# Smile.io vs Friendbuy: which do AI models recommend for loyalty, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Loyalty, advocacy and referrals. One of fourteen models named Smile.io first on the direct prompt; one named Friendbuy. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/loyalty-advocacy-and-referrals/smile-io-vs-friendbuy/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smile.io | 26% | #1 of 14 | 24% | 38 | 14 of 14 |
| Friendbuy | 2% | #8 of 14 | 30% | 23 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Muse Glimmer 30B: smile.io first (first choices: Referral Rock, Smile.io) (alternatives: Ambassador)
- Mistral Small: friendbuy first (first choices: Friendbuy, Influitive AdvocateHub) (alternatives: LoyaltyLion, Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither first, one named (alternatives: Friendbuy, ReferralCandy, Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals, Zinrelo)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Kademi) (alternatives: Annex Cloud, PartnerStack, Referral Rock, TrueLoyal)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Referral Factory) (alternatives: Ambassador)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Influitive AdvocateHub) (alternatives: Ambassador, Cello.so, FirstPromoter, PartnerStack, Referral Rock)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Enable3) (alternatives: Antavo, Gainsight, Open Loyalty)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: Ambassador, Influitive AdvocateHub)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Exponent) (alternatives: Referral Rock, Tnt1)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: Ambassador, Influitive AdvocateHub)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Cello) (alternatives: Annex Cloud, CustomerGauge, SlapFive)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Enable3) (alternatives: GrowSurf, Influitive AdvocateHub, SlapFive, Zinrel0)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: SlapFive) (alternatives: Influitive AdvocateHub, ReferenceEdge, SaaSquatch by impact.com)

## What the models said about Smile.io

- "Platforms to Avoid or Use Extreme Caution With: ... Smile.io: Criticized for billing complaints (charges after cancellation), outdated customer service" (Mistral Small, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Smile.io — user feedback includes complaints about missing parity across storefronts and support/product depth concerns." (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Smile.io — if you're growing quickly or aren't on Shopify. Its Shopify listing shows usage-based pricing at higher tiers" (GPT-6 Luna, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "The best customer loyalty and referral platform for a company with a limited budget is Smile.io. It offers a free plan that includes referrals" (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Best Overall for E-commerce (Small Budget)Smile.io ... widely considered the industry standard for small-to-medium e-commerce businesses" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)
- "the best overall pick is usually Smile.io if you need both loyalty and referral features with a fast, low-friction setup" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Friendbuy

- "High-Friction Enterprise Platforms with Opaque Pricing & Long Contracts (e.g., Friendbuy, SaaSquatch, Annex Cloud) ... generally ill-suited for growing businesses" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Premium pricing without proportional value... Competitors offer similar core features for 60-90% less." (Kimi K2, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "has opaque pricing and long contracts, making it ill-suited for growing businesses" (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Influitive and Friendbuy are the most highly recommended" (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.