Documentation-verified buyer comparison

AEO software comparison: 12 tools, real plan limits, and a shortlist for each buyer.

No automatic winner, no copied star ratings, and no claim that we tested products we could not access. The page separates official facts from editorial judgment, then says where Profound, Peec, Otterly, Scrunch, Ahrefs, SE Ranking, AirOps, Trakkr, and the rest are stronger.

12 products32 official sourcesFacts checked 26 Aug 2026Not hands-on tested

Intent boundaries

AEO software comparison

This page: products, plan facts, purchase trade-offs, and buyer shortlists.

AI visibility tools

The wider market, including broad visibility, local, content, and SEO-suite categories.

GEO tools

The optimization-workflow lens: how teams move from measurement to action.

What is AEO?

The definition, terminology, and underlying practice.

01 · Evaluation method

What was verified, and what was not tested

The fact layer and the editorial verdict are kept separate. Unknown public details stay unknown rather than becoming assumptions.

Products compared
12

Alphabetical, not ranked

Facts checked
26 Aug 2026

Official vendor pages

Research coverage
32 sources

Pricing, product, docs, terms

Product testing
Not hands-on tested

No cross-vendor paid accounts

How the list was made

  1. We defined the purchase fields before choosing products.
  2. We recorded entry-plan facts from official vendor pages and attached each fact to source IDs.
  3. We kept plan facts separate from vendor-wide features and marked add-ons or higher plans.
  4. We wrote buyer verdicts after the fact table, with a named trade-off for every recommendation.

What the evidence can support

The evidence supports plan comparisons, public capability claims, and a defensible demo shortlist. It does not support claims about output accuracy, support quality, setup time, or usability because we did not run the same brand and query set through authorized accounts for every product.

No vendor screenshots are reproduced. Without current authorized product access, a screenshot would add apparent certainty without a reproducible test behind it.

02 · Buyer verdicts

The right shortlist depends on the job

These are editorial recommendations based on the verified fact table below. They are not product test scores.

Enterprise

Start with

Profound

Also: Yext Scout, Scrunch AI, Trakkr

Start with Profound when procurement maturity, demand research, SSO, and SOC 2 evidence are central. Add Yext Scout for multi-location, Scrunch for bot traffic and site audits, or Trakkr for broader self-serve monitoring.

Agency

Start with

Peec AI

Also: Trakkr, Scrunch AI

Peec has the clearest documented agency and unlimited-user path. Choose Trakkr when white-label client delivery and broad engine coverage matter more, or Scrunch when technical audits are the service.

EU team

Start with

Peec AI

Also: SE Visible by SE Ranking, Otterly.AI

Peec is the most natural first demo for an EU-led team. SE Visible is the stronger SEO-ecosystem option, while Otterly is the simpler budget test.

SEO-suite buyer

Start with

Ahrefs Brand Radar

Also: SE Visible by SE Ranking, Semrush AI Visibility

Ahrefs is strongest for prebuilt discovery data and classic SEO context. SE Ranking has a clearer standalone AI workspace and separate API path. Semrush is the low-friction choice for existing Semrush teams.

Small brand

Start with

Otterly.AI

Also: AthenaHQ, Trakkr

Otterly is the cleanest paid starting point. Use AthenaHQ when an ongoing free credit pool is enough, or Trakkr when the wider surface set and diagnostic workflow justify a higher entry price.

Technical optimization team

Start with

AirOps

Also: Scrunch AI, Writesonic

AirOps is strongest for page-level diagnosis tied to content operations. Scrunch is stronger for site audits and AI-agent traffic. Writesonic is stronger when article production is the operating center.

API user

Start with

Ahrefs Brand Radar

Also: SE Visible by SE Ranking, Yext Scout, Trakkr

Ahrefs is the first API demo for discovery-led teams. SE Ranking has a separate AI Visibility integration path, Yext Scout suits local-platform integrations, and Trakkr is the specialist alternative. Confirm access against the current plan row before buying.

03 · Decision table

12 AEO software options on the fields that decide a purchase

Every cell is an entry-plan fact or a clearly marked vendor-wide capability. Scroll horizontally on smaller screens.

VendorTracked surfacesPrompt limitRun frequencyCitation evidenceCompetitor comparisonPage-level actionsAPIExportsAgency supportSecurity informationEntry priceBilling commitmentTrial
Ahrefs Brand Radar6 surfaces: Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot2,500 checksTracking frequency is not publicly stated for this planIncludedIncludedThe broader Ahrefs plans include Site Audit and competitive analysis; this is not a Brand Radar-only action layerIncludedAPI and Looker Studio are documentedNot publicly statedHigher plan: Enterprise publishes SSO, access management, audit logs, and enterprise security$50/moMonthlyNo
AirOps1 surface: ChatGPTSolo publishes ChatGPT Insights only100 promptsDailyIncludedIncludedPage360, prioritized page refreshes, and content workflows are publishedNot publicly statedNot publicly statedNot publicly statedNot publicly statedNot publicly statedNot publicly statedYes, Start for Free is published without a duration
AthenaHQ5 surfaces: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude300 responsesTracking frequency is not publicly stated for this planSources, competitor insights, and citation intelligence are listedIncludedAction Center and content-optimization workflows are publishedAdd-onCSV export is listed on StarterAgency Pitch Workspace and multi-brand workflows are publishedPublic plan information includes security controls and enterprise governanceFreeMonthlyNot publicly stated
Otterly.AI4 surfaces: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot15 promptsDailyIncludedIncludedNot publicly statedHigher plan: API starts on StandardDetailed reports and export are listed on all plansHigher planNot publicly stated$25/moMonthly or annualYes, 7 days, no card, 50 prompts, and temporary API/MCP allowances
Peec AI3 surfaces: Choose three supported modelsAdditional models are paid add-ons50 promptsDailyIncludedIncludedAction workflows are documented alongside analyticsHigher planCSV and Looker Studio are documentedIncludedPublic product facts describe GDPR controls; SOC 2 certification is not claimed$80.75/moMonthly or annualYes, Duration is not publicly stated on the captured page
Profound1 surface: ChatGPTStarter is ChatGPT-only50 promptsDailyPricing page describes citation tracking in Answer Engine InsightsAnswer Engine Insights compares brands and competitorsHigher plan: Growth includes Agents for content generation and optimizationHigher plan: API access is listed on EnterpriseHigher plan: CSV and JSON exports start on GrowthHigher planEnterprise publishes SSO/SAML and SOC 2 compliance$99/moAnnual payment requiredYes, 7-day Growth trial
Scrunch AI7 surfaces: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Meta AI350 promptsDailyIncludedIncludedCore includes site audits; the platform also publishes an agent-experience action layerHigher planNot publicly statedIncludedEnterprise security and SSO information is public$250/moMonthly or annualYes, 7 days
SE Visible by SE Ranking5 surfaces: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews200 promptsDailySources are available at domain and page levelIncludedAdd-on: Optimization workflows live in SE Ranking AI Search, not the SE Visible monitoring planAdd-on: A separate AI Visibility API product and 14-day API trial are publishedCSV export is documentedIncludedConfirm security and procurement terms with SE Ranking for the plan being purchased$79.20/moMonthly or annualYes, 10 days
Semrush AI Visibility4 surfaces: ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, PerplexityThe pricing page groups Google AI rather than itemizing its surfaces25 promptsTracking frequency is not publicly stated for this planIncludedIncludedAI Search Site Audit and recommendation workflows are documentedNot publicly statedTen CSV exports daily are documentedAdd-onPublic enterprise security information and user controls are available$99/moAnnual payment requiredNo
TrakkrOwned by Trakkr8 surfaces: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI50 promptsDailyIncludedCompetitor tracking is included on Growth and ScaleTechnical recommendations, content suggestions, and site optimization are includedHigher plan: REST API is listed on ScaleIncludedIncludedEnterprise publishes SSO and a security-review path$83.33/moMonthly or annualYes, 14 days
Writesonic3 surfaces: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews50 promptsDailyNot publicly statedIncludedContent creation, audits, and action workflows are bundledNot publicly statedHigher plan: Looker Studio and other integrations are listed on EnterpriseHigher planHigher plan: Enterprise access controls and security information are published$79/moAnnual payment requiredYes, Duration is not publicly stated on the captured page
Yext Scout4 surfaces: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, GoogleGoogle includes traditional search alongside four AI enginesNot publicly stated for this planTracking frequency is not publicly stated for this planIncludedScout publishes local competitor benchmarkingScout publishes prioritized actions and fixesIncludedCSV export is documentedIncludedYext publishes enterprise controls; contract-specific details require reviewCustom quoteCustom quoteNot publicly stated

“Not publicly stated” means the official sources did not support a comparable answer. It does not mean the feature is absent.

04 · Editorial review

Where each product is genuinely stronger, and what to question

The editorial judgment is labeled separately from the sourced plan facts in every row. Products remain alphabetical.

Editorial judgment

The strongest discovery and classic SEO context in this shortlist.

Strongest when: You already use Ahrefs and want a large prebuilt prompt index, web-scale SEO data, and direct API access.

Question before buying: Its custom-prompt and prebuilt-index products solve different jobs, so the suite is not a like-for-like specialist tracker.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$50/mo
Billing
Monthly
Usage
2,500 checks
Surfaces
6 surfaces
Frequency
Tracking frequency is not publicly stated for this plan

Editorial judgment

The strongest page-level content operations workflow in this shortlist.

Strongest when: Your team needs to connect citation losses to specific pages, prioritize refreshes, and push work into a governed content system.

Question before buying: Public detail is not complete enough for a clean desk-based comparison of ongoing cost, integration, export, and security requirements.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
Not publicly stated
Billing
Not publicly stated
Usage
100 prompts
Surfaces
1 surface
Frequency
Daily

Editorial judgment

The best no-cost way to explore a real ongoing product rather than a one-shot checker.

Strongest when: You want an action-led workspace and can manage credit-based usage before moving to a paid plan.

Question before buying: Credits make capacity harder to compare with prompt-based plans, and several governance features sit above self-serve.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
Free
Billing
Monthly
Usage
300 responses
Surfaces
5 surfaces
Frequency
Tracking frequency is not publicly stated for this plan

Editorial judgment

The simplest low-cost specialist tracker on the shortlist.

Strongest when: A small brand needs a clear monthly price, a modest prompt set, daily monitoring, and useful exports without procurement.

Question before buying: Lower-cost packages trade capacity and surface breadth for a simpler buying path.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$25/mo
Billing
Monthly or annual
Usage
15 prompts
Surfaces
4 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

Editorial judgment

The clearest European agency and multi-user buying path.

Strongest when: An EU team or agency values unlimited users, published agency packaging, daily checks, and straightforward project allocation.

Question before buying: The project-based buying model needs careful capacity planning, and integration or governance requirements can change the plan choice.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$80.75/mo
Billing
Monthly or annual
Usage
50 prompts
Surfaces
3 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

Editorial judgment

The strongest enterprise-first specialist and demand-research option.

Strongest when: Procurement maturity, Prompt Volumes, enterprise support, SSO, and SOC 2 evidence matter more than low-cost breadth.

Question before buying: Self-serve access is much narrower than the enterprise product, and the public commitment is heavier than monthly specialist plans.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$99/mo
Billing
Annual payment required
Usage
50 prompts
Surfaces
1 surface
Frequency
Daily

Editorial judgment

The strongest specialist for site audits and AI bot traffic in the same buying path.

Strongest when: Technical teams want monitoring, citation evidence, page audits, and AI-agent traffic rather than a reporting-only product.

Question before buying: Technical breadth is tied to plan level, and the product is positioned above simple budget trackers.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$250/mo
Billing
Monthly or annual
Usage
350 prompts
Surfaces
7 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

seo suite

SE Visible by SE Ranking

SE Visible by SE Ranking review Official sources

Editorial judgment

The cleanest bridge between a dedicated AI visibility workspace and a wider SEO ecosystem.

Strongest when: You want transparent SE Visible plans now, with the option to add SE Ranking optimization workflows or its separate AI Visibility API.

Question before buying: SE Visible, the core SEO suite, optimization add-on, and API are separate products. Model the whole stack before comparing cost.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$79.20/mo
Billing
Monthly or annual
Usage
200 prompts
Surfaces
5 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

seo suite

Semrush AI Visibility

Semrush AI Visibility review Official sources

Editorial judgment

The most convenient choice for teams already standardized on Semrush.

Strongest when: AI visibility needs to sit beside established SEO research, competitor data, and site-audit workflows in one vendor relationship.

Question before buying: Buyers starting from zero may commit to more of an SEO suite than the AEO job requires.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$99/mo
Billing
Annual payment required
Usage
25 prompts
Surfaces
4 surfaces
Frequency
Tracking frequency is not publicly stated for this plan

specialist

Trakkr

Owned by Trakkr

Trakkr product details Official sources

Editorial judgment

A broad specialist for multi-engine monitoring, evidence, actions, and agency delivery.

Strongest when: You need daily prompt tracking across a wide engine set, citations, competitor comparison, page actions, and a path to API or white-label delivery.

Question before buying: Trakkr owns this page. It is also newer than Profound, Ahrefs, and the major SEO suites, and it does not replace traditional SEO research.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$83.33/mo
Billing
Monthly or annual
Usage
50 prompts
Surfaces
8 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

content suite

Writesonic

Writesonic review Official sources

Editorial judgment

The strongest self-serve content-production bundle on the shortlist.

Strongest when: Your content team wants monitoring, site audits, and article production on one bill rather than a dedicated measurement product.

Question before buying: The content bundle makes specialist comparisons harder, and the real commitment can be larger than a monthly equivalent suggests.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
$79/mo
Billing
Annual payment required
Usage
50 prompts
Surfaces
3 surfaces
Frequency
Daily

local enterprise

Yext Scout

Yext Scout review Official sources

Editorial judgment

The strongest option for multi-location and local competitive intelligence.

Strongest when: A large location network needs local prompts, local competitors, citations, prioritized fixes, and API access in the Yext ecosystem.

Question before buying: A documentation review cannot resolve implementation scope or total cost for a local-enterprise deployment.

Verified entry-plan facts

Price
Custom quote
Billing
Custom quote
Usage
Not publicly stated for this plan
Surfaces
4 surfaces
Frequency
Tracking frequency is not publicly stated for this plan

05 · Buying threshold

Free checker, trial, or recurring monitoring?

Free checker is enough

Prove the problem exists

Use one snapshot when you need a baseline, have no budget, and do not yet know whether AI answers mention or cite the brand. Stop there if nobody needs a trend and no decision depends on the result.

A trial is enough

Validate the workflow

Use the same brand, market, prompt set, and date range. Check setup, raw answers, citation evidence, competitor views, exports, and whether the action layer points to a real page. Do not infer long-term stability from a short trial.

Recurring software is necessary

Measure change and prove impact

Pay for monitoring when models, competitors, markets, or pages change; when a team needs repeatable reports; or when you must connect an optimization action to later mentions and citations.

Run the free AEO checker

06 · Source register

Official evidence behind the table

Sources were checked on 26 Aug 2026. Links point to vendor-controlled pricing, product, documentation, or terms pages.

Ahrefs Brand Radar4 sources

Public unknowns include: Custom Prompts Basic country allowance, Custom Prompts Basic language allowance, Brand Radar, all platforms country allowance, Brand Radar, all platforms language allowance.

AirOps2 sources

Public unknowns include: Solo true month-to-month price, Solo country allowance, Solo language allowance, Pro true month-to-month price.

AthenaHQ3 sources

Public unknowns include: Exact Starter annual charge and API add-on price are not public, Native white-label reporting was not confirmed.

Otterly.AI3 sources

Public unknowns include: Engine add-on and 100-prompt-pack prices are not maintained as public numeric facts, Full product white-label entitlement was not confirmed.

Peec AI3 sources

Public unknowns include: Exact annual checkout totals are computed from the published 15% discount, Additional-model prices and native white-label support are not public.

Profound3 sources

Public unknowns include: Enterprise price, minimum contract, overages, and exact custom limits are not public, A fully white-label reporting package was not confirmed.

Scrunch AI2 sources

Public unknowns include: Agency package price, extra-seat price, detailed exports, and Enterprise price are not public.

SE Visible by SE Ranking3 sources

Public unknowns include: Basic country allowance, Basic language allowance, Core country allowance, Core language allowance.

Semrush AI Visibility2 sources

Public unknowns include: Base true month-to-month price, Base country allowance, Base language allowance.

Trakkr4 sources

Public unknowns include: Growth country allowance, Growth language allowance, Scale country allowance, Scale language allowance.

Writesonic1 source

Public unknowns include: Starter true month-to-month price, Starter country allowance, Starter language allowance, Enterprise true month-to-month price.

Yext Scout2 sources

Public unknowns include: Scout true month-to-month price, Scout country allowance, Scout language allowance.

07 · FAQ

Questions buyers ask before a demo

What is the best AEO software?

There is no universal winner. This comparison covers 12 products and makes a different recommendation for enterprise, agency, EU, SEO-suite, small-brand, technical-optimization, and API buyers. Profound is the enterprise-first pick, Peec is the clearest EU agency path, Otterly is the simple budget pick, AirOps leads for page-level content operations, and Ahrefs leads for a prebuilt discovery dataset. Trakkr is one option and owns this page.

Did Trakkr hands-on test every AEO tool?

No. This is a documentation-verified comparison. We reviewed official pricing, product, documentation, and terms pages, but did not buy the same plan from every vendor or run a controlled cross-product benchmark. Usability, support quality, and output accuracy are therefore not scored.

Which facts matter most when choosing an AEO tracker?

Compare the plan you would actually buy on tracked AI surfaces, prompt or response limits, run frequency, citation evidence, competitor comparison, page-level actions, API access, exports, agency support, security information, price, billing commitment, and trial terms. Vendor-wide claims should not be substituted for entry-plan limits.

When is a free AEO checker enough?

A free checker is enough for a one-time baseline: whether a brand appears at all, which obvious gaps exist, and whether the category deserves budget. It is not enough for trend measurement, repeatability, competitor movement, multi-market work, or proof that a change caused an improvement.

When is an AEO software trial enough?

A trial is enough to validate setup, data shape, exports, and whether the product answers your real questions. Use one brand, one market, the same prompt set, and the same date range. A trial is not enough when the product needs several weeks of history or when enterprise, API, security, and agency features are excluded.

When does recurring AEO monitoring become necessary?

Recurring monitoring becomes necessary when more than one person depends on the answer, when competitors or models change, when you publish fixes that need measurement, or when reporting must be repeatable. A snapshot tells you where you are once. Monitoring tells you what changed, why it matters, and whether an action worked.

Are AEO tools, GEO tools, and AI visibility tools the same?

They overlap, but the buying intent differs. This page owns AEO software comparison. The AI visibility guide maps the broader category, the GEO guide focuses on optimization workflows, and the What is AEO guide owns the definition. Use the product fields rather than the label a vendor chooses.

One product trial, measured honestly

Run your own prompt set before you buy.

Start Trakkr with one brand, one market, and the prompts your team actually cares about. Keep the same test brief for every vendor you demo.

Start the Trakkr trial

Continue with the right intent

AI visibility tools GEO tools What is AEO? Full AI Search Tools Index