On this page15
- Why You Probably Need an AEO Tool
- The Comparison
- SKYA, Built for India-Conscious and Global Teams
- AIclicks.io, Multi-Platform Tracking With an Agency Bent
- Profound, Enterprise Reporting and Content Tools
- Goodie, Full-Loop Research-to-Attribution Platform
- Rank Prompt, Agency-Priced Prompt Tracking
- Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, The Add-On for Semrush Users
- HubSpot AI Search Grader, A Free Starting Point
- AEO Engine, A Managed Service Rather Than Self-Serve Software
- How to Choose
- What to Verify Before Buying
- Bottom Line
- What to Read Next
- Frequently asked questions
Disclosure: SKYA is built and published by PATRONUS DIGITAL LLP, the same company publishing this blog. This guide includes SKYA in the comparison and discloses that position upfront. Every price and feature claim below is checked against the vendor's own public pricing or product page, linked in place; figures can shift after publication, so confirm current details on each vendor's site before buying.
The AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) tools market has grown into a genuine multi-vendor category, with products aimed at very different budgets and team sizes. This guide compares the major options on what can actually be verified today: what each product tracks, and what it costs according to the vendor's own site.
Why You Probably Need an AEO Tool
The manual method for checking AI visibility, opening ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews, running queries one at a time, and copying answers into a spreadsheet, works for a handful of queries. It does not hold up once you add more platforms, a competitor set, and a monthly cadence: the number of responses to review multiplies quickly, and tracking that by hand becomes impractical. That is the gap dedicated AEO tools are built to close.
For the underlying methodology, see our pillar article: AI Visibility Explained: How Brands Get Cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude.
The Comparison
| Tool | Best for | Verified starting price | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| SKYA | India-conscious and global teams wanting hallucination auditing built in | Spotlight from $40.83/month billed annually ($49/month billed monthly); agency plans from $65.83/month billed annually ($79/month billed monthly) (skya.one/pricing) | Yes, 7-day free trial, no card |
| AIclicks.io | Agencies and mid-market brands wanting a mature multi-platform tracker | $59/month (Starter) (aiclicks.io/pricing) | 3-day free trial |
| Profound | Enterprise teams needing deep reporting and content workflows | Self-serve tiers no longer listed; Enterprise is custom quote only | Free trial, 10 prompts, ChatGPT only |
| Goodie | Mid-market to enterprise teams wanting a full research-to-attribution loop | $399/month (Explorer) (higoodie.com/pricing) | Free AI-search assessment; no free tier |
| Rank Prompt | Agencies running prompt-level tracking for many client brands | $39/month (Starter) (rankprompt.com/pricing) | Yes, 10 free credits (one report), no card |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Teams already using Semrush who want AI tracking in the same account | $99/month per domain (Base) (semrush.com/pricing/ai) | No dedicated free tier |
| HubSpot AI Search Grader | Marketers wanting a one-time free brand check | Free (one-time check); paid HubSpot AEO product tracks 25 prompts, priced within HubSpot's plans (hubspot.com/ai-search-grader) | Yes, fully free check |
| AEO Engine | Brands wanting a managed, human-run AEO program rather than self-serve software | Custom, agency-style retainers rather than fixed SaaS tiers (aeoengine.ai/pricing) | Free strategy call; no free tier |
Pricing above reflects each vendor's own published page as of September 2026 and is the entry tier only; most vendors offer higher tiers with more prompts, platforms, or seats. Confirm current numbers on the vendor's site before purchasing, since SaaS pricing changes.
SKYA, Built for India-Conscious and Global Teams
What it does: Tracks how a brand appears in answers from AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, surfaces mentions and citations, and flags places where an AI answer gets a fact about the brand wrong. Also supports competitor comparison.
What's verifiable on skya.one/pricing: a live domain scan, a Spotlight plan at $49/month billed monthly (or $40.83/month billed annually), an Agency Starter plan at $79/month billed monthly (or $65.83/month billed annually), and a 7-day free trial with no card required.
Good fit for: teams that want hallucination checking and India-relevant coverage without enterprise pricing.
Worth knowing: it is newer to the market than some US-founded competitors, so its integration and language coverage is still expanding; check the current feature list on skya.one for the latest state.
AIclicks.io, Multi-Platform Tracking With an Agency Bent
What it does: Tracks prompts and brand visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI platforms, analyzes which sources drive citations, and offers automation for follow-up content actions.
Verified pricing: Starter at $59/month (30 tracked prompts, 3 platforms), Pro at $189/month, Business at $499/month, and custom Enterprise, all per aiclicks.io/pricing. A 3-day free trial is offered.
Good fit for: agencies and brands wanting broad platform coverage and a mature dashboard.
Profound, Enterprise Reporting and Content Tools
What it does: Tracks brand visibility and sentiment across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and adds an "AI Marketer" workspace for content and agent workflows.
Verified pricing: Profound's pricing page no longer lists self-serve Starter/Growth tiers; it now shows only a free Trial and a custom-quote Enterprise plan, confirmed on Profound's own pricing page. The free Trial covers 10 prompts on ChatGPT only.
Good fit for: larger organizations that want deep reporting and are prepared to grow into higher tiers.
Goodie, Full-Loop Research-to-Attribution Platform
What it does: Positions itself as an end-to-end AEO platform covering prompt research, monitoring, optimization actions and revenue attribution across a wide set of AI platforms.
Verified pricing: Explorer at $399/month, scaling to Pro and custom Enterprise tiers, per higoodie.com/pricing. There is no free ongoing tier; a free AI-search assessment is offered instead.
Good fit for: mid-market to enterprise brands ready for a higher price point in exchange for a broader feature set.
Rank Prompt, Agency-Priced Prompt Tracking
What it does: Tracks brand visibility for specific prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Claude and other platforms, with white-label reporting built for agencies managing several client brands.
Verified pricing: Starter at $39/month, Pro at $71/month, Agency at $119/month, and Agency Plus at $239/month, all per rankprompt.com/pricing. A free tier gives 10 credits (one full report) with no card required.
Good fit for: agencies and consultants who want low-cost, prompt-level tracking across many client brands.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, The Add-On for Semrush Users
What it does: Adds AI-platform visibility tracking, custom prompt tracking and AI-readiness site auditing alongside Semrush's existing SEO toolkit.
Verified pricing: Base tier at $99/month per domain (25 tracked prompts), per semrush.com/pricing/ai. It can also be bundled into Semrush's combined SEO + AI plans.
Good fit for: teams already paying for Semrush who want AI tracking without adding a separate vendor.
HubSpot AI Search Grader, A Free Starting Point
What it does: Runs a free, one-time check of how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini describe a brand, scored across five dimensions. HubSpot's paid AEO product then offers ongoing tracking of 25 prompts as part of HubSpot's marketing platform.
Verified pricing: The Grader itself is free with no account required, per hubspot.com/ai-search-grader. The ongoing AEO product's price depends on the HubSpot plan it is attached to; check HubSpot's current plans directly.
Good fit for: a quick, no-cost first look before committing to a paid tool.
AEO Engine, A Managed Service Rather Than Self-Serve Software
What it does: A human-run AEO program, technical fixes, content production and citation building, rather than a self-serve dashboard product.
Verified pricing: AEO Engine's own cost guide states that answer engine optimization retainers generally run from about $3,000 to $25,000 or more per month depending on scope, per aeoengine.ai/aeo-pricing; it does not publish fixed self-serve tiers.
Good fit for: brands that want the work done for them rather than a tool they operate themselves.
How to Choose
A simple way to narrow the list:
- Want a free, no-commitment first look? Start with the HubSpot AI Search Grader, then try SKYA's card-free 7-day trial or Rank Prompt's free credits.
- Budget-sensitive and want hallucination checking included? SKYA's entry tier is priced lowest among the dedicated AEO platforms compared here.
- Already paying for Semrush? The AI Visibility Toolkit add-on avoids a second subscription.
- Need enterprise reporting and multi-brand support? Profound and Goodie are built for that scale, at a higher entry price.
- Running AEO for many client brands? Rank Prompt and AIclicks.io both offer agency-tier white-labeling.
- Want the work done for you rather than a dashboard? AEO Engine is a managed-service alternative to self-serve software.
What to Verify Before Buying
Whichever tool you shortlist, confirm directly on the vendor's site or in a demo:
- Which AI platforms are tracked at your price tier (some gate Claude or Gemini to higher plans)
- How many prompts and brands are included, and what an overage costs
- Whether hallucination or factual-error detection is included or a separate add-on
- Whether reports can be white-labeled if you need them for client work
- How often tracking data refreshes and how long history is retained
- What support model comes with your tier
Bottom Line
Every platform in this comparison publishes different pricing and feature sets, and they change over time, so treat this as a starting point rather than a final answer. Confirm current details on each vendor's own site, linked above, before you commit a budget.
SKYA tracks how a brand appears in answers from AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, and helps teams see where the picture is incomplete or wrong. See current plans at skya.one →
What to Read Next
Frequently asked questions
Written by
SKYA Editorial Team
The SKYA Editorial Team publishes field-tested research on Answer Engine Optimization, Generative Engine Optimization and AI Visibility. Every article is reviewed by senior practitioners from the SKYA product and research groups before publication.
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