AI visibility tools fall into two camps: monthly dashboards you run yourself and reports that tell you where you stand and what to fix. Which one is right depends on whether you want a subscription to watch or a plain answer to act on.
Disclosure: one of the tools on this list is ours (AI True Score). We put it first and say exactly when someone else is the better pick. If you haven’t checked yet, start by checking whether ChatGPT recommends your business by hand; it’s free and takes about ten minutes.
Which AI visibility tools are there, and what do they cost?
Here’s the field at a glance. Each outside price links to where it was checked, in September 2026; prices change, so confirm before you buy.
| Tool | Entry price | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI True Score (ours) | Free Glimpse · one-time report (pricing) | Report with a fix plan | Owners who want proof and a plan |
| Rankscale | from $20 a month | Dashboard | The cheapest way to start tracking |
| Otterly.AI | from $29 a month | Dashboard | Solo marketers on a budget |
| HubSpot AEO | Free grader · $50 a month | Grader and tracker | A tool from a brand you know |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Free checker · $99 a month per domain | Dashboard | Teams already working in Semrush |
| Profound | from $99 a month, billed yearly | Dashboard and agents | Larger marketing teams |
| Scrunch | from $250 a month | Dashboard and optimisation | Companies with a marketing team |
| AthenaHQ | from $295 a month | Dashboard and recommendations | Companies scaling up their marketing |
The pattern is plain: almost everything is a monthly dashboard. You pay every month to log in and watch your mentions. That’s a fine model if someone’s job is to watch it. If you’re the owner who also answers the phone and runs the crew, a dashboard you have to babysit is one more thing you’ll stop opening.
Why is almost every AI visibility tool a monthly dashboard?
Because the category was built for agencies and marketing departments first, priced for teams with staff to run software. Cheaper dashboards arrived underneath, but the model stayed the same: track mentions, month after month. Of the tools on this list, only one is a one-time report that says, in plain English, whether AI names you, who it names instead, and what to fix: ours. That’s not a knock on the dashboards. It’s a different job.
What does each tool do?
AI True Score (ours)
A report, not a dashboard. The free AI True Score Glimpse asks AI real buyer questions and shows whether it names you, who it names instead, and your first fix. The paid AI True Score Full Report asks the questions your buyers ask, on every engine in our report, shows who each one names, runs the checks in our report on your site, and hands you the fixes in order. Questions about it? Reply to the report email and a person answers. Every report includes one free follow-up check with an email saying what changed; paid monitoring after that is optional.
- Best for: trades, local services and regional operators who want proof and a plan, not another login.
- Limits: it’s not an always-on daily dashboard. And like every tool here, we can’t guarantee AI will name you; no one can. See how it works.
Rankscale
A tracking dashboard that starts at $20 a month on its Essentials plan, with a Pro plan at $99 a month (Rankscale pricing, checked September 2026). It runs on credits: each question asked of each AI engine uses some.
- Best for: someone who wants ongoing tracking at the lowest monthly cost and is comfortable reading a dashboard.
Otterly.AI
A monitoring dashboard often named as the budget pick. The Lite plan is $29 a month and tracks 15 prompts (the questions it asks AI for you), with share of voice and on-page recommendations (Otterly pricing, checked September 2026).
- Best for: solo marketers who will log in and use it.
- Limits: 15 prompts is a small window if you offer many services in many towns. More in AI True Score vs Otterly.
HubSpot AEO
A free one-time AEO Grader, plus a paid tracker at $50 a month ($45 billed yearly) covering 25 prompts, with a 28-day free trial (HubSpot AEO, checked September 2026).
- Best for: businesses that want a known brand behind the tool, or already use HubSpot. The free grader is a useful no-cost first look.
- Limits: the grader is a snapshot, not a fix plan. More in AI True Score vs HubSpot’s AEO Grader.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
A free AI Search Visibility Checker, plus a paid toolkit at $99 a month per domain covering 25 prompts, sold on its own or in Semrush’s bundles (Semrush pricing, checked September 2026).
- Best for: teams already working in Semrush, where it slots into tools they use.
- Limits: the price is per domain, every month. More in AI True Score vs Semrush AI Toolkit.
Profound
One of the category’s best-known platforms. Its published self-serve plans are billed yearly, with Starter at $99 a month and Growth at $399 a month, according to a September 2026 review of Profound’s pricing. It adds “agents” that do some monitoring and content work.
- Best for: larger marketing teams that will use the agent features. It’s more tool than most owner-run businesses need.
Scrunch and AthenaHQ
The step up to platform pricing. Scrunch’s Core plan is $250 a month (Scrunch pricing, checked September 2026). AthenaHQ’s self-serve plan is $295 a month billed monthly and runs on credits (AthenaHQ pricing, checked September 2026).
- Best for: companies with a real marketing budget and someone to drive the platform. For a two-truck HVAC company, it’s more than you need.
How should I choose?
Choose by the job you want done, not the longest feature list.
- Do you want to watch or fix? If you want an ongoing chart and you’ll log in to read it, buy the cheapest dashboard that covers enough prompts. If you want to know where you stand and what to change, a one-time report gets you there without a recurring bill.
- How many prompts do you need? A single-service business fits in a small allowance. Many services across several towns run out fast, so check the number, not just the price.
- Who’s going to run it? If nobody will open a dashboard every week, a subscription is money you’ll waste.
The fix: Write down the questions buyers ask you for each service in each town, and count them. Only compare tools whose plan covers that many prompts, or start with a report that asks your buyers' questions for you.
None of these tools can guarantee that AI will name you, and anyone who promises a spot in the answer is selling you something. If you want the background first, our guide to what AEO is explains the field in plain words.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each outside price links to the page it came from, checked in September 2026: Rankscale, Otterly, HubSpot AEO, Semrush, Scrunch and AthenaHQ from the vendors’ own pricing pages, and Profound from an independent pricing review. Prices change often; confirm before you buy. This is our list, and AI True Score is our product; we’ve written it to be useful even if you buy someone else’s tool.
When you’re ready to compare costs, every step of ours is on our pricing page.
Keep reading: How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business · AI True Score vs hiring an agency
