AI Search Engine Optimization Tools Compared
· Cole Stark · 7 min read
AI search engine optimization tools mostly do one job: show how often AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features mention or cite your brand, and which sources they use. They can't make an assistant cite you. They tell you where you stand, which competitors show up instead and which pages get quoted, so you know what to fix.
This list is for startup and marketing leads choosing their first LLM visibility tool. I compared six paid tools and the free options on four criteria: which assistants they cover, whether you track your own prompts, how much citation and source data they show, and whether pricing is public. Everything below comes from each tool's own site, checked in October 2026. Plans and prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
AI search engine optimization tools at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Assistants named on its site | Published starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otterly.AI | Small teams on a budget | ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot (AI Mode and Gemini as add-ons) | $29 a month |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Teams already on Semrush | Google AI Mode, ChatGPT | $99 a month |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | Benchmarking against competitors without setting up prompts | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot | $50 a month (custom prompts) |
| Peec AI | Marketing teams tracking several markets | ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Copilot, Gemini and more | Not shown on the pricing page |
| Scrunch | Teams that want tracking plus AI agent traffic data | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Mode and AI Overviews, Meta | $300 a month |
| Profound | Enterprise brands | Up to nine on its enterprise plan | Custom |
How LLM visibility tools work
Most LLM visibility tools run a set of prompts, like "best SOC 2 automation tool," through each assistant on a schedule, then record whether your brand is mentioned, where it appears in the answer and which URLs are cited. Some also offer a pre-built database of prompts so you can see visibility without choosing prompts yourself.
Two limits apply to all of them. The prompts are synthetic, so they approximate what buyers ask rather than measure it. And answers vary between runs, so treat the numbers as trends, not rankings. That's the same caveat I give in my guide to generative engine optimization.
The tools
Otterly.AI
Otterly.AI is a monitoring tool built around tracked prompts. Its plans cover ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, with Google AI Mode and Gemini available as add-ons.
It suits small teams that want to start tracking cheaply. The strength is the low entry price. The limit is prompt volume on the smaller plans.
Pricing on its site: Lite at $29 a month for 15 prompts, Standard at $189 for 100, and Premium at $489 for 400, with a discount for annual billing.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
The Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit adds AI visibility tracking to Semrush. Its documentation names Google AI Mode and ChatGPT for prompt tracking.
It suits teams already using Semrush for SEO, who want AI data next to their keyword and ranking data. The limit is a small prompt allowance at the base price.
Pricing on its site: $99 a month with 25 prompts, plus 50 more prompts for $60 a month. Semrush says a paid subscription is required and there's no free trial.
Ahrefs Brand Radar
Ahrefs Brand Radar tracks mentions and citations across AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot. It offers two approaches: an AI Visibility Index built on a database of more than 476 million prompts, and Custom Prompts, where you choose the questions to track.
It suits teams that want to benchmark against competitors quickly, since the index works without setup. Custom prompts only collect data from when you start tracking them.
Pricing on its site: Custom Prompts from $50 a month, and the AI Visibility Index from $199 a month.
Peec AI
Peec AI is an AI search analytics tool with plans tiered by the number of prompts: 50 on Starter, 150 on Pro and 350 on Advanced, each with a choice of three models. Enterprise covers up to 13 models.
It suits marketing teams tracking several brands or markets. Prices weren't displayed on its pricing page when I checked, so you'll need to confirm them before comparing.
Scrunch
Scrunch combines prompt tracking across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google's AI features and Meta with monitoring of AI agent traffic to your site. It also offers a feature that generates an AI-friendly version of your site for AI agents.
It suits teams that want to see AI agents visiting their pages as well as mentions. If you use any feature that serves AI agents a different version of your pages, make sure search engines and people still see the same content, since Google's spam policies treat showing different content to search engines and users as cloaking.
Pricing on its site: Starter at $300 a month month-to-month or $250 billed annually, with 350 custom prompts. Growth is $500, or $417 billed annually.
Profound
Profound is an enterprise AI visibility platform. Its free trial tracks 50 prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews for seven days, and its enterprise plan covers up to nine engines, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot and Claude.
It suits large brands with the budget for a custom contract and a team to act on the data. Pricing for paid plans isn't published.
Free options to start with
Before paying for LLM SEO software, use the free data you already have:
- Google Search Console includes AI Overviews and AI Mode in its web results, and Google is rolling out generative AI performance reports to a subset of sites.
- Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report shows which of your pages Microsoft Copilot cites and for what grounding queries.
- GA4 shows referral visits from AI assistants, and whether those visitors sign up.
- A spreadsheet of 20 to 30 buyer questions, asked in each assistant once a month, covers the basics of tracking by hand.
Which is the best LLM SEO rank tracker?
The best LLM SEO rank tracker is the one that covers the assistants your buyers use, at a prompt volume you'll actually review. Start with the free options and a hand-built prompt list. Move to a paid tool when checking by hand takes more than an hour or two a month, or when you need competitor benchmarks for a report.
A rough guide by stage:
- Early startup: free tools plus a manual prompt sheet, or a low-cost plan like Otterly.AI's.
- Teams already on Semrush or Ahrefs: try their add-on first, since it sits next to your SEO data.
- Teams tracking many markets or brands: a dedicated platform with higher prompt limits, like Peec AI or Scrunch.
- Enterprise: a custom contract with a platform like Profound.
If you're weighing a tool against outside help, my guide on when to hire an AEO consultant compares the two.
What AI brand visibility tracking tools can't do
AI brand visibility tracking tools measure, they don't optimize. The fixes are the same ones that help in search: let AI crawlers in, rank for the questions buyers ask, describe your company consistently, answer questions directly and earn mentions on sites assistants trust. My generative engine optimization audit checklist covers them in order. For ChatGPT specifics, see how to rank in ChatGPT search.
Be wary of any tool or vendor that promises placement in ChatGPT. Nobody can sell that.
Pick AI search engine optimization tools for the decisions they inform
AI search engine optimization tools are worth paying for when the data changes what you do next: which pages to fix, which competitors to study, which questions to answer. Start free, pick prompts that match real buyer questions, and review the trend monthly. If you want help choosing prompts and turning the data into a plan, that's part of my SEO and GEO services.
AI Search Optimization Tools FAQs
What are AI search engine optimization tools?
AI search engine optimization tools track how AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features mention and cite your brand. Most run a set of prompts on a schedule and record mentions, positions and cited sources, often compared with competitors. They measure visibility and point to gaps, but they can't make an assistant cite you.
Are LLM visibility tools accurate?
LLM visibility tools are directional rather than exact. They run synthetic prompts that approximate what buyers ask, and AI answers vary between runs and by user. Use them to track trends over months and to compare yourself with competitors on the same prompts, not as precise rankings or search volumes.
Do I need a paid AI visibility tool?
You don't need a paid AI visibility tool to start. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report and GA4 referral data are free, and a monthly spreadsheet of buyer questions asked in each assistant covers the basics. Paid tools save time and add competitor benchmarks once manual tracking becomes a chore.
How many prompts should I track?
You should track enough prompts to cover the main questions buyers ask at each stage, usually a few dozen to start. Group them by topic, such as category, comparisons and use cases, so you can see which themes you're winning. More prompts help only if someone reviews the results and acts on them.
What is LLM SEO software?
LLM SEO software is a category of tools for improving and measuring how large language models describe and cite your brand. It includes prompt trackers that monitor AI answers, analytics that show AI referral traffic, and features that audit whether pages are easy for AI systems to read. Tracking is the most mature part.