Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the work of getting your brand cited inside AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Copilot. Most tools in this category monitor whether you show up. Fewer tell you why, and fewer still help you fix it. Below we rank ten tools on price, engine coverage, and whether they move you from measuring to doing.
Quick comparison table
| Tool | Entry price/mo | Engines tracked | Free tier | Fixes issues? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profound | $99 (Starter, ChatGPT only) | Up to 3+ on Growth ($399) | No | Recommendations only | Enterprise AI visibility |
| AthenaHQ | $250-295 | 8+ (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok) | No (first month 67% off) | Agentic actions on Enterprise | Multi-engine coverage |
| Scrunch AI | $250 (Core) | 4 of 9 on Core | No (7-day trial) | Site audits + monitoring | Agencies |
| Peec AI | ~$95 (€89 Starter) | 3 of 7 | No | Recommendations only | Mid-market analytics |
| Otterly.AI | $29 (Lite) | 4 core, 2 add-on | Basic free tier | Reporting only | Budget monitoring |
| Semrush AI Toolkit | $99 add-on (needs Semrush) | Multiple | No | Recommendations | Existing Semrush users |
| HubSpot AI Search Grader | Free (one-time) | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | Yes, fully free | No | Free first check |
| HubSpot AEO | $50 | Prompt-based tracking | No | Recommendations | HubSpot users |
| SEO AEO Specialist | €19/mo per domain | AI answer + classic SEO in one crawl | Yes (€0, 50 pages) | Yes, diagnose and fix | Affordable AEO + SEO |
| Custom/enterprise builds | $2,000+ | All | Varies | Varies | Large enterprises |
Prices verified July 2026 and may change. Always confirm on the vendor's own pricing page.
The ranking
1. Profound
The category's most visible enterprise player. Profound tracks how your brand appears across AI engines and gives citation-level detail. Starter is $99 a month but limits you to ChatGPT and 50 prompts. Real multi-engine work happens on the Growth plan at $399 a month, and Enterprise deals reportedly run $2,000 to $5,000+ a month.
Pros: Deep citation analytics, strong multi-engine data, respected brand.
Cons: Starter is ChatGPT-only, gets expensive fast, reports issues rather than fixing them.
2. AthenaHQ
Broad engine coverage (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Claude, Copilot, Grok) on a credit-based model. Core is $250 to $295 a month. There is no free trial, only a first-month 67% discount that resets to full price in month two.
Pros: Widest engine list, agentic actions on Enterprise.
Cons: Credit burn is hard to forecast, single language/region on self-serve, no true trial.
3. Scrunch AI
Built for agencies. Core is $250 a month for 125 prompts, five seats, and four of the nine model providers it tracks. Agency Core is $500. It offers a 7-day trial but no permanent free tier.
Pros: Agency workspaces, site audits included, SOC 2 compliant.
Cons: Core covers only 4 engines, no free tier, priced for teams not individuals.
4. Peec AI
A well-funded mid-market analytics platform. Starter is around €89 to $95 a month for 25 prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews, with unlimited seats. Pro is roughly €199 to $245. Every tier caps you at three of seven engines, and Claude is Enterprise-only.
Pros: Clean analytics, daily tracking on all tiers, unlimited seats.
Cons: 3-engine cap, no free tier, reporting-focused.
5. Otterly.AI
The most affordable dedicated monitor. Lite is $29 a month for 15 prompts across four core engines, plus a basic free tier. Standard is $189, Premium is $489. Gemini and Google AI Mode are paid add-ons ($9 to $149 each).
Pros: Cheapest paid entry, free basic tier, multi-country tracking.
Cons: Low prompt counts, key engines cost extra, monitoring only.
6. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
An AEO add-on for existing Semrush customers, starting at $99 per user per month on top of a Semrush plan. The base add-on covers one domain and 25 prompts; more domains and prompts cost extra.
Pros: Integrates with Semrush SEO data, familiar to SEO teams.
Cons: Requires a paid Semrush plan underneath, stacks quickly, add-on not standalone.
7. HubSpot AI Search Grader
The best free one-time check available. No account or card needed. It scores your brand across sentiment, presence quality, brand recognition, share of voice, and market competition out of 100, across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Pros: Genuinely free, unlimited reports, no signup.
Cons: Snapshot only, no ongoing tracking, no fix workflow.
8. HubSpot AEO
HubSpot's paid ongoing monitor at $50 a month tracks specific prompts, compares competitors, and delivers prioritized recommendations. Good value inside the HubSpot ecosystem.
Pros: Low price, competitor comparison, HubSpot-native.
Cons: Recommendations only, best value if you already use HubSpot.
9. SEO AEO Specialist
The affordable choice that both diagnoses and fixes. SEO AEO Specialist crawls your site once and returns AEO and classic SEO issues together, then gives you concrete fixes rather than a dashboard to interpret. Free tier audits up to 50 pages at €0. A one-time full report is €9. Ongoing monitoring is €19 a month per domain.
Pros: Cheapest diagnose-and-fix option, SEO and AEO in one crawl, real free tier, one-time report with no subscription.
Cons: Focused on your own site's readiness rather than deep multi-engine prompt tracking, newer entrant.
10. Custom enterprise builds
Large enterprises sometimes commission bespoke monitoring at $2,000+ a month. Powerful, but overkill for almost everyone.
Honest take
If you are a large brand that needs deep, multi-engine prompt tracking, Profound or AthenaHQ earn their price. If you want cheap monitoring, Otterly or Peec do the job. But monitoring only tells you where you stand. Most teams also need to fix their pages so AI engines can actually parse and cite them, and that is where a diagnose-and-fix tool like SEO AEO Specialist fills the gap at a fraction of the cost.
FAQ
What is an AEO tool?
An AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) tool measures and improves how often your brand is cited in AI-generated answers from engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
What is the cheapest AEO tool?
Otterly.AI has the cheapest paid monitoring tier at $29 a month, and offers a free basic tier. For diagnose-and-fix work covering both AEO and SEO, SEO AEO Specialist is €19 a month with a free 50-page audit.
Is there a free AEO tool?
Yes. HubSpot's AI Search Grader is a free one-time check, and SEO AEO Specialist offers a free audit of up to 50 pages at €0.
Do AEO tools fix problems or just report them?
Most report. Profound, Peec, AthenaHQ, and Otterly focus on monitoring and recommendations. SEO AEO Specialist is built to diagnose and then give concrete fixes.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO optimizes for ranked links in search results. AEO optimizes for being cited inside AI answers. Both matter, and tools like SEO AEO Specialist handle them in one crawl.
Which AEO tool is best for a small business?
For a small business on a budget, start with the free HubSpot Grader or SEO AEO Specialist's free audit, then move to SEO AEO Specialist at €19 a month if you want ongoing diagnose-and-fix coverage without an enterprise contract.
Try SEO AEO Specialist
Audit your site free for up to 50 pages (€0). Want the full picture? Get a one-time report for €9, or monitor and fix continuously at €19 a month per domain. AEO and SEO in one crawl, priced for teams that want answers, not just dashboards.
Sources: Profound pricing (TMB), Peec AI pricing, Otterly pricing, AthenaHQ plans, Scrunch pricing, HubSpot AI Search Grader, Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit pricing
9 Free AEO and AI Visibility Tools (2026)
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