Best AI visibility tools compared: what to look for in 2026
Written by the Prefera team
Choose an AI visibility tool on six things: which engines it asks, whether it shows real answers or only a score, whether it helps you fix what it finds, whether it proves a fix worked, whether it also covers Google search and links, and what it costs per tracked prompt. Most tools published today are strong on tracking. Fewer go on to the fix and the proof. Check each claim on the vendor's own pricing page, as we did for this guide on 3 November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Compare AI visibility tools on six things: engines asked, real answers or only a score, help with fixes, proof a fix worked, Google search and links, and cost per tracked prompt.
- Most tools published today are strong on tracking; fewer go on to the fix and the proof.
- Check every price and engine claim on the vendor's own pricing page, as we did on 3 November 2026; prices change often.
- Prefera has limits: a smaller link index than the big SEO suites, no Microsoft Copilot yet, and a short public track record.
- Before you pay, test any tool on your own brand with real buyer questions and open a few answers to check them against the assistant.
What should you look for in an AI visibility tool?
Tools in this category all do roughly the same first job: they ask AI assistants the questions your buyers ask, and report whether and how your brand appears. The differences that matter come after that. Use the criteria below to compare any tool, including ours.
| Criterion | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Engines covered | Which assistants are asked on the plan you would buy, and which only on higher plans or as add-ons? | A tool that skips an engine your buyers use leaves a blind spot |
| Real answers or a score | Can you open the actual answer and the pages it cited? | A score you cannot trace to an answer is hard to trust or act on |
| Fixes or reports only | Does it help write and publish the change, or only list problems? | Tracking alone does not change an answer |
| Proof | Does it compare a changed page with pages or questions you left alone? | Answers drift on their own, so a before and after is not proof |
| Search Console and SEO | Does it also cover Google search, keywords and pages close to the top? | AI answers often draw on pages that already rank |
| Links and Domain Rating | Does it show your authority against competitors and where to earn links? | Mentions on other sites decide many answers |
| Price per tracked prompt | What does the public pricing page say, and what is capped? | Prompt limits and engine add-ons change the real cost |
What do six well-known tools publish about engines and price?
The table below uses only what each vendor shows on its own public pages, read on 3 November 2026. Prices change often and some pages do not say whether a price is monthly or annual, so treat every number as a starting point and confirm it on the vendor's site. Where a page did not make something clear, we left it out rather than guess.
| Tool | Engines named on its pages | Entry price shown | Notes from the page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peec AI | ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini and Naver AI on its three listed plans | $95 a month for 50 tracked prompts | Perplexity, Claude and others appear only in its custom Enterprise plan |
| Otterly.AI | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot in the base plans | $29 a month for 15 search prompts | Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini are listed as paid add-ons |
| Profound | Trial covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews; Enterprise lists up to nine engines | Free 7-day trial; Enterprise price not published | Prompts on the trial are a recommended set you cannot edit |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, plus Claude for custom prompts | Custom prompts from $50 a month | Sits inside a wider SEO suite; the page does not list a price for each tier |
| Scrunch | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, and Meta | $250 a month billed annually, $300 month to month, for 350 custom prompts | Enterprise price not published |
| Semrush | AI features are part of its SEO plus AI search plans | $165.17 a month billed annually on the plan listing 50 prompts tracked daily | AI tracking is bundled with the SEO suite rather than sold alone on that page |
How does Prefera compare, honestly?
Prefera asks six engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude), three times each, and saves every answer with the pages it cited. Plans start at $29 a month and are priced by answers checked a month rather than by prompt. Beyond tracking, it writes a fix from facts you approve, publishes it, and compares the result with questions you left alone. It also reads Search Console, lists pages close to the top of Google, tracks keywords and shows your Domain Rating against competitors.
It also has limits, and you should weigh them:
- A smaller link index than the big SEO suites. Prefera's authority view is useful for seeing the gap against competitors and finding links to earn, but it is not a full backlink research suite. Its Domain Rating comes from Ahrefs, credited as Domain Rating by Ahrefs.
- No Microsoft Copilot yet. Some tools above cover it; Prefera does not.
- It is new. It has no long public track record yet, so try the free scan and the live demo before you buy.
- Nothing goes live without your review, unless you turn on Autopilot. That is slower than a tool that only reports, and it is deliberate.
Which kind of tool fits which team?
| If you mainly need... | Look for... |
|---|---|
| To see whether AI names you, cheaply | Low entry price, the engines your buyers use, and a prompt limit you can live with |
| Reports for a large brand or many markets | Enterprise-level engine coverage, custom prompts and reporting; expect to talk to sales |
| AI visibility inside an SEO suite you already use | A suite that bundles it, and check how many prompts the plan allows |
| To fix what you find and show it worked | Drafted fixes, publishing, and a comparison against untouched questions, as Prefera does |
How do you test any tool before paying?
- Write ten real buyer questions and run them yourself first, using this method, so you know what a tool should find.
- Ask the vendor for a trial or a free scan on your own brand, not a demo brand.
- Open three answers inside the tool and check they match what you see in the assistant.
- Ask how it proves a change worked, and what it compares against.
- Work out the cost per tracked prompt on the plan you would really buy, including engine add-ons.
Prefera's free scan asks five buyer questions on ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews for your own brand, with no card. The plans list what each includes. For background on what you are measuring, read what answer engine optimization is.
Sources
Every figure about another tool comes from its own public page, read on 3 November 2026. Pages change, so check them before you decide.
- Peec AI pricing: peec.ai/pricing
- Otterly.AI pricing: otterly.ai/pricing
- Profound pricing: tryprofound.com/pricing
- Ahrefs Brand Radar: ahrefs.com/brand-radar
- Scrunch pricing: scrunch.com/pricing
- Semrush pricing: semrush.com/pricing