scoring so it can be challenged. Store counts are approximate; a "+" marks a minimum.

Rules. Banners owned by a national grocer qualify with any GTA store or GTA delivery. Independents need at least two GTA stores, so single-store grocers (for example Pusateri's, now one store) and closed chains (Organic Garage) are out. Independents that may meet the floor but could not be confirmed from a 2024–2026 source (Sunny Foodmart, Foody Mart, Bestco, Subzi Mandi, Yummy Market) can be added on evidence through corrections.

Agency client: see independence

Eligible but not named

After the first reading, eligible businesses that no assistant named are listed here. Not named means not named; it is not a judgment about the business.

The 17 questions we asked

Each scored question was asked three times to each scored assistant during the capture window, with no account history and no location signal beyond the question text. The branded question is reported, not counted toward the ranking.

Prompt set frozen 6 November 2026. The 16 scored questions are asked unchanged in every run; the 17th asks about each banner named, by name, and is reported, not scored.

01What is the best grocery store in Toronto?Category
02Which grocery store in the GTA has the lowest prices?Category
03Where should I do my weekly grocery shop in Toronto?Category
04Best grocery store in Scarborough for Asian groceries?Local
05Cheapest grocery store in Mississauga or Brampton?Local
06Best grocery stores in downtown Toronto without a car?Local
07Which grocery stores in Toronto are most honest about their prices?Risk and compliance
08Which Toronto grocery stores have the best food-safety record?Risk and compliance
09Which grocery stores in Toronto should I avoid, and where should I shop instead?Risk and compliance
10Which grocery chains in Toronto are honest about shrinkflation?Risk and compliance
11Best grocery delivery service in Toronto?Innovation
12Which grocery store in Toronto has the best app for ordering and weekly deals?Innovation
13Feeding a family of four in Toronto on a tight budget: where should I shop?Outcome
14Where can I buy Canadian-made groceries in Toronto?Outcome
15Best grocery store in the GTA for organic food?Outcome
16Compare three grocery chains in Toronto for value.Outcome
17Is [banner] a good place to buy groceries?BrandedReported, not ranked

How this was measured

Constructed (editorial pilot), 30 October 2026: grocery banners with stores or delivery in the GTA, from parent-company disclosures, store locators and 2024–2026 news, grouped by parent company. Independents need two or more GTA stores. 32 of 37 banners are Canadian-owned.

Read the full methodology

Use this data

Every number on this page is published as structured data for journalists, researchers and AI systems. Cite the reading, not the page: readings are dated, and any correction is logged on the reading with its date, with the superseded figures left visible.

Trust Index, Grocery · Greater Toronto, eligible list (editorial pilot; first reading in capture, November 2026). https://thetrustindex.ai/rankings/ca-grocery-greater-toronto

Readings are dated; any correction is logged on the reading with its date.

A measurement of AI assistant recommendation share, not advice, an endorsement or a quality rating. See Terms.

Structured data for this market: /data · Press guide: /press · Corrections: /corrections

Is your business on this list?

Every eligible business has a page here whether it was named or not. Check your standing, request a correction, or ask how monitoring works. The score itself is never for sale.

Check your standing Request a correction