Online Jobs

Home / Business

Business

Best AI Mode SEO Checking Software in 2026: 8 Products Compared

Best AI Mode SEO Checking Software in 2026: 8 Products Compared
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit logo
First choiceSemrush AI Visibility Toolkit

Semrush users checking AI Mode · Starting price: $99 per month

Go to Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Ahrefs Brand Radar logo
Second choiceAhrefs Brand Radar
Visit
SE Ranking logo
Third choiceSE Ranking
Visit

How we put this together: we compare official feature and pricing pages, app store listings, privacy policies and public user reviews. Prices change, so check the provider's site before you pay.

Key takeaways

  • Semrush and SE Ranking give the clearest Google AI Mode view inside a full SEO suite, so they suit teams that already do classic SEO work.
  • Ahrefs Brand Radar is best for market research across Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, but its per index pricing rises fast.
  • Peec AI, Rankscale and Profound track AI Mode as part of a wider AI visibility set, not as a single surface tool.
  • Otterly.AI covers AI Mode only as a paid add-on, so add that fee to the headline price before you compare.
  • ZipTie.dev has moved to usage based pricing on its newer platform, so confirm the current plan before you budget.

Quick comparison

NameWho it suitsStarting priceFree option
Semrush AI Visibility ToolkitSemrush users checking AI Mode$99 per monthNoVisit
Ahrefs Brand RadarResearching a whole market in AI Mode$199 per monthNoVisit
SE RankingAgencies that need AI Mode in client reports$129 per monthFree trial (14 days)Visit
Peec AIDaily AI Mode tracking with competitors$95 per monthFree trial (7 days)Visit
ProfoundEnterprise AI Mode reportingSee websiteFree trial (7 days)Visit
Otterly.AIAdding AI Mode to a cheap tracker$29 per monthFree trial (7 days)Visit
RankscaleLow cost AI Mode checks across many engines$20 per monthFree trial (7 days)Visit
ZipTieCitation detail for Google surfacesSee websiteFree trial (7 days)Visit

The best AI Mode SEO checking software

Google AI Mode is a conversational search view inside Google Search, separate from AI Overviews at the top of regular results. A page can appear in one, both, or neither, so a tool that only tracks AI Overviews will miss AI Mode answers entirely. The tools below each name Google AI Mode in their coverage, and we note where that coverage is included, added on, or limited to a higher tier.

01Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit logo

Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit

Who it suits: Semrush users checking AI Mode

Go to Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Starting price$99 per month
Free optionNo
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit website
semrush.com homepage

Semrush puts AI Mode tracking in the same workspace as keyword and site data. The standalone toolkit costs $99 per month per domain, with 25 prompts tracked daily, prompt research and an AI audit of 100 pages. Prompt tracking names ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, while other Semrush reports cover AI Overviews and Gemini, so you should check which report you will actually open each week.

The small prompt allowance is the main limit. A brand with many services will run out of prompts quickly, and extra domains and prompts add cost. There is no free trial for the standalone toolkit, although a free domain check is available a few times a day. This is the right pick when your SEO team already uses Semrush and wants AI Mode data beside classic rankings, not when you need a large dedicated AI Mode prompt set.

Strengths
  • Prompt tracking names Google AI Mode
  • Prompt research
  • AI site audit
Weaknesses
  • Only 25 prompts standalone
  • No free trial
  • Per domain pricing
02Ahrefs Brand Radar logo

Ahrefs Brand Radar

Who it suits: Researching a whole market in AI Mode

Go to Ahrefs Brand Radar
Starting price$199 per month
Free optionNo
Ahrefs Brand Radar website
ahrefs.com homepage

Ahrefs Brand Radar takes a different approach from most trackers on this list. Instead of only tracking prompts you write, it draws on a large prompt database built from real searches, then shows how brands appear across Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot and Gemini. That makes it strong for market research.

Pricing needs careful reading. Brand Radar starts at $199 per month for one AI index, such as Google AI Overviews plus AI Mode, and $699 per month for all six indexes. Custom prompts start at $50 per month for 2,500 checks, and each platform can consume checks at a different rate. Choose Ahrefs when you need market context and backlink data in the same suite. Choose a dedicated tracker when you need daily tracking of your own prompts at a lower fixed price.

Strengths
  • Prompt database built from real search data
  • AI Overviews and AI Mode indexes
  • Citation and share of voice views
Weaknesses
  • Priced per AI index
  • Full coverage costs $699 per month for all indexes
  • Custom prompts cost extra
03SE Ranking logo

SE Ranking

Who it suits: Agencies that need AI Mode in client reports

Go to SE Ranking
Starting price$129 per month
Free optionFree trial (14 days)
SE Ranking website
seranking.com homepage

SE Ranking includes AI visibility inside a full SEO platform, which keeps AI Mode checks beside rank tracking, site audits and backlink data. Core costs $129 per month, or $103.20 per month billed annually, with 100 AI prompts tracked daily on the current plan structure. Its AI Results Tracker names Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, and SE Visible adds brand mention, citation and sentiment views.

The trade-off is complexity. SE Ranking has separate AI layers, including an AI Search add-on and the standalone SE Visible product, and the exact prompt count and engine list can differ by plan. A new user can feel lost in the dashboard at first. For an agency already using SE Ranking, adding AI Mode to existing reports is far easier than merging data from a second tool.

Strengths
  • AI Results Tracker names AI Mode
  • Rank tracking and audits included
  • White label reporting with Agency Pack
Weaknesses
  • AI Search details vary by plan
  • Interface is dense for new users
04Peec AI logo

Peec AI

Who it suits: Daily AI Mode tracking with competitors

Go to Peec AI
Starting price$95 per month
Free optionFree trial (7 days)

Peec AI lets you choose AI Mode as one of the engines on your plan, alongside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot and others on higher tiers. Starter at $95 per month covers 50 prompts, three models of your choice, unlimited users and daily tracking for one project. Daily cadence matters, because conversational answers can change after a model update.

The limit is the three engine cap on self-serve plans. If AI Mode is one of your three, you must leave another engine out or pay for an add-on. Pro at $245 per month and Advanced at $495 per month raise prompt and project limits, while Enterprise covers up to 13 models. Peec AI fits a team that wants a clean daily view of AI Mode, sentiment and competitor share of voice, and that can name its three most important engines in advance.

Strengths
  • Daily tracking
  • Unlimited users
  • AI Mode available as an engine choice
Weaknesses
  • Starter limits you to three engines
  • Extra engines cost more
05Profound logo

Profound

Who it suits: Enterprise AI Mode reporting

Go to Profound
Starting priceSee website
Free optionFree trial (7 days)

Profound lists Google AI Mode among the engines on its Enterprise plan, alongside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, DeepSeek, Exa Search and Google AI Overviews. It also adds Agent Analytics, which shows how AI crawlers read your site, and content briefs that point to pages worth improving. For a large brand, that mix of AI Mode answers and crawler data is useful, because a page that crawlers cannot read will rarely be cited.

Access is the problem for smaller buyers. The public route is a free 7-day trial covering ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, with 50 prompts a day, not AI Mode. Ongoing access is a custom Enterprise contract after a demo. If AI Mode is your main question and your budget is under a few hundred dollars a month, start with Peec AI, Rankscale or Semrush instead, and return to Profound only when enterprise reporting and security controls become requirements.

Strengths
  • AI Mode on Enterprise
  • Crawler analytics
  • Agent workflows and briefs
Weaknesses
  • No published ongoing price
  • Trial covers only three engines
06Otterly.AI logo

Otterly.AI

Who it suits: Adding AI Mode to a cheap tracker

Go to Otterly.AI
Starting price$29 per month
Free optionFree trial (7 days)

Otterly.AI is honest about its packaging, but you must read it closely. Every paid plan includes ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot. Google AI Mode, Gemini and Claude are paid add-ons on all self-serve plans. On Lite, AI Mode costs $9 per month extra, so AI Mode tracking starts at $38 per month in total for 15 prompts. On Standard, the AI Mode add-on is $59 per month, and on Premium it is $149 per month.

That structure still works for a small team. Lite plus the AI Mode add-on is one of the cheapest ways to check AI Mode answers each day, with exports and a GEO audit included. The risk is at scale, where add-ons on a higher tier can cost more than a tool that includes AI Mode in the base price. Price the full bundle, including Gemini if you need it, before you compare Otterly.AI with Rankscale or Peec AI.

Strengths
  • Low base price
  • AI Mode add-on starts at $9 per month on Lite
  • Unlimited team members
Weaknesses
  • AI Mode is never included in the base price
  • Add-on price rises sharply on higher tiers
07Rankscale logo

Rankscale

Who it suits: Low cost AI Mode checks across many engines

Go to Rankscale
Starting price$20 per month
Free optionFree trial (7 days)

Rankscale includes Google AI Mode in a set of 17 or more engines, without selling AI Mode as a separate add-on. Essentials at $20 per month includes 120 credits, about 480 AI responses on cheaper engines, and two brand dashboards. Pro at $99 per month includes 1,200 credits and 10 dashboards, with Looker Studio integration. You can schedule checks hourly to monthly, which helps during a product launch when AI Mode answers change quickly.

Credit pricing is the catch. More expensive engines draw more credits, so a prompt list that is cheap on ChatGPT can cost more once AI Mode and Claude are added. There is no credit rollover on Essentials. Even with that caveat, Rankscale is a strong budget pick for AI Mode, because the entry price buys a wide engine view that other tools gate behind higher tiers or add-ons.

Strengths
  • AI Mode included in a wide engine set
  • Credit based flexibility
  • Hourly to monthly scheduling
Weaknesses
  • Credit use varies by engine
  • API access is on higher tiers
08ZipTie logo

ZipTie

Who it suits: Citation detail for Google surfaces

Go to ZipTie
Starting priceSee website
Free optionFree trial (7 days)

ZipTie began as a tracker for Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity, and its newer platform lists seven engines, including Google AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot and Bing AI Overview. Its strength is detail for Google surfaces: which queries trigger an AI answer, which pages get cited, and which content changes could improve citation share. That page level view helps a content team fix one page at a time, rather than guessing from a brand score.

Pricing is the reason we list See website here. Older fixed plans at $69, $99 and $159 per month no longer match the current usage based platform, where cost depends on prompt volume and engine mix. A recent review puts entry usage pricing from about $42.75 per month, with higher totals for daily tracking across many prompts. Use the trial to test AI Mode coverage for your own queries, and get a written quote for your prompt volume before you commit.

Strengths
  • Focus on Google AI surfaces
  • Citation share and AI Success Score
  • Content optimisation suggestions
Weaknesses
  • Pricing has moved to usage based plans
  • Older fixed plans no longer describe the current product

How we picked these

We kept only tools that name Google AI Mode in their own feature, pricing or help pages, or in a current review that cites those pages. That rule removed several general AI visibility tools that track AI Overviews or ChatGPT but do not clearly cover AI Mode. We then checked pricing pages, engine lists, prompt limits and trial terms, and we noted where AI Mode is included, where it is an add-on, and where it sits only on a higher tier.

We also mixed suite tools and dedicated trackers, because AI Mode checking sits in both worlds. A suite tool suits a team that already reports SEO data, while a dedicated tracker suits a team that only needs AI answers. Prices are starting prices from October 2026. Confirm coverage on the plan you will buy, not on the homepage headline.

How to check AI Mode properly

AI Mode answers are conversational, so a single keyword check is not enough. Test the same topic as a question, as a comparison, and as a follow-up question, because AI Mode lets users ask follow-ups and the cited sources can change. Record the full answer text and the cited links, not just whether your brand was named, because an unlinked mention and a linked citation have different value for traffic.

Also test from the location your buyers use, since results can vary by market. If you serve several cities, use city or region settings, or run a separate prompt set for each market. Finally, pair AI Mode checks with Google Search Console data, so you can see whether AI Mode citations line up with pages that already earn impressions and clicks.

Questions to ask on a demo

Ask whether AI Mode is included or added on, how often AI Mode prompts run, and whether you can export the full answer text. Ask how custom prompts are counted, because some tools count each engine check separately and burn a prompt allowance faster than expected. Ask what happens when AI Mode returns no citation for your brand, and whether the tool shows competitor citations for the same prompt. Those answers tell you more than a feature list.

Frequently asked questions

Is Google AI Mode the same as Google AI Overviews?

No. AI Overviews appear at the top of regular Google results as a summary with links. AI Mode is a separate conversational view inside Google Search, where users can ask follow-up questions and get a combined answer from several sources. A page can be cited in one view and absent from the other, which is why you need to check both.

What is the best AI Mode SEO checking tool for a small budget?

Rankscale at $20 per month and Otterly.AI at $29 per month plus a $9 AI Mode add-on on Lite are the cheapest routes here. Rankscale includes AI Mode in a wide engine set, while Otterly.AI keeps the base price low but charges for AI Mode separately. Pick Rankscale if you want many engines, and Otterly.AI if you want a simple tracker with a small prompt list.

Does Semrush track Google AI Mode?

Yes, Semrush prompt tracking names Google AI Mode and ChatGPT on the standalone AI Visibility Toolkit, with other reports covering AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity. The standalone toolkit costs $99 per month per domain and tracks 25 prompts daily. Check which Semrush report you will use, because not every report covers every engine.

Can I check Google AI Mode for free?

Ahrefs offers a free AI visibility checker, and several tools on this list offer free trials, including SE Ranking for 14 days and Peec AI, Otterly.AI, Rankscale and Profound for 7 days. Free checks are useful for a one-off test, but ongoing daily tracking of your own prompts needs a paid plan. Use a trial to test your real prompts before you pay.

How often should I check AI Mode?

Daily checks suit a launch, a rebrand, or a competitive market where answers change quickly. Weekly checks are enough for a stable brand with a small prompt list, provided you still record full answers and citations. Monthly checks alone will miss short lived changes, such as a competitor citation that appears after a news story and fades a week later.

Why does my page rank well but not appear in AI Mode?

AI Mode draws on pages it can read, trust and cite for a specific question, not only on classic ranking signals. A page can rank for a keyword and still be too thin, too slow, blocked to AI crawlers, or less useful than a competitor page for that question. Check crawl access, page clarity, and whether the page directly answers the question in a form AI Mode can quote.

Sources we checked (8)
  1. https://www.semrush.com/pricing
  2. https://ahrefs.com/brand-radar
  3. https://seranking.com/pricing
  4. https://peec.ai/pricing
  5. https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing
  6. https://otterly.ai/pricing
  7. https://rankscale.ai/pricing
  8. https://ziptie.ai/pricing
Online Jobs Editorial Team
Online Jobs Editorial Team

Online Jobs is an independent blog about careers, online work, learning new skills and the tools that help people earn. More about us.

Make one of these products, or think something here is out of date? Send us the details.

Keep reading

All posts