The 2026 tool landscape
The AI visibility tools market has exploded in 2026. According to a Whatagraph analysis published March 2026, there are now over 15 dedicated GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) platforms, plus several traditional SEO tools adding AI tracking features.
The problem? Most comparison articles are written by the tools themselves. They rank their own product first and bury the competition. This guide takes the buyer's perspective — whether you're an agency evaluating tools for client work or a business owner choosing for yourself — and focuses on what you actually need and what each tool delivers at its price point.
Full disclosure: Metricus is one of the tools covered in this guide. We've tried to be fair, but you should know who's writing.
AI Visibility Audit — What You Get
4 categories of tools
1. All-in-one platforms ($149–$499/mo) — Goodie AI, Surfer SEO, Semrush. Full marketing suites with AI visibility as one feature among many. Best for teams already using these platforms for SEO.
2. GEO specialists ($49–$149/mo) — Otterly.AI, Peec AI, Profound, AthenaHQ. Built specifically for AI visibility tracking with dashboards, alerts, and ongoing monitoring. Best for teams with a dedicated AI optimization workflow.
3. Content optimization tools ($29–$99/mo) — Frase, Clearscope, Rankability. Originally built for SEO content, now adding AI-specific features. Best for content teams that write frequently.
4. One-time audit tools ($99–$499) — Metricus, HubSpot AEO Grader (free but limited). Pay once, get a report, done. Best for businesses and agencies that need a baseline audit without ongoing costs.
Full feature comparison
| Feature | One-Time Audit (Metricus) |
GEO Specialist (Otterly, Peec) |
All-in-One (Goodie, Semrush) |
Free Tool (HubSpot AEO) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI platforms covered | 8 | 4–6 | 6–8 | Limited |
| Accuracy audit | Yes — errors flagged with sources | Partial — flags mentions but doesn't verify factual claims | Varies — Semrush offers basic sentiment checks; Goodie flags tone issues but not factual errors | No |
| Competitor comparison | 2–10 competitors | 3–5 competitors | 5+ competitors | No |
| Action plan | Prioritized 5-step plan with specific fixes | General optimization suggestions tied to tracked keywords | Broad content recommendations as part of wider SEO workflow | Score only |
| Ongoing monitoring | No (re-order as needed) | Yes — daily/weekly | Yes — continuous | No |
| Price | $99–$499 one-time | $49–$149/month | $149–$499/month | Free |
| Annual cost | $99–$499 total | $588–$1,788 | $1,788–$5,988 | $0 |
A note on content optimization tools: We mentioned Frase, Clearscope, and Rankability above. These tools are strong for SEO content writing but their AI visibility features are still early-stage — mostly limited to keyword suggestions rather than tracking how AI chatbots actually cite your brand. We've excluded them from the comparison table for now but they're worth watching as their GEO capabilities mature.
Comprehensive tool comparison table
The table below compares individual tools across six dimensions that matter most when evaluating AI visibility platforms: how they collect data, whether they attribute sources, whether they give you actionable next steps, monitoring capabilities, pricing model, and starting price.
| Tool | Data Source | Source Attribution | Action Steps | Ongoing Monitoring | Pricing Model | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranketta | API | No | No | Yes | Freemium | Free |
| Otterly AI | API | No | No | Yes | Monthly sub | $29/mo |
| Peec AI | Real UI | Limited | No | Yes | Monthly sub | From €89/mo |
| Scrunch AI | API | Limited | No | Yes | Monthly sub | $300/mo |
| Profound | API | Limited | No | Yes | Monthly sub | From $399/mo |
| Semrush | API | No | No | Yes | Monthly sub | ~$130/mo (platform) |
| BrightEdge | API | Limited | No | Yes | Enterprise | ~$2,000/mo |
| Conductor | API | Limited | No | Yes | Enterprise | ~$2,000/mo |
| Metricus | Real UI | Yes — specific URLs | Yes | Not yet (single report) | Pay per report | $99 |
Two patterns stand out in this comparison. First, nearly every tool on the market relies on API-based data collection, which can produce different results than what real users see in the chat interface. Second, source attribution — showing you the specific URLs that feed an AI model's answer — is either absent or limited across most platforms. Metricus is currently the only tool that combines real-UI data collection with full source attribution in every report.
How to decide
Ask yourself one question: Do I need to know what AI says about me right now, or do I need to track it every day? If you just need to know — and fix the issues — a one-time audit is the right choice. If you're running weekly content campaigns optimized for AI, you need ongoing monitoring.
Choose a one-time audit if:
- You've never checked your AI visibility before (our chatbot recommendation audit shows why this matters)
- You're a founder, small team, or agency doing initial client research
- You want to fix specific issues, not build a continuous workflow
- Your budget is under $500 for this initiative
Choose a subscription tool if:
- You have a team member dedicated to AI optimization
- You publish content weekly and want to track its AI impact
- You manage multiple brands or product lines
- You've seen a competitor appear in ChatGPT responses where you used to, and you need to track whether your fixes are working week over week
Which Type of AI Visibility Solution Is Best for a B2B SaaS Company?
B2B SaaS companies face a unique set of challenges when choosing an AI visibility tool. Your buyers are researching products through ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Mode before they ever land on your website or book a demo — a shift we explore in depth in our guide to what AI visibility is and why it matters. The stakes are high — a single inaccurate recommendation from an AI chatbot can send a qualified lead to a competitor — but the budget for a new monitoring tool may not be there yet, especially at the seed or Series A stage.
Dashboard-based monitoring tools vs one-time audit reports. Subscription dashboards like Otterly, Peec, and Scrunch are designed for teams that have already committed to AI optimization as an ongoing channel. They give you weekly or daily tracking across a set of prompts, which is valuable if you're publishing content regularly and want to see how each piece moves the needle. But for most early-stage B2B SaaS teams, the first step isn't monitoring — it's understanding the current state. A one-time audit report tells you exactly what AI says about your product today, which sources are feeding those answers, and what you need to fix. You can always layer on monitoring later once you've addressed the foundational issues.
API-based vs real-UI tools. This distinction matters more in B2B than in consumer markets. Your buyers are using ChatGPT's web interface or Perplexity's search — not calling APIs. API-based tools can return different results because they bypass the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) layer that pulls in web sources. A real-UI tool like Metricus queries the same interface your prospects use, so you see exactly what they see when they ask "What's the best project management tool for remote teams?" or "Compare Notion vs Confluence."
Subscription fatigue for early-stage teams. If you're already paying for Mixpanel, Linear, Notion, Slack, and a half-dozen other SaaS subscriptions, the last thing you need is another $100–$500/month line item that your team may not have bandwidth to act on weekly. A pay-per-report model lets you run an audit when you need one — before a funding round, after a rebrand, or when you notice competitor mentions creeping into AI responses — without adding another recurring cost to the burn rate. For B2B SaaS teams testing AI visibility for the first time, starting with a single report and graduating to a monitoring tool once you have a dedicated workflow is the most capital-efficient approach. Once you have your baseline, our AI visibility action plan walks you through exactly what to fix first.
Peec AI vs Otterly AI
Peec AI and Otterly AI are the two most frequently compared GEO specialist tools, and they take notably different approaches to pricing and platform coverage.
Peec AI offers four tiers — Starter, Pro, Advanced, and Enterprise — but does not publish pricing publicly, requiring you to request a quote or book a demo. It tracks a broad range of AI platforms including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok. This wide coverage is its primary selling point, especially for teams that want to monitor visibility across the full spectrum of AI interfaces.
Scrunch AI takes a similar dashboard approach but at a higher price point — see our dedicated comparison for details.
Otterly AI takes a more transparent approach to pricing. The Lite plan starts at $29/month for 15 tracked prompts, Standard runs $189/month for 100 prompts, and Premium costs $489/month for 400 prompts. The prompt-based pricing model is straightforward but can become expensive quickly — if you're tracking 50 keywords across 3 competitors, you'll burn through your prompt budget fast.
How they compare:
- Prompt limits: Otterly enforces strict prompt caps per tier. Peec's limits depend on your negotiated plan, which may offer more flexibility but less predictability.
- Pricing transparency: Otterly wins here — you can see exactly what you'll pay before signing up. Peec requires a conversation with sales, which adds friction for smaller teams evaluating multiple options.
- Platform coverage: Peec covers more AI platforms out of the box, including Grok and AI Overviews. Otterly's coverage is narrower but adequate for teams focused on ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Both tools are API-based, which means neither shows you the exact interface your users see, and neither provides full source attribution — the specific URLs feeding AI's answers about your brand. If those capabilities matter to your evaluation, consider pairing either tool with a real-UI audit from Metricus for a complete picture.
Our recommendations by use case
For SMBs and agencies wanting their first AI visibility audit: Metricus ($99–$499 one-time) gives you the most comprehensive single report — comprehensive AI coverage, accuracy audit, competitor comparison, and a prioritized action plan. No subscription to cancel. See our full breakdown of no-subscription options.
For marketing teams with ongoing AI optimization: Otterly.AI ($49/mo) offers the best value for continuous keyword-level tracking. Peec AI (€89/mo) is strong for agencies managing multiple brands.
For enterprises already using Semrush or Ahrefs: Check if your existing tool has added AI visibility features — both are rolling out AI tracking modules in 2026, which avoids adding another vendor.
For a quick free check: HubSpot's AEO Grader gives a surface-level score in seconds. It won't tell you what's wrong or how to fix it, but it's a useful starting point. You can also try our free AI visibility check for a more detailed technical assessment.
Sources: Market data: Whatagraph analysis, March 2026. Tool features and pricing verified from vendor websites, March 2026. Learn more about how AI visibility scores work, or see our audit study on AI chatbot recommendations.