Omniscan intelligence ·
UK water companies AI reputation tracker
We asked ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Claude the questions bill-payers actually ask about sewage, bonuses, bills and public ownership — then counted who they named, and how they spoke about them.
15 water companies · 5 questions · 3 AI assistants
In short
Thames Water is named in 63% of AI answers, more than any other water company. Among water companies named in at least one answer in five, Wessex Water is described most positively (46% of mentions) and Yorkshire Water, Southern Water and Anglian Water are described most negatively (100%).
Which water companies does AI name?
Share of answers that mention each water company.
- Thames Water 63%
- Severn Trent 48%
- Yorkshire Water 44%
- United Utilities 41%
- South West Water 37%
- Wessex Water 35%
- Southern Water 33%
- Anglian Water 25%
- Northumbrian Water 17%
- Bristol Water 12%
- Portsmouth Water 12%
- Affinity Water 12%
- SES Water 12%
- Scottish Water 11%
- Welsh Water 9%
- Thames Water 48%
- Southern Water 36%
- United Utilities 32%
- Wessex Water 32%
- Severn Trent 28%
- Yorkshire Water 28%
- Northumbrian Water 28%
- South West Water 24%
- Anglian Water 20%
- Scottish Water 20%
- Welsh Water 16%
- Affinity Water 4%
- SES Water 4%
- Bristol Water 0%
- Portsmouth Water 0%
- Thames Water 80%
- Severn Trent 68%
- Yorkshire Water 60%
- United Utilities 56%
- Southern Water 56%
- Wessex Water 52%
- South West Water 48%
- Anglian Water 32%
- Northumbrian Water 24%
- Bristol Water 20%
- Portsmouth Water 20%
- Affinity Water 20%
- SES Water 20%
- Scottish Water 8%
- Welsh Water 8%
- Thames Water 60%
- Severn Trent 48%
- Yorkshire Water 44%
- South West Water 40%
- United Utilities 36%
- Anglian Water 24%
- Wessex Water 20%
- Bristol Water 16%
- Portsmouth Water 16%
- Affinity Water 12%
- SES Water 12%
- Southern Water 8%
- Scottish Water 4%
- Welsh Water 4%
- Northumbrian Water 0%
How does AI describe them?
Tone of each water company's own mentions, ordered by net tone (positive minus negative).
Positive Neutral Negative
- Wessex Water 46% 50% −4
- Severn Trent 28% 17% 56% −28
- Northumbrian Water 23% 23% 54% −31
- United Utilities 10% 84% −78
- South West Water 93% −93
- Thames Water 98% −98
- Yorkshire Water 100% −100
- Southern Water 100% −100
- Anglian Water 100% −100
Water companies mentioned too rarely to judge their tone are not shown.
Who does AI single out?
For each question: the water company the assistants most often pick as their answer, and the one they criticise most. Percentages are shares of that question's answers.
- Which UK water company is the best, and which is the worst? Picked as the answer: Severn Trent 60% Criticised most:Thames Water 87%
- Which UK water companies discharge the most sewage into rivers and seas? Criticised most:United Utilities 93%
- Which UK water companies pay the biggest executive bonuses and shareholder dividends? Criticised most:Thames Water 87%
- Can I claim compensation from my water company, or refuse to pay my bill? No water company singled out
- Should water in England be renationalised? Criticised most:Thames Water 60%
Picked as the answer Singled out critically
Does it depend which assistant you ask?
Share of each assistant's answers that mention each water company. The ten most named are shown.
| Water company | ChatGPT | Claude | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Water | 48% | 80% | 60% |
| Severn Trent | 28% | 68% | 48% |
| Yorkshire Water | 28% | 60% | 44% |
| United Utilities | 32% | 56% | 36% |
| South West Water | 24% | 48% | 40% |
| Wessex Water | 32% | 52% | 20% |
| Southern Water | 36% | 56% | 8% |
| Anglian Water | 20% | 32% | 24% |
| Northumbrian Water | 28% | 24% | 0% |
| Bristol Water | 0% | 20% | 16% |
Which sources shape the answers?
Share of answers citing each website.
- gov.uk 43%
- ofwat.gov.uk 33%
- yahoo.com 25%
- parliament.uk 20%
- theguardian.com 19%
- sas.org.uk 16%
- ccw.org.uk 12%
- aol.com 12%
5%
is the most any water company's own website is cited (unitedutilities.com). Independent guides, regulators and comparison sites write most of the answer.
What comms teams can do about it
-
1
Treat the Environment Agency and Ofwat releases as the reputation
gov.uk and Ofwat together are cited in more answers than every news outlet combined. Star ratings and spill figures become the answer the week they publish.
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2
Take the one question nobody has answered
On bills and compensation, no water company is named at all. Clear, published guidance on refunds, the guaranteed standards scheme and bill support is an open goal.
-
3
Stop defending the sewage number and start publishing the trend
No company is spoken well of on sewage anywhere. A single-year figure cannot be argued with; a credible multi-year trend, independently checked, is something an assistant can quote.
-
4
Engage the campaigners, because AI already does
Surfers Against Sewage is cited in one answer in six — more than the BBC. Its framing carries into answers whether or not anyone responds to it.
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5
Accept that your own site is not the lever
No company site is cited in more than one answer in twenty. What changes the answer is what the regulator, Parliament and the campaign groups publish about you.
Method
5 questions UK customers ask, put repeatedly to ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Overviews with the United Kingdom as the user's location, 2 September 2026. Naming figures are shares of all answers; tone figures are shares of each water company's own mentions.
Cite as: Omniscan, “UK water companies AI reputation tracker”, September 2026, https://www.omniscan.ai/ai-benchmarks/uk-water-companies
See how the press covers water companies: UK water companies media reputation tracker →