A year ago, "AI visibility" was a niche worry.
Now it is a category with more than $300 million in funding and a dozen tools fighting for your budget.
The best AI visibility tool in 2026 depends on your role and stage. Profound is the enterprise leader, Peec AI is the fastest-growing mid-market pick, and Otterly is the cheapest way to start monitoring. If you are a builder or agency who wants raw data instead of a dashboard, an API like MentionsAPI is the better fit. There is no single winner, only the right tool for the job.
What is an AI visibility tool, and what should it track?
An AI visibility tool measures how often and how favorably AI engines mention and cite your brand. The good ones track four things across every engine: presence (are you mentioned), citations (is your URL the source), sentiment (how you are framed), and share of voice (how you stack up against competitors). Coverage should span ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, and Copilot, since each cites differently.
If a tool only checks one engine, or only tells you a single "visibility score" with no breakdown, it is hiding the detail you need to act. The number that matters is the trend per engine, not one rollup.
The best AI visibility tools in 2026, compared
Here is the short version. Profound for enterprise depth, Peec AI for mid-market analytics, Otterly for cheap monitoring, Ahrefs and Semrush if you already pay them for SEO, Writesonic and Scrunch for agencies, and an API like MentionsAPI when you want to build your own reporting or feed a data warehouse.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profound | Enterprise, Fortune 500 | ~$499/mo | Category leader, $1B valuation |
| Peec AI | Mid-market analytics | ~€89/mo | Fast-growing, granular breakdowns |
| Otterly | Budget monitoring | ~$29/mo | Simplest to set up |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | Existing Ahrefs users | ~$199–699/mo | 6 engines on the top bundle |
| Semrush AI Toolkit | Existing Semrush users | ~$99/mo | Bolts onto Semrush |
| Writesonic GEO | Agencies, content teams | ~$249/mo | 100 prompts on Pro |
| Scrunch AI | Multi-brand agencies | Custom | Agency workspace, data API |
| MentionsAPI | Builders, agencies, data teams | PAYG from $10 | API, not a dashboard |
Pricing is as of mid-2026 and shifts often, so confirm on each vendor's site before buying.
Profound
Profound is the enterprise leader, with $155 million raised, a $1 billion valuation, and Fortune 500 clients, per Surmado's 2026 breakdown. The Lite plan starts around $499 a month, which makes it one of the pricier options, but it buys the deepest coverage and technical reporting. Pick it if you are a large team that needs exhaustive data and can afford it.
Peec AI
Peec AI is the fastest-growing challenger and the best mid-market analytics platform, with $29 million raised and more than $4 million in ARR in ten months, according to Discovered Labs. It starts around €89 a month and stands out on granularity, letting you filter by engine, geography, language, and prompt cluster. Pick it if speed and clean breakdowns matter more than enterprise bells and whistles.
Otterly
Otterly is the easiest and cheapest way to start, at roughly $29 a month. It is simpler than the analytics-heavy platforms, which is the point. If your team wants a dashboard you can show in a Monday standup without a tutorial, Otterly is the one. Pick it for basic monitoring on a budget.
Ahrefs Brand Radar and Semrush AI Toolkit
If you already pay for Ahrefs or Semrush, their AI visibility add-ons are the path of least resistance. Ahrefs Brand Radar runs roughly $199 to $699 a month, with the top bundle covering six engines. Semrush AI Toolkit is about $99 a month and tracks mentions, sentiment, prompts, and competitors. Neither is the deepest tool, but they live where your SEO data already is.
Writesonic GEO and Scrunch AI
Both target agencies. Writesonic GEO starts around $249 a month for 100 prompts and adds sentiment on higher tiers. Scrunch AI offers an agency workspace with multi-brand management and a data API, though you have to talk to sales for pricing. Pick these if you manage AI visibility for several clients at once.
MentionsAPI (the API option)
Every tool above is a dashboard. MentionsAPI is the API underneath that kind of product. Instead of logging into an interface, you make one call and get back normalized mentions, citations, sentiment, and rank across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and Copilot. Pricing is pay-as-you-go from a $10 wallet with a $1 free credit, so you pay per call instead of per seat. Pick it if you are a builder, agency, or data team that wants to own the data and build your own reporting.
How much do AI visibility tools cost?
AI visibility tools range from about $29 a month to $499 and up, with most dashboards landing between $99 and $250. Entry tools like Otterly start near $29, mid-market platforms like Peec sit around €89, and enterprise tools like Profound begin near $499. Add-ons from Ahrefs and Semrush fall in the $99 to $699 range depending on engine coverage.
The pricing model matters as much as the number. Most dashboards charge per seat or per tracked prompt, which gets expensive as you add competitors and queries. An API charges per call, so light or spiky usage costs far less than a fixed seat. Match the model to how you will actually use it.
Dashboards vs APIs: which AI visibility tool is right for you?
Choose a dashboard if you want a ready-made interface and reports, and choose an API if you want raw data to build on. Marketers and in-house teams usually want the dashboard, since it works out of the box. Builders, agencies, and data teams usually want the API, since they need to pipe mentions into client reports, their own product, or a warehouse, and they want pay-as-you-go pricing that scales with usage rather than seats.
The dashboards compete on UX and features. An API competes on flexibility, data ownership, and cost at scale.The real fork in the decision
If you have ever thought "I wish I could just get the raw numbers," that is the API signal.
How to choose an AI visibility tool
Pick based on five things: engine coverage, data accuracy, pricing model, exportability, and your team's role. Make sure it covers the engines your buyers actually use, check whether the data comes from APIs or live capture, and confirm the pricing model fits your volume. If you need to build custom reports or manage many brands, prioritize export and API access over dashboard polish.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI visibility tool in 2026?
How much do AI visibility tools cost?
Are there free AI visibility tools?
What is the difference between an AI visibility tool and an SEO rank tracker?
Do I need a dashboard or an API?
Which AI visibility tool covers the most engines?
Pick the tool that matches how you work
The best AI visibility tool is the one that fits your role, your engines, and your budget, not the one with the longest feature list. If you want a dashboard, start with Otterly or Peec and scale up to Profound as you grow.
If you want to own the data and build your own reporting, start with the MentionsAPI free credit and pull your first AI visibility numbers in one call.