"Best Hands-Free Dog Leash?" Is Now an AI Question — and Almost Every Brand Is Invisible in the Answer

Search "hands-free dog leash" and you get a wall of identical products — same specs, same pitch, different names. But buyers increasingly skip that wall and ask ChatGPT or Perplexity instead, then act on the recommendation. In a category this commoditized, the engine is deciding who to name, and it probably isn't naming you. Here's why a great leash can be invisible in the answer that drives the sale — and how the first brand to break out of the generic list wins the whole category.