Question 1

Best AI visibility tools 2026? What do the ranking articles actually say?

Accepted Answer

By coverage across the 5 articles and 3 ChatGPT answers read for this buying question, Otterly.ai is named most often (7 of 8), followed by Profound (6/8), Peec AI (6/8), AthenaHQ (6/8). AI SERP counts which tools those sources name rather than scoring the products themselves, because those articles are what an assistant reads before it answers. No place in that ranking is for sale.

Question 2

What is AEO (answer engine optimization)?

Accepted Answer

AEO is the practice of getting a brand named inside the answers AI assistants write, rather than ranking in a list of blue links. It matters because an assistant answers from a handful of pages it retrieves: if those pages do not name you, no amount of traditional ranking puts you in the answer. GEO (generative engine optimization) is the same discipline under a different name; the terminology is still unsettled in 2026 and both are in active use.

Question 3

What is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?

Accepted Answer

SEO optimises for position in a ranked list of links. AEO and GEO optimise for being named inside a generated answer, where there is no list and usually no click. The mechanical difference is the unit of competition: SEO competes for a rank on a results page, AEO and GEO compete for a mention in a paragraph assembled from other people's pages. That is why coverage across the source articles — what this page measures — predicts AI visibility better than a keyword rank does.

Question 4

How does AI SERP rank these tools?

Accepted Answer

We take the 5 articles that currently rank for this question — the pages an assistant retrieves when someone asks it — read each one in full, and count every product it names along with the rank it gave. We also ask ChatGPT the same question 3 times, a new chat each time, and count each answer exactly the way we count an article. A tool's score is how many of those 8 sources name it. Every article is listed with its URL, the date it was read, a frozen archive copy, and a label for what it sells. 4 of the 5 rank their own product first, and that is marked on every row.

Question 5

Is placement on AI SERP for sale?

Accepted Answer

2 positions are, and only those. They sit above the measured ranking, are labelled sponsored on every row, and move nothing below them. Entry is a flat $25 — there is no countdown and no climbing price. Rank between sponsors is standing, and standing decays 8% a day, so holding a spot means topping it up. The measured ranking underneath is not for sale at any price — a board nobody trusts is a board nobody visits.

Question 6

How do I get my tool into the measured ranking?

Accepted Answer

Get named by the articles that rank for the question. The ranking is a count of those articles, so the only route onto it is to be in them — which is the same thing this site measures and the same thing AEO tools sell. If a source names your tool and this board is missing it, or a source is misread, corrections are made within 48 hours against the archived copy.

#	Tool	Named by	Avg rank	Frase	Zapier	Evertune	AIclicks	NoGood	GPT 1	GPT 2	GPT 3
1	Otterly.ai	7/8	4.7	#9	#2	✓	#3	—	#4	#4	#4
2	Profound	6/8	1.5	#2	#1	—	✓	—	#1	#2	#1
3	Peec AI	6/8	3	#3	#3	✓	—	—	#2	#1	#2
4	AthenaHQ	6/8	6	#5	✓	#9	✓	#4	—	#6	—
5	Scrunch AI	6/8	12.5	—	✓	#6	#19	—	#3	#5	#3
6	Semrush AI Toolkit	5/8	4	#4	#6	—	—	#2	#5	#3	—
7	Ahrefs Brand Radar	5/8	7	—	#7	✓	—	—	#6	#7	#6
8	SE Ranking	4/8	7.8	#6	—	#8	#10	#7	—	—	—
9	Rankscale	3/8	9	—	✓	#5	#13	—	—	—	—
10	Writesonic	3/8	10	#8	—	#4	#18	—	—	—	—
11	Evertune	2/8	1	—	✓	#1	—	—	—	—	—
12	Cognizo	2/8	5.5	—	—	#7	#4	—	—	—	—
13	Gauge	2/8	6	—	—	#3	#9	—	—	—	—
14	ZipTie	2/8	7	#10	#4	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Goodie AI	2/8	9	—	—	—	#17	#1	—	—	—
16	AirOps	2/8	12	—	—	✓	#12	—	—	—	—
17	Surfer	2/8	12	—	—	—	#16	#8	—	—	—

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