# Best AI visibility audit tools for small businesses (2026)

> Nine AI visibility tools a small business can start without a sales call, A to Z: free checkers, one-time audits and monthly trackers, with prices.

Canonical: https://www.preferly.ai/blog/best-ai-visibility-audit-tools
Published: 2026-11-10
Last updated: 2026-11-10

By the Preferly team

_Disclosure: Preferly makes one of the tools on this list. We list tools alphabetically, show the price we found on each vendor's own site, and say where Preferly isn't the right pick. Every entry was last checked on Nov 10, 2026._

**Short answer:** for a first look at what AI says about your business, start with a free checker, then buy a one-time audit if you want the fixes. Pick a monthly tracker only if you'll act on the numbers every month. The 9 tools below cover all three, in alphabetical order.

## How we chose
Tools a small business can start without a sales call, with a public price, that check what AI models say about a business. We read each vendor's own pages; prices are in US dollars unless noted.

## The list (alphabetical)

**Ahrefs Brand Radar.** A free AI Visibility Checker with no signup: type a brand name and see mentions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, with a top-5 preview per section. Every paid Ahrefs plan includes a few custom prompts tracked daily; custom prompt packages start at $50/mo and the AI Visibility Index starts at $199/mo. _Good for:_ teams already on Ahrefs. _Not for:_ owners who want a fix list. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**BrightLocal.** The Local AI Visibility Tracker is part of the Track plan, $31/mo per location billed yearly ($41 month to month), and covers ChatGPT and Google's AI. _Good for:_ local businesses and agencies already doing local SEO. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Gumshoe.** A free sample audit (4 buyer personas, 5 prompts each, 4 models, no card), then $99/mo per project to build your own plan or $299/mo per project for the Playbook. _Good for:_ an audit that leads into tracking. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Named In AI.** A free check on Gemini; a $49 one-time Full Audit across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, with a paste-ready fix kit and an agentic browsing test; $99/mo weekly monitoring. It says that if the audit doesn't surface at least 10 fixes, you pay nothing. _Good for:_ local trades on a tight budget. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Otterly.** Lite is $29/mo (15% less billed yearly), with a 7-day free trial and no card. From Nov 10, 2026, you pick your engines from ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode, Gemini and Claude: Lite covers 16 prompts tracked daily on 4 engines, or 20 on 3. Standard is $189/mo and Premium $489/mo. _Good for:_ low-cost daily tracking. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Preferly.** A free check of 3 AI models at [/start](https://www.preferly.ai/start); the [full $99 AI visibility audit](https://www.preferly.ai/ai-visibility-audit) is paid once and covers 10 AI models (including Claude Opus), ready in about 5 minutes. It shows who AI names instead of you, checks every claim AI makes about you against your website, tests 10+ AI crawlers and agent access, and gives you paste-ready fixes. No subscription. If your report finds no fixes, email us within 7 days and we'll give you a full refund. _Not the right pick if_ you need Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity or Copilot today, weekly tracking, or listings and reviews management. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Proofsource.** A free-forever Spotlight plan (one full first scan of 100 answers on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews, then 10 ChatGPT questions checked monthly). Starter from $9/mo ($7.50/mo billed yearly); Pro from $75/mo; Managed $349/mo with a 3-month minimum. Paid self-serve plans pick from the same 4 engines; Google AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI are switched on through a call or on Managed. Flags claims AI gets wrong. _Good for:_ teams that want tracking with confidence ranges. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Semrush AI Visibility.** A free checker with no signup (3 runs a day, 0-100 score) across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews. The paid AI Visibility Toolkit Base is $99/mo per domain billed annually, with 25 custom prompts tracked daily and mentions from ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity. _Good for:_ existing Semrush users. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

**Yext Corvo.** A free plan keeps your listings right on Google, Apple Maps, Bing and Facebook, and checks whether ChatGPT or Google names you; Corvo Plus is $40/mo, billed monthly, and adds more sites and help with your presence in AI search. _Good for:_ owners who want listings handled for them by text. (Last checked Nov 10, 2026.)

## Quick comparison

| Tool | Free option | Paid from | One-time or monthly | Google AI Overviews / Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | Free checker, no signup | $50/mo | Monthly | Yes / yes |
| BrightLocal | Free trial | $31/mo (yearly) | Monthly | Google's AI / not stated |
| Gumshoe | Sample audit | $99/mo | Monthly | Not stated |
| Named In AI | Gemini check | $49 | One-time (or $99/mo monitoring) | Yes / yes (full audit) |
| Otterly | 7-day trial | $29/mo | Monthly | Yes / yes (you pick 3 or 4 of 7 engines on Lite) |
| Preferly | 3-model check | $99 | One-time | Not yet |
| Proofsource | Free-forever plan | $9/mo | Monthly | Yes / yes |
| Semrush | Free checker (3 a day) | $99/mo per domain (yearly) | Monthly | AI Overviews yes; Perplexity on the paid toolkit |
| Yext Corvo | Free plan | $40/mo | Monthly | Not stated |

"Not stated" means it wasn't on the vendor's pages when we checked. For a closer look at two of these, see [Preferly vs Proofsource](https://www.preferly.ai/blog/preferly-vs-proofsource); if you'd rather not pay monthly, see [alternatives to monthly AI visibility trackers](https://www.preferly.ai/blog/ai-visibility-tracker-alternatives).

## Questions

### What is the cheapest way to check what AI says about my business?

Start with a free checker. Ahrefs, Semrush, Named In AI, Proofsource and Preferly all have a free option. A free check shows whether AI names you; a paid audit or tracker shows why, and what to fix.

### Do I need a monthly AI visibility tracker?

Only if you'll act on the numbers every month. If you want to know where you stand and what to fix, a one-time audit is usually enough. Run it again after you make changes.

### Which AI tools should an audit cover?

The ones your customers use. ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Claude don't always agree, so a tool that checks several is more useful than one that checks a single model.

## Sources

- https://ahrefs.com/ai-visibility-checker
- https://ahrefs.com/brand-radar
- https://www.brightlocal.com/pricing/
- https://gumshoe.ai/pricing
- https://namedinai.com
- https://otterly.ai/pricing
- https://otterly.ai/blog/new-pricing-choose-your-ai-search-engines/
- https://help.otterly.ai/free-trial
- https://proofsource.co/pricing
- https://proofsource.co/docs/engines-and-models
- https://www.semrush.com/free-tools/ai-search-visibility-checker/
- https://www.semrush.com/pricing/ai/
- https://askcorvo.com
- https://www.preferly.ai/pricing