Why AI visibility tracking matters in 2026
We’ve gone from SEO to GEO—Generative Engine Optimisation—almost overnight.
AI-driven answers now dominate search. One hallucinated fact or competitor-favouring output, and your brand vanishes from sight.
Enter AI visibility tracking. It’s the practice of monitoring how your brand shows up in tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and co.
Here’s the kicker: most slick enterprise suites cost a fortune and lock you in. For small businesses, that’s a no-go. You need budget-friendly, open-source tools that pack a punch.
What to look for in an AI visibility tracker
Before diving into the best eight, let’s set some criteria:
- Multiplatform coverage: Track your brand across several generative engines.
- Actionable insights: Suggestions, not just data dumps.
- Trend analysis: Spot when your visibility rises or dips.
- Conversation context: Beyond the final answer—understand user flow.
- Sentiment and brand score: Is AI praising you or trashing you?
- Citation source detection: Which pages or sites feed the AI’s info?
- Community-driven: Open-source code you can audit and extend.
- Affordable or free: No enterprise-only price tags.
Now, let’s meet the contenders—some you know, some you might build on top of open-source frameworks.
1. Profound (Enterprise kingpin)
Pros:
– Comprehensive feature set: prompt ideation, citations, content generation.
– Covers nearly every large LLM: from ChatGPT to Anthropic Claude.
– Dedicated account manager ensures solid support.
Cons:
– Premium pricing—starter plan at $82.50/month (annual).
– Closed source. No way to audit the code.
– Limited to tracked prompts; no free community edition.
Profound invented much of the LLM visibility category. But for many small teams, that price tag is a show-stopper. And you can’t tweak open-source code to suit niche needs.
2. Otterly.AI (Affordable entry point)
Pros:
– Lite plan at €25/month; free trial available.
– Converts your SEO keywords into AI prompts.
– Offers a GEO audit feature for LLM optimisation.
Cons:
– No trend-based insights or deep technical analysis.
– Add-ons unlock Google AI Mode and Gemini (extra cost).
– Closed-source, so you’re stuck with their roadmap.
Otterly.AI is often the first stop for solopreneurs. It’s great to get going fast—but you’ll soon crave community-driven transparency and extra features.
3. Peec AI (Smart suggestions)
Pros:
– Pitch Workspaces to share reports with clients.
– Generous data per prompt: daily checks, unlimited regions.
– Easy UI and Looker Studio integration.
Cons:
– Baseline tracks only three engines; extras cost more.
– Lacks trend analysis, sentiment scoring.
– Closed source with premium pricing (from €89/month).
Peec AI feels like a polished agency platform. Yet, if you want full control, you’ll hit a wall—especially if you’re a coder who craves open-source freedom.
4. ZipTie (Deep analysis)
Pros:
– AI Success Score highlights wins at a glance.
– Granular filters: URL-level, query-level, platform-level.
– Built-in GEO audit for LLM indexation.
Cons:
– Only tracks three engines; no add-ons forthcoming.
– No conversation-flow insights.
– Proprietary code and locked roadmap.
ZipTie squeezes every drop of insight out of your data. But once again—it’s closed-source. You can’t host it yourself or shape it with your dev team.
5. Similarweb (SEO + GEO mash-up)
Pros:
– Combines traditional web data with AI referrals.
– Traffic distribution reports by AI channel.
– Actionable: see which prompts drive real visits.
Cons:
– No conversation data or sentiment analysis.
– Price only via sales call—no transparent tiers.
– Closed-source, enterprise-focused.
If you already live in the Similarweb world, AI visibility tracking is a nice add-on. But for everyone else, it’s pricey and opaque.
6. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Pros:
– Site audits for AI readiness built into your SEO tool.
– Prompt database of 180 million+ queries.
– Zapier integrations for automation.
Cons:
– Extra charge per user.
– No crawler-style analysis for LLM bots.
– Not open-source, no code access.
Semrush plays nicely with existing SEO workflows. But borrowing AI data from a closed system leaves little room to innovate.
7. Ahrefs Brand Radar
Pros:
– Easy competitor benchmarking in a familiar UI.
– Tracks six major AI engines (add-on costs apply).
– Intuitive dashboards for brand share of voice.
Cons:
– No conversation context or citation source breakdown.
– Charged as an add-on from $199/month.
– Again—closed-source.
Ahrefs nails simplicity and competitor data, but you’re at the mercy of their feature schedule.
8. Clearscope
Pros:
– Best-in-class AI content drafting and optimisation.
– Integrates GEO insights with content inventory.
– Topic clusters beyond basic keywords.
Cons:
– Only tracks three engines.
– No custom prompt tracking or crawler insights.
– Proprietary code, no community extension.
If you’re a content creator chasing GEO, Clearscope is a dream. Yet, you still lack full visibility tracking control.
Up to here, you’ve seen the elite eight of closed-source AI visibility trackers. They all excel in pockets, but none checks every box for small businesses craving open-source, budget-friendly solutions.
That’s where our project kicks in.
Meet the open-source alternative: AI Visibility Tracking for Small Businesses
Imagine a tool you can self-host or spin up in minutes—no eye-watering fees, no locked-in roadmap. That’s our AI Visibility Tracking project.
Key highlights:
– Open-source on GitHub. Tweak it, audit it, extend it.
– Community-driven: contributions welcome, roadmaps adapt to real needs.
– Affordable hosting: run it on a $5 VPS or in a shared cloud instance.
– Multi-engine coverage: from ChatGPT and Google AI to Perplexity and Claude.
– Actionable alerts: spot sentiment shifts, hallucinations, competitor encroachments.
– Citation detection: know which pages fuel AI answers.
– Conversation logging: full context, not just the last line.
– Integration-ready: hooks into Zapier, Slack, email—automate your workflows.
Plus, if your small business needs an edge on creating AI-optimised content, meet Maggie’s AutoBlog—our AI-powered platform that auto-generates SEO and GEO-targeted blog posts based on your site and offerings. It pairs beautifully with your visibility data: identify gaps, then fill them with content that AI loves.
No more guessing if AI sees you. No more surprise drops in brand share of voice. Everything you need is in one transparent, community-powered stack.
How the open-source route beats closed-source competitors
Here’s a quick rundown of what you get with our open-source project versus the closed options:
- Transparency vs black box
- Lower cost vs monthly subscriptions
- Full customisability vs road-mapped features
- Self-hosting vs vendor lock-in
- Community support vs vendor’s schedule
And if you’re not ready to self-host, we offer a managed tier that’s still 70% cheaper than most enterprise plans—no seat-based fees.
Getting started in three steps
- Clone the repo and install dependencies.
- Configure engines and define your brand prompts.
- Launch the dashboard and watch your AI visibility metrics flow in.
Add on Maggie’s AutoBlog for content that boosts your share of voice. It’s the perfect combo: track what AI says, then feed AI the right answers.
Conclusion: Own your AI visibility
2026 will be the year brands fight for every voice in generative answers. Those eight big platforms have merits—but they’re costly and closed.
Your small business deserves a transparent, budget-friendly way to stay in sight of AI.
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