The Best AI Visibility Tools in 2026: An Honest Comparison
AI visibility tools answer one question: when a buyer asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity for a recommendation in your category, are you named, and who is named instead? Two years ago that category barely existed. Today there are dozens of tools, prices range from $29 to six figures a year, and most comparison articles are written by one of the vendors without saying so.
This one is too: we make Operato AI, one of the tools below. So here is how we kept it fair. Every price and feature comes from each vendor's own public pricing page, checked on October 18, 2026. Where a tool beats ours on something, we say it.
What Should an AI Visibility Tool Actually Do?
Before comparing names, it helps to know what you are buying. A useful AI visibility tool does five things:
- Asks the questions your buyers ask, in the assistants they use, on a regular schedule.
- Records whether you are named, in what position, and with what tone.
- Shows who is named instead of you, question by question.
- Shows which sources the assistants rely on, so you know which sites to appear on.
- Tells you what to fix first, instead of leaving you with a score to interpret.
The differences between tools come down to which assistants they cover, how many questions they track, how often, at what price, and how much help they give on point 5.
The Tools at a Glance
| Tool | Entry price (monthly) | Questions at entry level | AI assistants included at entry level | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otterly | $29 (Lite) | 15 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot (Claude, Gemini, AI Mode are paid add-ons) | Solo marketers testing the waters |
| Peec AI | $95 (Starter) | 50 | 3 models of your choice (Claude only on Enterprise) | SEO teams wanting daily data |
| Operato AI | $99 (Starter) | 50 | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity | Small businesses and lean marketing teams, English or French |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | $99 per domain, on top of a Semrush plan from about $130 | 25 | ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, Perplexity | Teams already running SEO in Semrush |
| Profound | Custom (Enterprise only for brands) | Free one-time trial: 10 prompts | Up to 9 answer engines on Enterprise | Large enterprises |
| Brandlight | Custom (no public pricing) | Not published | Not itemized publicly | Fortune 500, multi-brand groups |
Prices are monthly list prices in US dollars before tax. Peec AI and Otterly both offer about 15% off on annual billing.
Otterly: The Cheapest Way to Start
Otterly's Lite plan costs $29 a month for 15 prompts, tracked daily across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Standard ($189, 100 prompts) and Premium ($489, 400 prompts) add API and MCP access. Claude, Gemini and Google AI Mode are sold as add-ons, from $9 to $439 a month depending on the engine and the plan.
Strong points: the lowest entry price in the category, daily tracking, unlimited brands and team members, a crawlability audit, and an agency partner program.
Watch out for: 15 prompts is enough to test, not to cover a market. Adding Claude or Gemini raises the real price, and Lite is limited to 3 recommendations a week.
Peec AI: Daily Tracking for SEO Teams
Peec AI's Starter plan is $95 a month for 50 prompts on 3 models of your choice, tracked daily, with unlimited users. Pro ($245, 150 prompts, 2 projects) and Advanced ($495, 350 prompts, 5 projects, multi-country) follow, and Enterprise adds API access, SSO and up to 13 models. Peec AI reports more than 3,500 brands and agencies as customers.
Strong points: daily data, a deep feature set (source analysis, gap analysis, AI Shopping tracking, brand perception), Google AI Mode and AI Overviews coverage, and a strong reputation with SEO specialists.
Watch out for: "3 models of your choice" means picking which assistants to leave out at the lower tiers, and Claude is only listed on Enterprise. The depth of features suits an SEO specialist more than a business owner doing their own marketing.
Operato AI: Built for Small Teams, in English and French
Operato AI's Starter plan is $99 a month for 50 tracked questions across up to 2 websites, on all four main assistants: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. Growth ($199, 175 questions) and Scale ($499, 400 questions, API and MCP access) follow. Every plan has unlimited users and starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Strong points: all four assistants from the cheapest plan, with no add-on to buy. A prioritized list of what to fix, plus ready-to-use files (robots.txt and llms.txt) generated from an audit of your site. A weekly email report. And native French: questions, setup and reports in French for French-speaking businesses.
Watch out for: tracking is weekly, not daily. Peec AI and Otterly re-check every day; we think weekly is the right rhythm for a small business that acts on the results, but if you need day-by-day movement, they are better suited. Operato AI does not track Google AI Overviews, AI Mode or Copilot today.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit: If You Already Live in Semrush
Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit costs $99 a month per domain, billed annually, but it is an add-on: it requires a Semrush subscription, which starts at about $130 a month. The base tier tracks 25 prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity, with more prompts sold separately.
Strong points: AI visibility next to your keyword, backlink and technical SEO data, in a tool your team may already use every day.
Watch out for: the real entry cost is around $230 a month, and 25 prompts is a narrow view. More detail in our Operato AI vs Semrush comparison.
Profound: Built for Large Enterprises
Profound is the best-funded company in the category ($180 million Series D in September 2026). For brands, its public offer is now a free one-time trial (10 prompts, ChatGPT only) and a custom-priced Enterprise plan covering up to 9 answer engines, with SSO and SOC 2. It has also moved toward an "AI marketer" product with agents that research, write and report.
Strong points: breadth of engines, enterprise security, analyst recognition, and a large customer base among very big brands.
Watch out for: no public price and no self-serve plan for brands, so it is built for companies with a procurement process. Details in Operato AI vs Profound.
Brandlight: Enterprise and Multi-Brand Groups
Brandlight positions itself as an AI visibility platform for enterprise brands, with an "Enterprise HQ View" for groups managing several brands, a public research arm, and stated SOC 2 Type II certification. There is no public pricing: access starts with a demo.
Strong points: built for multi-brand portfolios and large marketing organizations.
Watch out for: no price to compare and no self-serve start. See Operato AI vs Brandlight.
How to Choose the Right AI Visibility Tool
Four questions narrow it down quickly:
- Which assistants do your customers use? If the answer includes Claude or Gemini, check whether the plan you can afford includes them, or whether they are paid add-ons.
- How many questions do you need? A local business can start with 15 to 30. A brand selling several products in several markets needs 100 or more.
- Do you need daily data? Daily tracking helps when you publish and test content constantly. Weekly is enough when you want to see whether a fix worked.
- Who will act on the results? An SEO specialist can work from raw data. A business owner or a small team needs a tool that says what to do first.
And one practical rule: start with a free trial and track the same 10 questions in two tools for two weeks. The one whose results you understand, and act on, is the right one.
FAQ
What is an AI visibility tool? An AI visibility tool regularly asks AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity the questions your buyers ask, and records whether your brand is named, who is named instead, and which sources the answers rely on.
What is the cheapest AI visibility tool? Among the tools in this comparison, Otterly's Lite plan is the cheapest at $29 a month, for 15 prompts on four AI engines. Peec AI ($95) and Operato AI ($99) start at 50 tracked questions.
Which AI visibility tool tracks Claude? Operato AI includes Claude from its $99 Starter plan. Otterly offers Claude as a paid add-on, and Peec AI lists it on its Enterprise plan.
Do I need daily tracking? Not always. Daily tracking helps teams that publish and test content every day. For most small businesses, a weekly check is enough to see whether a change made a difference.
Is there an AI visibility tool in French? Operato AI is built in English and French, with French questions, setup and reports for French-speaking businesses. Several other tools can track questions in French; check whether their reports and recommendations are in French too.
Can I measure AI visibility for free? Most tools offer a free trial: Operato AI (14 days, no credit card), Peec AI, Otterly, and Profound (a one-time 10-prompt trial). You can also start with Operato AI's free AI Readiness Score, which checks whether AI crawlers can read your site.