"AI visibility" went from a niche term to a budget line in under two years. A dozen or more platforms now track whether ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews mention and recommend your brand. They are not all the same, and the right choice depends less on features than on whether you want a dashboard to run yourself or an answer you can act on.
Here is an honest comparison of the main options in 2026: what each is genuinely good at, what it costs, and where an expert-run service makes more sense than a tool.
The main AI visibility tools at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Engines tracked | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profound | Enterprise, the category leader | 9+ (ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek) | ~$82.50/mo (50 prompts); Growth ~$332.50/mo |
| Peec AI | Mid-market teams and agencies | 6 engines, 115+ languages | from ~€85/mo; Pro ~€199/mo |
| Otterly.ai | Small business, entry level | 4 (AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot) | from ~$25/mo |
| AthenaHQ | Enterprise AEO/GEO programmes | Multi-engine | Enterprise / custom |
| SearchIntel | Brands that want the answer, not another dashboard | 6 (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode) | Free instant check, then expert-run advisory |
Pricing and engine coverage are indicative and change often; check each vendor for current figures. Sourced from vendor sites and 2026 market round-ups.
Profound: the enterprise category leader
Profound is the most heavily funded pure-play in the category, having raised around $155 million and reached a $1 billion valuation in early 2026, with Fortune 500 clients. It tracks the widest set of engines, nine or more, and is built for large teams that want deep analytics and agentic crawl data. It sells annual plans rather than free trials, so it is a commitment. If you are an enterprise with a team to run it, Profound is the most complete dashboard.
Peec AI: the mid-market analytics pick
Peec AI is a dedicated generative-engine visibility platform that has grown fast, passing $4 million in revenue in its first ten months, and is popular with marketing teams and agencies. It tracks six engines across 115-plus languages and includes agency features such as shareable pitch workspaces. The Pro plan is around €199 a month. For a mid-market team that wants strong analytics without enterprise pricing, Peec is the value pick.
Otterly.ai: the affordable entry point
Otterly.ai is the most accessible option, starting around $25 a month for daily tracking of a small set of prompts across AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot. It has strong user reviews and recognition, including Gartner Cool Vendor 2025, and suits a small business that wants to start monitoring cheaply. The trade-off is fewer engines and less depth than the enterprise tools.
AthenaHQ: enterprise AEO and GEO
AthenaHQ is an answer-engine and generative-engine optimisation platform used by more than 90 of the Fortune 500. It combines prompt intelligence, monitoring and content-optimisation guidance, and is aimed at large organisations running a structured programme rather than at individual marketers.
Where a tool ends and a service begins
Every option above is a dashboard. It shows you where you stand. None of them does the next, harder part: deciding what to change, writing the content AI will actually cite, building the third-party citations that move the needle, and reporting it to a board. That gap is why most tools churn after the first interesting month.
SearchIntel sits deliberately on the other side of that line. It starts with a free AI brand check across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI surfaces, then, where it makes sense, runs the strategy and the execution as a service rather than handing you a login. If you have a team that wants to operate a platform, buy one of the tools above. If you want the answer and someone to act on it, that is the difference. For the wider picture, see what AI search visibility means and our AI citation strategy.
How to choose
- Enterprise with a dedicated team: Profound or AthenaHQ.
- Mid-market or agency: Peec AI.
- Small business starting out: Otterly.ai, or a one-off audit first.
- You want interpretation and execution, not a dashboard: an expert-run service such as SearchIntel, starting with a free check.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best AI visibility tools in 2026?
The leading platforms are Profound (enterprise), Peec AI (mid-market), Otterly.ai (entry level) and AthenaHQ (enterprise AEO). They monitor whether AI engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention and recommend your brand. Which is best depends on team size, budget and whether you want a dashboard or a managed service.
How much do AI visibility tools cost?
Entry-level monitoring starts around $25 a month (Otterly.ai). Mid-market plans run roughly €85 to €505 a month (Peec AI). Enterprise platforms such as Profound start around $82.50 a month on annual billing and rise into custom enterprise pricing. A free instant check is available from SearchIntel before committing to any subscription.
What is the difference between an AI visibility tool and an AI search agency?
A tool measures and reports your AI visibility; you act on it yourself. An agency or expert-run service interprets the data, builds the content and citations that improve it, and executes the strategy for you. Tools answer "where am I?"; a service answers "what do I do about it?".
Which AI visibility tool is best for small businesses?
For a small business, Otterly.ai is the most affordable entry point, or a one-off audit before committing to ongoing monitoring. Start with a free check to see whether you have an AI visibility problem worth paying to track.