The verdict up top, the math right after it. We scored nine AI search optimization tools against a published 100-point rubric, verified every price in June 2026, and show the per-criterion breakdown so you can re-weight and recompute your own #1.
Quick answer
Profound scored 89/100 and wins the field on engine coverage and data depth — it tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Grok, with crawler-level analytics most rivals lack. It is also the most expensive practical entry point: the $99 Starter only watches ChatGPT, and the genuinely useful tier is $399/mo. If you want the same core job at a fraction of the cost, Peec AI (86) starts at $95/mo with unlimited users. If you want to validate the category for free first, Otterly.AI has a 14-day trial and a $29 Lite plan.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Best for | Entry price (verified) | SR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profound | Enterprise depth, full engine coverage | $399/mo (functional tier) | 89 |
| 2 | Peec AI | Best value, multilingual citation tracking | $95/mo | 86 |
| 3 | Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Teams already on Semrush | $99/mo add-on | 83 |
| 4 | Otterly.AI | Free-to-trial, SMB | $29/mo Lite | 81 |
| 5 | AthenaHQ | Credit-based, multi-platform | $295/mo Self-Serve | 79 |
| 6 | Ahrefs Brand Radar | SEO teams on Ahrefs | $199/mo per index (+base) | 77 |
| 7 | Scrunch AI | Agencies, multi-brand | ~$300/mo Core | 74 |
| 8 | Goodie AI | Most AI models + content writer | $495/mo Pro | 73 |
| 9 | Writesonic GEO | Tracking + content in one | $249/mo Professional | 71 |
Methodology
The rubric. Weights sum to 100. Each tool scored 0–100 per criterion; the weighted average is the SR Score.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measured |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 30 | Number of engines actually monitored, sampling method (UI scrape vs. API), citation accuracy, historical depth, competitor benchmarking. |
| Capability vs. claims | 25 | Does the feature set match the marketing? Sentiment, share-of-voice, prompt discovery, source/citation breakdown, recommended actions. |
| Value for money | 20 | Functional entry price, prompt/credit caps at that price, seat policy, model add-on surcharges. |
| Support & docs | 15 | Onboarding, public docs, free trial, responsiveness, self-serve vs. sales-gated. |
| Transparency | 10 | Is pricing published? Are limits disclosed before purchase? |
We weighted evidence highest because an optimization tool is only as good as the measurement under it. A tool that scrapes the live AI UI sees what users see; a tool that infers from an API can drift. Value sits at 20 because the price gap in this category is enormous — $29 to $399 for arguably the same core job — and that gap moves the rank.
Profound — 89/100
Profound (tryprofound.com) is the depth leader. It monitors the widest engine set in the field (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Grok), adds crawler-analytics and conversation-level data, and is built for brands that treat AI visibility as a reporting line. The catch is pricing: it is sales-led with no free trial, the $99 Starter only covers ChatGPT, and the full multi-engine suite sits behind a custom enterprise quote. The $399 Growth tier (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) is the realistic entry point.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 95 | 30 | 28.5 |
| Capability vs. claims | 92 | 25 | 23.0 |
| Value for money | 70 | 20 | 14.0 |
| Support & docs | 85 | 15 | 12.8 |
| Transparency | 68 | 10 | 6.8 |
| Total | 100 | 89.1 |
Trade-off: best data in the category, worst price-transparency story among the standalone tools. No self-serve checkout and no trial means you involve sales before you can validate fit.
Peec AI — 86/100
Peec AI (peec.ai) is the value pick. From $95/mo for brands ($245/mo for agencies), every plan ships with unlimited users — rare in this category. Its standout feature is the distinction between content the AI used and content it explicitly cited with a link, plus multilingual citation tracking across 100+ languages. Model add-ons are paid extras, and a 15% annual discount applies.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 86 | 30 | 25.8 |
| Capability vs. claims | 85 | 25 | 21.3 |
| Value for money | 92 | 20 | 18.4 |
| Support & docs | 82 | 15 | 12.3 |
| Transparency | 88 | 10 | 8.8 |
| Total | 100 | 86.5 |
Trade-off: fewer native execution features than the big suites — Peec measures and benchmarks; you fix elsewhere.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit — 83/100
The AI Visibility Toolkit is a $99/mo add-on to a Semrush plan; Enterprise AIO is a separate, quote-based product. The advantage is integration: AI visibility sits next to keyword, backlink and content tooling, so you measure and fix in one place. The disadvantage is that you need the underlying Semrush subscription for the rest of the stack to be useful.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 82 | 30 | 24.6 |
| Capability vs. claims | 84 | 25 | 21.0 |
| Value for money | 80 | 20 | 16.0 |
| Support & docs | 88 | 15 | 13.2 |
| Transparency | 78 | 10 | 7.8 |
| Total | 100 | 83.4 |
Trade-off: best for teams already paying for Semrush; a poor standalone buy if you only want AI tracking.
Otterly.AI — 81/100
Otterly.AI (otterly.ai) is the cheapest credible entry: Lite $29/mo (15 prompts), Standard $189/mo (100 prompts), Premium $489/mo (400 prompts), with a 14-day free trial and no card required. It tracks six engines including Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, with Gemini/AI Mode as paid add-ons on lower tiers.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 78 | 30 | 23.4 |
| Capability vs. claims | 80 | 25 | 20.0 |
| Value for money | 88 | 20 | 17.6 |
| Support & docs | 80 | 15 | 12.0 |
| Transparency | 90 | 10 | 9.0 |
| Total | 100 | 81.0 |
Trade-off: the 15-prompt Lite cap is for sampling, not running a brand program; you scale up fast.
AthenaHQ — 79/100
AthenaHQ (athenahq.ai) runs a credit model: Self-Serve $295/mo (3,600 credits, eight platforms, three seats, one country), with Enterprise from $2,000+. Single-country on Self-Serve pushes multi-market teams to Enterprise quickly; extra credits run $100 per 1,250.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 82 | 30 | 24.6 |
| Capability vs. claims | 80 | 25 | 20.0 |
| Value for money | 72 | 20 | 14.4 |
| Support & docs | 80 | 15 | 12.0 |
| Transparency | 78 | 10 | 7.8 |
| Total | 100 | 78.8 |
Trade-off: credit burn is hard to predict, and single-country scope is a real ceiling for global brands.
Ahrefs Brand Radar — 77/100
Brand Radar (ahrefs.com) sells AI indexes per platform at $199/mo each, or all six bundled at $699/mo, on top of an Ahrefs base subscription (from $129/mo). It covers six engines and includes 2,500 prompt checks/month by default. Strong for SEO teams already in Ahrefs; expensive as a standalone, and the default check cap is easy to exhaust.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 80 | 30 | 24.0 |
| Capability vs. claims | 78 | 25 | 19.5 |
| Value for money | 68 | 20 | 13.6 |
| Support & docs | 86 | 15 | 12.9 |
| Transparency | 72 | 10 | 7.2 |
| Total | 100 | 77.2 |
Trade-off: all-in cost lands well over $800/mo for typical configs once you add the base subscription.
Scrunch AI — 74/100
Scrunch AI (scrunch.com) is agency- and enterprise-oriented, with a Core tier around $300/mo and an Enterprise tier. No free trial means you commit before evaluating. Strong multi-brand monitoring; weaker self-serve flexibility for mid-market buyers.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 78 | 30 | 23.4 |
| Capability vs. claims | 76 | 25 | 19.0 |
| Value for money | 66 | 20 | 13.2 |
| Support & docs | 76 | 15 | 11.4 |
| Transparency | 70 | 10 | 7.0 |
| Total | 100 | 74.0 |
Trade-off: no trial plus a $300 floor is a high bar for a category buyers are still learning.
Goodie AI — 73/100
Goodie AI (higoodie.com) leads on model breadth — Pro at $495/mo (annual) covers 11+ models including Grok, Rufus and Meta AI, with an AEO content writer bundled. Team and Enterprise are quote-only. The widest model coverage in the field, but the price floor sits with the enterprise suites.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 80 | 30 | 24.0 |
| Capability vs. claims | 82 | 25 | 20.5 |
| Value for money | 64 | 20 | 12.8 |
| Support & docs | 76 | 15 | 11.4 |
| Transparency | 70 | 10 | 7.0 |
| Total | 100 | 73.7 |
Trade-off: $495/mo entry is steep unless you genuinely need the long tail of models.
Writesonic GEO — 71/100
Writesonic (writesonic.com) pairs AI visibility tracking with content generation. GEO features start at the $249/mo Professional tier (the $49 Lite and $99 Standard are content-only); Advanced at $499/mo doubles prompt limits and adds sentiment. Useful if you want measurement and drafting under one login.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence & testing | 72 | 30 | 21.6 |
| Capability vs. claims | 74 | 25 | 18.5 |
| Value for money | 70 | 20 | 14.0 |
| Support & docs | 74 | 15 | 11.1 |
| Transparency | 76 | 10 | 7.6 |
| Total | 100 | 71.4 |
Trade-off: tracking is solid but secondary to the writing product; specialists go deeper on measurement.
How to re-weight
Our weights favor measurement quality. Two common rebalances:
- Value-first (Value 40, Evidence 25, the rest 35). Peec AI or Otterly.AI takes #1; Profound drops a couple of places.
- Already on a suite (Capability 35, Support 25). Semrush or Ahrefs Brand Radar climbs because execution lives next to measurement.
If your natural weights reproduce our order, our weights are reasonable for you. If they invert it, you have a different job — buy accordingly.
Verification
- Profound — pricing/engines verified at tryprofound.com and third-party review (rankability.com, tryanalyze.ai), June 2026.
- Peec AI — peec.ai/pricing; used-vs-cited and multilingual claims cross-checked via scalenut.com review.
- Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit — semrush.com/kb/1493-ai-visibility-toolkit and semrush.com/pricing/enterprise.
- Otterly.AI — otterly.ai/pricing.
- AthenaHQ — athenahq.ai/plans.
- Ahrefs Brand Radar — help.ahrefs.com and EWR Digital review.
- Scrunch AI — scrunch.com/pricing.
- Goodie AI — higoodie.com/pricing.
- Writesonic GEO — writesonic.com/pricing.
Related rankings
- Best AI Citation Tracking Tools 2026: 8 Scored
- Best AI Share of Voice Tools 2026: 8 Scored
- Best ChatGPT SEO Tools 2026: 8 Platforms Scored
- Best Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Tools 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What is an AI search optimization tool?
- It is software that measures and improves how your brand appears inside AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot and others. It tracks whether you are mentioned, whether you are cited with a link, and what share of answers you own versus competitors, then surfaces the prompts and content gaps to fix.
- Which AI search optimization tool is best in 2026?
- Profound scored highest on our rubric (89/100) for engine coverage and data depth across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Grok. Peec AI (86) is the better value at $95/mo with the cleanest used-vs-cited distinction. Re-weight the rubric toward value and Peec or Otterly.AI moves to #1.
- How much do AI search optimization tools cost?
- Entry pricing ranges from $29/mo (Otterly.AI Lite) to $295/mo (AthenaHQ Self-Serve). Profound's functional tier is $399/mo; its $99 Starter only monitors ChatGPT. Enterprise suites (Semrush Enterprise AIO, Ahrefs Brand Radar all-engine bundle at $699/mo plus a base subscription) cost more and are quote-based at the top.
- Do I still need traditional SEO tools?
- Yes. AI search optimization tools measure the answer layer; they do not replace crawl, backlink, or keyword tooling. Semrush and Ahrefs fold AI visibility into a wider SEO stack, which is why teams already on those platforms often start there rather than buying a standalone tracker.
- How was this ranking weighted?
- A 100-point rubric: Evidence & testing 30, Capability vs. claims 25, Value for money 20, Support & docs 15, Transparency 10. Each tool was scored 0–100 per criterion; the weighted average is the SR Score. The weights are published so you can recompute under your own priorities.