Most "free" AI visibility tools are trials in disguise. Of the eight worth knowing in 2026, only a handful are genuinely free with no card and no time limit: Metricus Forager (the only one that rewrites and re-tests your page copy), HubSpot AI Search Grader, Mangools AI Search Grader, the free checkers from Frase and Semrush, and Ahrefs' free AI Visibility Checker. Writesonic and Trakkr, despite "free" marketing, are free trials — Writesonic's is 7 days/25 prompts, Trakkr's is 14 days before $100/mo. Below, each tool is labelled truly free or trial, with what it does and what it misses, verified against vendor pages the week of August 3, 2026.
Truly free or trial? The 8 tools at a glance
| Tool | Truly free or trial? | What's free | Engines | Fixes copy? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metricus Forager | Truly free (no card) | Page rewrite + re-test | Engine-agnostic, page-level | Yes — unique |
| HubSpot AI Search Grader | Truly free (one-time, no account) | Brand snapshot, 5 dimensions | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | No |
| Mangools AI Search Grader | Truly free (one-time, no card) | Visibility score | 8 LLMs | No |
| Frase free checker | Truly free (limited) | AI Visibility + GEO Score | 5 major | Partial (paid platform) |
| Semrush free checker | Truly free (snapshot) | AI visibility score | ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews | No |
| Ahrefs free checker | Truly free (no signup, preview) | Mentions preview | 6 surfaces | No |
| Writesonic | Trial (7 days) | 25 prompts, 3 engines | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity | No |
| Trakkr | Trial (14 days) | Full Growth features | 8 models | No |
1) Metricus Forager — Truly free; the only free page-level optimizer
Every other free tool grades or snapshots; Forager rewrites the copy on a page and re-tests the new version for citability, with no card and no time limit. It is engine-agnostic at the page level: paste a page or URL, and it identifies why an answer engine would skip it (missing direct-answer opener, no statistics, thin structure), rewrites, and re-scores. Best free starting point when you already know a page is invisible and want to fix it, not just confirm it — start with the free AI visibility optimizer. For a one-time, documented professional before/after audit of a priority page, the Metricus Snapshot is $499 one-time with no subscription — but Forager is free and where you should begin.
2) HubSpot AI Search Grader — Truly free, no account
A one-time brand snapshot across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini scored on five dimensions (sentiment, presence, recognition, share of voice, market position). No continuous tracking; you cannot choose the prompts. Best for a fast, credible read on how AI describes your brand today.
3) Mangools AI Search Grader — Truly free, no card
A one-time visibility score across 8 LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Mistral, Meta Llama). Ongoing monitoring requires the separate paid AI Search Watcher ($15.60/mo annual). Best free multi-LLM snapshot.
4) Frase free checkers — Truly free (limited)
A free AI Visibility Checker and GEO Score, no card; the full monitor-and-fix platform is $39/mo. Best if you want a free score and a clear paid upgrade path to fixing.
5) Semrush free checker — Truly free snapshot
A free one-time AI-visibility check at semrush.com/free-tools; the paid AI Visibility Toolkit is $99/mo per domain. Best if you already use Semrush.
6) Ahrefs free AI Visibility Checker — Truly free, no signup
A limited mentions preview across six AI surfaces with no signup. Best for a quick, no-friction read.
7) Writesonic — Trial, not free
Marketed as free but it is a 7-day trial (25 prompts, three engines, no card). Useful to sample tracking-plus-drafting before paying.
8) Trakkr — Trial, not free
A 14-day full-feature trial, then $100/mo Growth ($500/mo Scale), all 8 models. Its earlier "genuine free tier" marketing is now stale; the pricing page confirms trial-then-paid.
Caveat on a commonly-listed tool: "Am I Visible on AI" (amivisibleonai.com) is a truly-free, no-signup technical audit — it checks whether your site is structured to be citable rather than querying models live, and third-party accuracy reviews conflict — so we exclude it from the ranked eight and note it here only.
Once a free check shows a gap, close it: how to get recommended by ChatGPT covers the evidence-based steps, and ecommerce teams should start with how to optimize product pages for AI search. Weighing paid platforms instead? See Profound alternatives 2026.