AEO Tools in 2026: 9 Answer Engine Optimization Tools Compared

The best AEO tool in 2026 depends on who's buying. Enterprise teams should start with Profound, which reads answers from the browser across up to nine answer engines.^[1][2] Small teams can start with OtterlyAI at $29 a month.^[3] Peec AI suits daily tracking on the models you choose.^[4][5] Semrush users can add AI Search plans to the suite they already run.^[6] I'm Brenden House, and I run Searchmaxxed, an agentic SEO team. We're a service, so we sit outside this list of software.

Which AEO tools made my list, and what do they cost?

AEO (answer engine optimization) means getting your brand named and cited inside AI answers. An AEO tool sends AI engines a set of prompts, the questions your buyers might type, and logs what comes back.

I picked nine tools that sell AI answer tracking. Eight of them appear in Profound's 2026 AEO tools roundup, which ranks for this search.^[10] I added Frase because every Frase plan includes AI visibility tracking.^[11] I read each vendor's pricing and feature pages on 28 September 2026, and this shortlist is my own selection.

Every price and engine list above comes from the vendor's own pricing page.^{[1][4][3][6][12][13][14][11][15]} Peec AI prices in euros, and Frase states its prices are in USD.^[4][11] The other vendors show a dollar sign without naming the currency.

1. Profound: best for enterprise teams

Profound suits enterprise teams that want the answers their customers see. Its FAQ says it queries the same front-end experiences normal users see on each AI platform.^[2]

• What it does: Tracks visibility scores, share of voice, sentiment, citation sources and competitor rankings.^[2] Share of voice is your slice of all the brand mentions in the tracked answers.
• Engines tracked: The trial covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Enterprise tracks up to nine answer engines, including Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and AI Mode.^[1][2]
• Starting price: Enterprise comes as "Tailored packages". The self-serve Agency Growth plan's price is not published on the pricing page we captured.^[1]
• Free trial: Yes. It runs 50 prompts a day for seven days, with limited AI Marketer credits.^[1]
• What it cannot do: Trial users get a recommended industry prompt set and can't customise it. Custom prompts, more engines and ongoing daily tracking need Enterprise.^[1]
• Best for: Enterprise marketing teams that need many engines, regions and audience types in one view.

2. Peec AI: best for clean daily tracking

Peec AI suits teams that want steady daily data from the models they choose. It runs each prompt once every 24 hours on every model you select.^[5] Its data flows into Looker Studio (Google's dashboard tool), a REST API or MCP, a standard that lets AI assistants query it.^[5]

• What it does: Counts brand mentions and source citations separately, with filters by model, country and prompt tag.^[5] It adds query fan-outs, opportunity scoring and tailored recommendations.^[8]
• Engines tracked: Self-serve plans choose three of ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini and Naver AI.^[4] Extra models, including Perplexity, come as add-ons, and Enterprise tracks up to 13, including Claude.^[4]
• Starting price: Starter is €85 a month, billed monthly, for 50 prompts and one project. Annual billing takes 15% off.^[4]
• Free trial: Yes, the pricing page offers one. Its length is not published on the pricing page we captured.^[4]
• What it cannot do: Each self-serve plan includes three models, and one extra model costs €25/mo on Starter.^[4]
• Best for: In-house SEO and content teams that want clean daily trend lines.

3. OtterlyAI: best for small teams on a budget

OtterlyAI is the cheapest paid entry on this list. Lite costs $29 a month for 15 search prompts across four AI search engines, with daily tracking.^[3]

• What it does: Domain ranking, link citations analysis and a generative engine optimization (GEO) audit.^[3] Its FAQ says it analyses AI search platforms directly, so it can report the links they reference.^[9]
• Engines tracked: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot come included. Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini are paid add-ons.^[3]
• Starting price: Lite is $29 a month, or $25 a month billed annually. Standard is $189 a month for 100 search prompts.^[3]
• Free trial: Yes, for new users.^[3]
• What it cannot do: Lite's 15 prompts cover a narrow slice of a market. Extra engines cost more, such as $29 for Claude on Lite, and API access starts on Standard.^[3]
• Best for: Solo marketers and small teams that want a low-cost first reading before they commit more budget.

4. Semrush: best if you already run SEO in Semrush

Semrush adds AI visibility to an SEO suite many teams already pay for. Its $139 monthly SEO plan includes AI search performance tracking and custom prompt monitoring.^[6]

• What it does: Brand performance and sentiment, prompt research, daily prompt tracking and a list of the outlets AI models cite most.^[16] It sits beside Semrush's position tracking and site audit tools.^[6]
• Engines tracked: The pricing page shows Google Search, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, plus "& more", without the full list.^[6]
• Starting price: The SEO plan is $139 monthly. Starter (SEO + AI Search) is $199 monthly, or $165.17 a month billed annually.^[6]
• Free trial: Yes, seven days of free access to its toolkits.^[16] A free plan also exists for trying the platform.^[6]
• What it cannot do: Starter tracks 50 prompts a day. API data integration waits until Advanced at $549 monthly.^[6]
• Best for: Teams that already run keyword and site work in Semrush and want AI data in the same login.

5. Scrunch: best for site audits and AI bot traffic

Scrunch pairs AI answer monitoring with site audits and AI bot traffic, meaning visits from AI crawlers and agents. Core costs $250 a month for 125 unique prompts, five site audits a month and four AI engines.^[12] Its citation reports show which domains and URLs the tracked answers cite most.^[17]

• What it does: Citation tracking, sentiment analysis, AI agent and bot traffic, and site audits.^[12][17]
• Engines tracked: Core covers ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Copilot. Enterprise covers nine, adding Claude, Gemini, Meta AI, Google AI Mode and Grok.^[12]
• Starting price: Core is $250 a month. The Enterprise price is not published on the pricing page we captured, which offers "Talk to us".^[12]
• Free trial: Yes, seven days on Core.^[12]
• What it cannot do: Core tracks one country, one persona and one language. Market-by-market views need Enterprise.^[12]
• Best for: Brands that want to see which AI bots visit their site next to what the answers say.

6. AthenaHQ: best for starting free

AthenaHQ runs on credits, and one credit equals one AI response.^[13] Starter's 3,600 credits a month work out to about 120 responses a day.

• What it does: Prompt and response analysis, sources and competitor insights, content recommendations and an AI agent. Starter and Enterprise add prompt variations and conversation context.^[13]
• Engines tracked: Essential shows ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot. Starter covers 11 models, including AI Mode, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral.^[13]
• Starting price: Essential is free with 300 credits. Starter is $295 a month with 3,600 credits.^[13]
• Free trial: I found no separate trial. The free Essential plan lets you start without paying.^[13]
• What it cannot do: Starter supports a single language and region, and multiple regions need Enterprise. API access and extra credits are paid add-ons on Starter.^[13]
• Best for: Teams that want to test on a free plan, then buy a known number of AI responses each month.

7. Goodie: best for tracking plus optimisation in one vendor

Goodie sells AEO as one loop, from tracking through to optimisation actions and revenue attribution.^[14] Its monitoring page says it tracks visibility daily across all major AI platforms.^[18]

• What it does: Tracks brand mentions, citations and the domains that shape answers, plus how often AI recommends you over competitors.^[18] Core adds 50 optimisations a month and direct revenue attribution.^[14]
• Engines tracked: Core tracks five models: ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, AI Mode and Copilot. Pro tracks eight, and Enterprise up to 13.^[14]
• Starting price: Core is $399 a month for 120 prompts, and Pro is $999 a month for 250. The agency plan is $275 a month, plus a brand plan from $399 per won client.^[14]
• Free trial: Yes, seven days on Core.^[14]
• What it cannot do: On Agency Growth, each client workspace tracks three core models: ChatGPT, AI Overview and Perplexity. Wider coverage per client needs Agency Enterprise.^[14]
• Best for: Brand teams that want tracking, content actions and revenue attribution from one vendor.

8. Frase: best for content teams

Frase is a content tool that includes AI visibility on every plan.^[11] It checks rankings and AI mentions every day. Its Content Guard drafts a fix when a page slips, and you approve each change.^[19]

• What it does: Article writing, page audits, SEO and GEO scores, and AI visibility tracking with alerts.^[11][19]
• Engines tracked: Starter tracks ChatGPT and Google AI. Professional adds Perplexity, and Scale adds Claude and Gemini.^[11]
• Starting price: Starter is $49 a month on monthly billing, or $39 a month billed yearly. Prices are in USD, and Starter tracks 50 AI visibility prompts.^[11]
• Free trial: Yes, seven days with no credit card.^[11]
• What it cannot do: Frase says its AI Visibility feature "does not auto-fix". Starter tracks two engines.^[11]
• Best for: Content teams that want writing, audits and AI tracking under one login.

9. Writesonic: best for AI-drafted fixes

Writesonic combines AI visibility tracking with AI articles, site audits and agents.^[15] Starter costs $79 a month, billed annually. It tracks 50 prompts and 50 answers daily across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.^[15]

• What it does: Finds the prompts where AI recommends your competitors over you, then offers AI agents, articles and site audits to close the gaps.^[15]
• Engines tracked: Starter, Basic and Growth track ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Enterprise tracks all 10 platforms Writesonic lists, including Perplexity and Claude.^[15]
• Starting price: Starter is $79 a month and Basic is $199 a month, both billed annually. The monthly-billing price is not published on the pricing page we captured.^[15]
• Free trial: Yes. You can start free with no credit card.^[15]
• What it cannot do: Starter reads 50 answers a day for 50 prompts across three engines. Ask how those answers split across engines before you trust a trend.^[15]
• Best for: Marketing teams that want visibility gaps and AI-drafted content in the same tool.

What can AEO tools measure, and what can't they?

AEO tools measure how often a sample of AI answers names or cites your brand. That sample covers only your chosen prompts and paid engines, so revenue still has to show up in your own analytics.

Mentions and citations are different numbers

A brand mention means the answer names you. A source citation means the engine uses your content, even without naming you.^[5] Peec AI counts them separately. Your reports should too, because a page can feed the answer while a competitor gets the name.

Every reading is a sample

Google says AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models, so their responses and links vary.^[7] Both may use a "query fan-out", which runs related searches across subtopics to build a response.^[7] Peec AI says ChatGPT mentions and cites a different competitor set than Gemini, Perplexity or Claude.^[8] OtterlyAI adds that ChatGPT and Perplexity personalise answers using your search history and location.^[9]

A logged-in buyer in another city may see something else, so read a tool's daily line over several weeks.

The prompt list sets the score

A visibility score covers only the prompts inside the tool. Build the list from real buyer questions, because prompts that contain your brand name will flatter the score. Peec AI lets you tag each prompt by persona or funnel stage.^[5]

Clicks, conversions and access sit outside the tool

Google counts sites that appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode inside the overall Web search traffic in Search Console's Performance report.^[7] Google also suggests tracking conversions in tools such as Google Analytics.^[7] So check any AEO tool against Search Console and GA4 before you judge the return.

Access comes first. A page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet to appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode.^[7] OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot, its search crawler, won't appear in ChatGPT search answers.^[20] If a tool says you're missing, check your robots.txt, the file that tells crawlers which pages they may read.

How should you choose an AEO tool?

Choose an AEO tool by working back from your buyers. Match the engines they use, then buy enough prompts to see a trend.

1. Name your buyers' engines, then check the tier. Peec AI's self-serve plans include three models, and OtterlyAI charges extra for Claude, AI Mode and Gemini.^[4][3]
2. Count your prompts. Entry plans run from 15 prompts on OtterlyAI Lite to 125 on Scrunch Core.^[3][12]
3. Ask how the tool collects answers. Profound says other tools pull responses from the API, while it captures from the browser.^[2] Ask every vendor how often it runs each prompt.
4. Confirm you can edit the prompt list. Profound's trial locks it.^[1]
5. Check the exports. Peec AI connects to Looker Studio, a REST API and MCP.^[5] Frase runs through an MCP server and CLI on every plan.^[11]
6. Trial it with your own prompts. All nine offer a free trial or a free plan.^{[1][4][3][6][12][13][14][11][15]}

Where does a managed service fit instead of a tool?

A managed service fits when you want a team to read the AEO data and ship the fixes every week. Searchmaxxed, a Queensland team, runs that work for clients. We work with companies across Australia and take on companies beyond it.

We do agentic SEO. We build AI agents that plug into your whole Search Console and GA4. Every week, the agents check your competitors' sites, the Google results and what AI answers say about you. That data feeds our Managed Search Loop, which checks it against your plan and picks the next best job.

We build the on-page work on your Agentic Website: new pages, fixes, schema and internal links. Schema is code that labels the facts on a page for search engines. Your Agentic Website lives on GitHub and Vercel, and you own it. We build the off-page work through our Off-Page Source Layer: links, reviews, citations, press and mentions on other sites. A person checks every change before it goes live. Then the agents measure what it did, and the loop picks the next job.

Before Searchmaxxed, I built Radiant Roof Repairs from zero to more than A$1 million a year in revenue, with SEO as its only marketing channel. I did those steps by hand. Our agents now run them every week. By my own count, our work has generated more than A$10 million in revenue through search across our client book.

AEO and GEO sit inside our managed packages: Local Search, the Growth System and Agentic Search Engineering. Our AEO service, GEO service and AI search optimisation service explain the work. Our pricing page shows what each package includes. If you'd rather run it in-house, one of the tools above plus Search Console is a sound start. Let's talk pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AEO tool?

An AEO tool tracks how AI answer engines mention, cite and describe your brand for a set of prompts. Some tools add content work, such as Frase's drafted fixes.^[19]

What is the best AEO tool?

It depends on budget and buyer. I'd pick Profound for enterprise coverage, OtterlyAI Lite at $29 a month for a small budget, and Semrush if you already use it.^[1][3][6]

What does AEO stand for?

AEO stands for answer engine optimization. It covers anything that produces a direct answer, such as AI Overviews, featured snippets, voice assistants and AI chatbots.^[21]

What is AEO vs SEO?

SEO works to rank pages in traditional search results. AEO works to get your brand named and cited inside generated answers.^[21] Google says you can apply the same foundational SEO best practices to AI Overviews and AI Mode.^[7] At Searchmaxxed, one Managed Search Loop runs both. Read more in what AI SEO is.

How much do AEO tools cost?

Entry prices on my list run from $29 a month for OtterlyAI Lite to $399 a month for Goodie Core.^[3][14] Peec AI starts at €85 a month.^[4] Profound's paid plans and Scrunch Enterprise carry no price on the pricing pages we captured.^[1][12] AthenaHQ and Semrush both offer free plans.^[13][6]

Why does ChatGPT show me a different answer from my AEO tool?

ChatGPT and Perplexity personalise answers. OtterlyAI says they store information about you and your search history, and use your location.^[9] A tool runs neutral prompts, so your own check can differ. For how ChatGPT picks sources, read how to get cited by ChatGPT.

How often do AEO tools check AI answers?

Most on my list check daily. Peec AI runs each prompt once every 24 hours on each selected model.^[5] OtterlyAI, Semrush, Frase and Goodie also describe daily tracking.^{[3][16][19][18]}

Does Google Search Console show AI Overview traffic?

Yes, inside the overall numbers. Google includes sites that appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search Console's Performance report, under the Web search type.^[7] Use it beside your AEO tool, because the tool shows answers and Search Console shows clicks.

Can an AEO tool improve my AI visibility on its own?

Partly. Some tools draft or publish content, but the engines still choose what to cite. Frase's Content Guard drafts fixes for your approval, with an opt-in for low-risk fixes.^[19] At Searchmaxxed, the Managed Search Loop picks the job, and we ship it on your Agentic Website or through the Off-Page Source Layer.

Are free AEO tools enough to start?

They're enough for a first reading. AthenaHQ Essential is free with 300 credits.^[13] Semrush has a free plan, and Profound has a free seven-day trial.^[6][1] Free tiers cap prompts or engines, so treat them as a baseline check.

Why does my AEO tool say I'm invisible in ChatGPT?

Check access first. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot won't appear in ChatGPT search answers.^[20] If access is fine, look at your pages and at the outside sources that mention you.

Do I need an AEO tool or an agency?

Choose a tool if your team has time to act on the data. Choose a managed service if you want the work shipped for you. At Searchmaxxed, our agents feed the Managed Search Loop, and a person approves every change we ship. Let's talk.