AI SEO tools in 2026: 11 compared by the job they do

The best AI SEO tools depend on the job you need done. For writing and grading content, start with Frase or Clearscope.^[1][2] For tracking your brand inside AI answers, Peec AI starts at €85 a month and Profound serves enterprise teams.^[3][4] If you already pay for Semrush or Ahrefs, test their AI visibility features before you add another login.^[5][6] I'm Brenden House and I run Searchmaxxed, an AI SEO team. This list is my own selection from vendor pricing pages, checked on 28 September 2026. Searchmaxxed is a managed service, so it sits outside the list.

Which are the best AI SEO tools for each job?

The best AI SEO tools split into three jobs. For content, look at Frase, Writesonic and MarketMuse. For optimisation, look at Surfer, Clearscope, Semrush and SE Ranking. For AI visibility tracking, look at Ahrefs Brand Radar, Peec AI, Profound and Goodie.

AI SEO means getting found on Google and named inside AI answers. Vendors also call the AI half GEO (generative engine optimisation) or AEO (answer engine optimisation). AI Overviews and AI Mode are Google's own AI answers. A prompt is a question a tracker asks an AI tool for you.

Each price keeps the vendor's currency and billing unit, taken from its own pages on 28 September 2026. Peec AI prices in euros, and I've written the others' dollar prices as USD. The order is my selection by job, and I haven't scored any vendor on client results.

1. Frase: best for AI content on one site

Frase researches and drafts content, then audits and scores it for Google and AI answers. It can also publish for you. Its MCP server (a connector for AI assistants) works inside Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor on every plan.^[1]

• What it does: Articles, audit pages, SEO and GEO scores and AI Visibility tracking. Content Guard watches pages for ranking decay.^[1]
• Engines tracked: ChatGPT and Google AI on Starter. Professional adds Perplexity, and Scale adds Claude and Gemini.^[1]
• Starting price: Starter is USD 39 a month billed yearly, or USD 49 month to month, for 1 seat and 1 site.^[1]
• Free trial: Yes, 7 days with no credit card.^[1]
• What it cannot do: Frase says its AI Visibility "does not auto-fix". Starter tracks 50 prompts.^[1]
• Best for: A solo marketer or founder with one site to grow.

2. Writesonic: best for AI articles plus prompt tracking

Writesonic sells "SEO + GEO in one platform". Each listed plan tracks prompts in three AI engines and adds AI articles and site audits. It fits a marketing team that wants to find and close gaps against competitors.^[11]

• What it does: AI search visibility tracking, 15 AI articles a month and 10 site audits of 100 pages each on Starter.^[11]
• Engines tracked: ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews on Starter, Basic and Growth.^[11]
• Starting price: Starter is USD 79 per month, billed annually. The monthly price is not published on the pricing page we captured.^[11]
• Free trial: Yes, the page says you can start free with no credit card.^[11]
• What it cannot do: Starter covers 1 user and 1 project. Sentiment analysis starts on Growth, and the full Action Center sits on Enterprise.^[11]
• Best for: A lean team that wants content output and AI tracking on one bill.

3. MarketMuse: best for content planning and briefs

MarketMuse inventories your content and tells you what to create or update. Its Personalized Difficulty score runs from 1 to 100 and shows how hard a topic is for your site to rank.^[12]

• What it does: Topic inventory, content briefs and strategy documents. Optimize includes 5 Content Briefs and 1 Strategy Doc a month.^[12]
• Engines tracked: None found on the captured pricing page.^[12]
• Starting price: A Free plan gives 1 user 10 queries a month. Paid prices are not published on the pricing page we captured.^[12]
• Free trial: Yes, the pricing page links to a free trial.^[12]
• What it cannot do: I found no AI visibility tracking on its captured pages. The Free plan has no site inventory and no Content Briefs.^[12]
• Best for: Content leads choosing topics across a large site.

4. Surfer: best for on-page optimisation guidelines

Surfer is best known for its Content Editor, which gives writers live SEO and AI Search guidelines as they write. It now also sells AI visibility tracking.^[13][7]

• What it does: Outlines, AI writing, live optimisation guidelines and flags for underperforming content. It connects to other tools through an MCP connector.^[13]
• Engines tracked: The AI Search Analytics plan tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews "and other AI models".^[7]
• Starting price: Discovery is USD 49 a month billed yearly. AI Search Analytics is USD 82 a month billed yearly.^[7]
• Free trial: Yes, each plan's "Start for Free" button opens a trial checkout. The capture doesn't state the trial length.^[7]
• What it cannot do: Discovery lists no AI visibility tracking. Standard tracks 25 AI prompts, refreshed weekly.^[7]
• Best for: Writers and editors who optimise drafts against the pages already ranking.

5. Clearscope: best for grading drafts and tracking a few queries

Clearscope grades content for search and AI answers and tracks chosen queries in ChatGPT and Gemini. It also shows the web searches AI platforms trigger to build an answer, called query fan-out.^[2]

• What it does: Query tracking, brand visibility tracking, query fan-out awareness and intent-based content recommendations.^[2]
• Engines tracked: ChatGPT and Gemini.^[2]
• Starting price: Essentials is USD 129 a month for 50 tracked queries and 50 pages.^[2]
• Free trial: Yes, 14 days, with no contracts.^[2]
• What it cannot do: The pricing page names only ChatGPT and Gemini for query tracking. Perplexity and AI Overviews don't appear there.^[2]
• Best for: Content teams that grade every draft and track a short list of queries.

6. Semrush: best all-in-one SEO suite with AI visibility

Semrush bundles keyword research, rank tracking, site audits and AI visibility in one suite. Its SEO + AI Search plans track prompts daily and report brand sentiment.^[5][14]

• What it does: Daily prompt tracking, prompt research and brand sentiment. It also runs AI search health audits and lists the outlets AI answers cite most.^[14]
• Engines tracked: The pricing page shows Google Search, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini "& more".^[5]
• Starting price: SEO is USD 139 monthly, or USD 117.33 a month billed annually. SEO + AI Search Starter is USD 199 monthly.^[5]
• Free trial: Yes, free 7-day access. A Free plan also exists, with no credit card required.^[14][5]
• What it cannot do: Starter tracks 50 prompts daily for 1 domain. Wider tracking means Pro+ at USD 299 monthly.^[5]
• Best for: Teams that want rank tracking, audits and AI tracking on one bill.

7. SE Ranking: best SEO suite with an AI add-on

SE Ranking is an SEO platform with rank tracking, audits and backlink research. Its Core plan includes 100 prompts to track daily. An AI Search add-on brings the AI Results Tracker and AI competitor research.^[8]

• What it does: Rank tracking, website audits, keyword and backlink research and AI results tracking.^[8]
• Engines tracked: The AI Search add-on names AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and ChatGPT.^[8]
• Starting price: Core shows USD 129.00 a month, or USD 103.20 with the 20% annual saving. The AI Search add-on is USD 89.00 a month.^[8]
• Free trial: Yes, 14 days with no credit card. The trial caps AI prompts at 20 a day.^[8]
• What it cannot do: Core covers 1 manager seat and 100 prompts a day. More prompts need the paid AI Search add-on.^[8]
• Best for: Agencies and marketing teams that want a full SEO suite with optional AI tracking.

8. Ahrefs Brand Radar: best for AI tracking inside Ahrefs

Brand Radar adds AI visibility to Ahrefs. You can research any brand across 449M+ prompts and track your own. Ahrefs builds those prompts from real queries in its keyword database.^[6][15]

• What it does: Brand mentions, competitor benchmarks, AI citations, fan-out queries and an API for AI share of voice, your share of mentions against rivals.^[16]
• Engines tracked: ChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Claude.^[15]
• Starting price: The Brand Radar AI add-on starts at USD 199 a month. Custom prompt packages start at USD 50 a month for 2,500 checks.^[6]
• Free trial: Ahrefs' FAQ points to Ahrefs Free for limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access. Brand Radar offers a free AI visibility preview.^[6][15]
• What it cannot do: Each prompt uses 1 check per platform, location and update. Claude uses 8 checks per update.^[16]
• Best for: Teams already paying for Ahrefs.

9. Peec AI: best dedicated tracker for marketing teams

Peec AI focuses on one job: tracking how AI answers mention your brand. It runs each prompt once every 24 hours on each model you select.^[17][3]

• What it does: Brand mention share, citation sources, sentiment, competitor benchmarks, query fan-outs and tailored recommendations.^[18][17]
• Engines tracked: Self-serve plans choose 3 of ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Copilot, Gemini and Naver AI. Enterprise tracks up to 13 models.^[3]
• Starting price: Starter is €85 a month on monthly billing, for 50 prompts and unlimited users. Annual billing takes 15% off.^[3]
• Free trial: Yes, via a "Start free trial" link, but the captured page doesn't state its length.^[3]
• What it cannot do: Self-serve plans track 3 models at once. Rankability calls it an analytics tool, "not a writing editor".^[3][19]
• Best for: Marketing teams that want daily trends for a fixed prompt set.

10. Profound: best for enterprise AI visibility

Profound is an AI marketing platform whose tracking product is Answer Engine Insights. It says it captures answers from the consumer browser. It targets enterprise marketing teams and says a third of the Fortune 100 trust it.^[20][4]

• What it does: Visibility scores, share of voice, sentiment, citation sources and competitor rankings, plus AI Marketer agents.^[20][9]
• Engines tracked: The trial covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Enterprise tracks up to 9 answer engines.^[9]
• Starting price: Enterprise pricing is custom. The Agency Growth plan's price is not published on the pricing page we captured.^[9]
• Free trial: Yes. The free Trial runs 50 prompts daily for 7 days.^[9]
• What it cannot do: Trial users get a recommended prompt set for their industry and can't edit it. Custom prompts need Enterprise.^[9]
• Best for: Enterprise teams that need many engines, single sign-on and SOC 2 security compliance.^[9]

11. Goodie: best for AEO tracking with revenue attribution

Goodie sells itself as "Full-Stack AEO". It monitors mentions, citations and sentiment, then adds optimisation actions and revenue attribution. It analyses visibility by model, geography, persona, language and topic. It suits brands that want to tie AI visibility to revenue.^[10][21]

• What it does: Visibility monitoring, MCP access, 50 optimisations a month on Core and direct revenue attribution.^[10]
• Engines tracked: Core tracks 5 models: ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot. Enterprise tracks up to 13.^[10]
• Starting price: Core is USD 399 a month for 120 prompts. The USD 275 Growth plan is for agencies, billed quarterly or annually.^[10]
• Free trial: Yes, 7 days on Core.^[10]
• What it cannot do: Core's model list leaves out Gemini. Gemini first appears on Pro, at USD 999 a month.^[10]
• Best for: Brands that want tracking, actions and attribution in one AEO tool.

What can AI SEO software measure, and what can't it?

AI SEO software measures a sample of AI answers. It runs prompts you choose on a schedule and reports whether your brand appeared. Three things shape every score: your prompt list, how the tool collects answers and personalisation.^[17]

Your prompt list sets the score

Every plan caps prompts. Semrush Starter, Peec AI Starter, Writesonic Starter and Frase Starter each track 50, and Goodie Core tracks 120.^{[5][3][11][1][10]}

My read: a prompt list full of your brand name will flatter you. Write prompts from the questions customers ask before they know your name, then tag them by funnel stage. Peec AI supports tags for personas and funnel stage.^[17]

How a tool collects answers changes what you see

Profound says it captures answers from the browser view your customers see. It says other tools use the API, a direct data feed.^[20] Peec AI runs each prompt once every 24 hours on each selected model for "apples-to-apples trend data".^[17] Ahrefs charges 1 check per prompt for each platform, location and update.^[16]

Each engine also gives different answers to the same prompt. Peec AI says ChatGPT "mentions and cites a different competitor set than Gemini, Perplexity, or Claude".^[18] Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use different models, so their answers and links vary.^[22]

Personalisation means there's no universal AI ranking

Whatagraph's author says AI search is "highly subjective based on where you are, how you frame your query", and whether live search is on. The same article quotes Brendan Hufford of Growth Sprints: "AI search has no universal rankings."^[23]

Trackers narrow the gap with segments, such as Peec AI's filters by model, country and prompt tag.^[17] I still read any AI visibility score as a direction of travel, and I check it against first-party data.

First-party data shows what reached your site

Search Console holds your real Google clicks, and trackers only sample prompts. Google says pages that appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode count within overall search traffic, inside the Performance report's "Web" search type.^[22]

Access comes first. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot, its search crawler, won't show in ChatGPT search answers.^[24]

How should you choose an AI SEO tool?

1. Name the job. Drafting and publishing points to Frase or Writesonic. Grading drafts points to Clearscope or Surfer. Tracking points to Peec AI, Profound, Goodie or a suite add-on.
2. Match the engines to your buyers. Check which engines your plan tier covers. Frase Starter covers ChatGPT and Google AI, and Perplexity starts on Professional.^[1]
3. Count your prompts. Write down the customer questions you want to win. Then compare that number with each plan's cap.
4. Compare like with like. Peec AI prices in euros, while Frase, Semrush and SE Ranking show a lower monthly figure for annual billing.^[3][1][5][8]
5. Test on your real prompts. Clearscope and SE Ranking offer 14-day trials. Frase, Goodie and Profound offer 7 days.^{[2][8][1][10][9]}
6. Check the tool against Search Console and GA4. A rising AI score with flat clicks and enquiries means your prompts may miss how customers search.

When does a managed AI SEO team make more sense than a tool?

A managed AI SEO team makes sense when nobody on your team has time to act on what the tools show. Someone still has to pick the change, build it and check it worked.

At Searchmaxxed we do agentic SEO. We build AI agents that plug into your whole Search Console and GA4. Every week the agents scrape your competitors' sites, read the Google results and check what AI answers say about you.

That data feeds our Managed Search Loop. It checks everything against your plan and picks the next best job.

We build the on-page work on your Agentic Website: new pages, fixes, schema (code that labels your facts for search engines) and internal links. The site 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.

I ran these same steps by hand at Radiant Roof Repairs on the Gold Coast. SEO was its only marketing channel, and it grew from zero to more than A$1 million a year. The agents now run those steps every week. By my own count, our work has generated more than A$10 million in revenue through search across our client book.

We're a Queensland team. We work with companies across Australia and take on companies beyond it. Our managed packages are Local Search, the Growth System, Agentic Search Engineering and Custom & Enterprise. See how we run AI search optimisation, GEO and AEO. Our pricing page shows what each package includes. Let's talk pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What AI tool is best for SEO?

The best AI tool for SEO depends on the job. Frase suits content on one site, and Clearscope suits teams that grade every draft. Semrush suits teams that want one suite with AI tracking included.^[5] For dedicated AI visibility tracking, Peec AI and Profound lead my list.

Can SEO be done by AI?

Parts of SEO can run on AI, with a person checking the output. Frase's agent publishes on its own when you let it.^[1] At Searchmaxxed, our agents do the research and measurement each week, and a person approves every change before it goes live.

Can ChatGPT do SEO?

ChatGPT can help draft and outline SEO content, but you have to check its facts. OneLittleWeb's reviewer reports catching incorrect statistics, outdated information and fabricated sources.^[25] Getting found inside ChatGPT is a separate job. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot won't show in ChatGPT search answers.^[24] Our guide to getting cited by ChatGPT covers the rest.

What is AI SEO called now?

Vendors now sell AI SEO under two more names. GEO means generative engine optimisation, and AEO means answer engine optimisation. Writesonic sells "SEO + GEO in one platform", and Goodie calls itself "Full-Stack AEO".^[11][10] Our explainer on what AI SEO is covers the differences.

Are there free AI SEO tools?

Yes, with tight limits. Semrush has a Free plan for trying out the platform, with no credit card required.^[5] Ahrefs offers a free AI visibility preview.^[15] MarketMuse's Free plan gives one user 10 queries a month.^[12] Free plans cap prompts, reports or queries.

How much do AI SEO tools cost?

Entry prices in my check ran from USD 39 a month for Frase, billed yearly, to USD 399 a month for Goodie Core.^[1][10] Surfer's Discovery plan is USD 49 a month, billed yearly.^[7] Peec AI starts at €85 a month.^[3] Profound's Enterprise plan is custom.^[9]

Do AI visibility tools show what my customers see?

AI visibility tools show a sample of what customers see, for the prompts, engines and locations you set. Whatagraph's author argues AI search changes with location, query wording and live search settings.^[23] Read the results as trends.

Can an AI SEO tool get my business cited by ChatGPT?

No tool can make ChatGPT cite you. Trackers show where you appear and which sources the answers cite. Your site first needs to let OAI-SearchBot in.^[24] Citations then come from clear answer pages, consistent facts and mentions on other sites. Searchmaxxed builds those pages on your Agentic Website and earns mentions through the Off-Page Source Layer.

Do I still need Search Console if I buy an AI SEO tool?

Yes. Search Console holds your real Google clicks and impressions, including clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode.^[22] Trackers sample prompts, and Search Console and GA4 show what reached your site. Our Managed Search Loop reads both every week beside the AI answer checks.

Should I buy an AI SEO tool or hire an AI SEO team?

Buy a tool if someone on your team has time to act on what it shows. Hire a team if you need someone to build pages and earn mentions. Searchmaxxed does agentic SEO, and the Managed Search Loop picks each next job. We ship it on your Agentic Website after a person approves it. Let's talk pricing.