What counts as an AI SEO tool?
The phrase covers two different products. The first is software that tracks your brand in AI answers: it asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and others a list of questions on a schedule and reports whether you are named, which sources are cited and who appears instead. The second is software that uses AI to do ordinary SEO faster: drafting, keyword grouping, audits. This page compares the first kind, because that is the new job. If you are choosing the second kind, any suite you already use probably has it.
For the work itself, not the software, read AI search optimization. For what tracking has to measure to mean anything, read AI brand monitoring.
How did we choose and compare these tools?
We used five criteria and applied them to each vendor’s own website only.
- It measures AI answers. The tool must say which AI engines it covers and what it records from them. A general SEO suite counts only where it names AI answer tracking in its plans.
- The price is public. We list a starting price only when it is printed on the vendor’s pricing or product page. Where it is not, the table says so.
- The free route is stated. A free plan, a free trial, or neither, as the page says.
- The scope is honest. We state what the page says the tool does and nothing it does not claim.
- Nothing is ranked by commission. We have no affiliate links or partnership with any tool listed. The order is alphabetical. ToBeFound is included because we sell a service for the same need, and it is marked as ours.
Prices are as shown to us on 27 Oct 2026. Semrush and Ahrefs showed euro prices and Otterly.AI and Scrunch showed dollars; we did not convert them. Prices and plans change, so open the source link before you buy.
Which AI SEO tools are worth a look?
| Tool | What it does for AI search visibility | Starting price (vendor page, 27 Oct 2026) | Free tier or trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | Tracks mentions, citations, AI share of voice and estimated impressions across AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot. | Custom Prompts from €47 a month; AI Visibility Index from €179 a month. Both are add-ons that need an Ahrefs plan (Lite €119 a month as displayed). | No trial listed. A free AI visibility preview through its checker. |
| Otterly.AI | Tracks search prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini cost extra. | Lite $29 a month for 15 prompts; Standard $189 for 100; Premium $489 for 400. | Free trial for new users. No free tier listed. |
| Peec AI | Analytics for marketing teams: tracks visibility, benchmarks competitors and finds sources, across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini (its docs also name Claude, AI Mode and Copilot). | Plans Starter, Pro, Advanced and Enterprise. No amounts shown on the pricing page we read. | Free trial button; length not stated. |
| Profound | A marketing platform with Answer Engine Insights, Agent Analytics (AI-sourced traffic), Prompt Volumes and an AI assistant. Covers ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, DeepSeek and Google AI Overviews. | No public paid price. Enterprise is custom and needs a demo. | Free trial: 50 prompts a day for 7 days on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. |
| Scrunch | Monitors your presence in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI and Meta. Its AXP product creates an AI-friendly version of your site. | Starter $250 a month billed annually ($300 month to month), with 350 custom prompts. | 7-day free trial of Starter, no card. |
| Semrush | AI Visibility features inside its SEO and AI Search plans. Starter tracks 50 prompts a day and Pro+ 100, on Google Search, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and more. | Starter €158.40 a month billed annually (€190 monthly); Pro+ €238 annually (€286 monthly). | A free plan with limited AI Visibility features, and a 7-day trial. |
| ToBeFound (ours) | A service, not software: 30 buyer questions, 3 runs each, in five engines, and the fixes carried out for you. | Audit €390 one-off; Done-for-you €490 a month (excluding VAT). | A free 15-point check of your homepage. |
Who does each tool fit?
Ahrefs Brand Radar
Fits teams that already use Ahrefs and want AI answer tracking next to their backlink and keyword data. Its two add-ons are priced separately, and the cheaper one (custom prompts) is for tracking your own list. Sources: Brand Radar page and Ahrefs pricing, 27 Oct 2026.
Otterly.AI
Fits an owner or a small team who wants a low-cost monitor to start. The entry plan tracks 15 prompts, which covers a short list of buyer questions. Check the engine list: four are included and three cost extra. Source: Otterly.AI pricing, 27 Oct 2026.
Peec AI
Fits marketing teams that want to benchmark themselves against named competitors. We cannot compare its cost, because the pricing page we read shows plan names and no amounts; ask the vendor. Sources: Peec AI pricing and home page, 27 Oct 2026.
Profound
Fits larger organizations that want an enterprise platform and are willing to book a demo to learn the price. It covers the widest list of engines on this page. Source: Profound pricing, 27 Oct 2026.
Scrunch
Fits teams that want monitoring and a site version made for AI crawlers in one product. The vendor describes AXP; we have not tested what it changes in practice. Source: Scrunch pricing, 27 Oct 2026.
Semrush
Fits teams that already work in Semrush and want AI visibility in the same suite. Its free plan includes AI Visibility features, though the page gives no prompt count for it. Source: Semrush pricing, 27 Oct 2026.
ToBeFound (ours)
Fits an owner without time to do the fixes. We sell this, so weigh it accordingly: if your team can edit the site, one of the tools above plus our free guide may be enough. What we measure and why is on the AI visibility audit page.
What can no AI SEO tool do for you?
A tracking tool tells you that a competitor is named and you are not. It does not tell you why, and it does not change the answer. The causes are usually the same few: AI crawlers blocked, key text that needs JavaScript to appear, a company AI systems cannot identify, or no mention on the lists and articles the engines cite. Those are fixes on your site and on other people’s sites.
Before you pay for any tracker, check that the AI crawlers can reach you; the free check does that in about 20 seconds. How the engines decide is set out in how AI decides which businesses to recommend, and what an outside provider should include is on AI SEO services.
How do you choose in 15 minutes?
- Write down 10 questions a buyer asks before choosing a business like yours. This list is worth more than the tool.
- Decide who will act on the numbers. If nobody has time, a dashboard will go unread; look at a service instead.
- Open the pricing page of two tools from the table and compare the prompts and engines you get at your budget.
- Start a free plan or trial, load your 10 questions and look at the raw answers, not just the score.
- Keep the tool only if the same questions, asked again next month, show you a trend you can act on.