2025 AEO Tools Comparison: Affordable Ways to Track Retail Brand Visibility in ChatGPT & Gemini

Why AI Visibility Matters for SMEs

Imagine your retail brand floating unseen in a sea of AI answers. No brand mentions. Zero visibility. In 2025, over 37% of product discovery queries start in AI interfaces like ChatGPT and Gemini, not Google. That shift spells opportunity… and risk.

• High-intent shoppers now ask AI “Which sustainable clothing brand leads in Europe?”
• B2B buyers search “best POS solution for independent retailers”.
• If you’re invisible in those AI responses, you lose the sale before it even begins.

That’s why 2025 AI monitoring tools are crucial. They help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) understand how AI engines talk about them. You’ll see:

• How often AI mentions your brand.
• The sentiment—positive, neutral or negative.
• Which competitor pops up alongside you.
• The exact prompts that trigger your brand mention.

Simple. Actionable. Affordable.

From SEO to Generative Engine Optimization

Traditional SEO tools track clicks and rankings on search engine results pages. They fall short for AI-driven discovery. Enter Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)—targeting AI interactions instead of just web pages.

Think of it like moving from street signs to personalised digital assistants. With GEO, you tune your brand’s presence within AI-generated conversations. And to do that, you need the right 2025 AI monitoring tools.

Top Affordable 2025 AI monitoring tools at a Glance

Below is a quick comparison of the leading budget-friendly tools for tracking AI visibility. These 2025 AI monitoring tools are tailored for SMEs and emerging retail brands.

1. HubSpot AEO Grader
   – Price: Free
   – Platforms: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini
   – Perfect for: First-time AI brand audits
   – Highlights: Sentiment breakdown, narrative themes, competitor positioning.

2. Otterly.AI
   – Price: £24–£825/mo
   – Platforms: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot
   – Perfect for: Bootstrapped retailers
   – Highlights: Share of voice, link citation tracking, prompt-level alerts.

3. LLMrefs
   – Price: Free tier; £64/mo Pro
   – Platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini
   – Perfect for: Teams familiar with keyword tracking
   – Highlights: Keyword-to-AI visibility score, citation URLs, CSV exports.

4. Search Atlas
   – Price: £160/mo
   – Platforms: Multiple AI engines
   – Perfect for: Retailers with physical stores
   – Highlights: Local SEO + AI visibility dashboard, backlink analysis, multi-location support.

5. Surfer AI Tracker
   – Price: £75/mo for 25 prompts
   – Platforms: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode
   – Perfect for: Content teams
   – Highlights: Content gap analysis, AI visibility score, Surfer integration.

These 2025 AI monitoring tools will give you eyes on AI platforms. But they’re not perfect. Let’s dive into common gaps and how AI Visibility Tracking for Small Businesses fills them.

Gaps in Popular 2025 AI monitoring tools

Even the best budget tools have limitations:

• Narrow prompt scopes: Some tools track only specific prompts, missing broader brand mentions.
• Limited customisation: You might crave deeper brand monitoring or regional insights.
• Lack of automation: Manual exports steal time from actual strategy.
• Siloed reporting: Switching between dashboards wastes mental bandwidth.

That’s where our open-source solution comes in.

Introducing AI Visibility Tracking for Small Businesses

We built AI Visibility Tracking for Small Businesses to tackle those gaps head-on. Our mission? Democratise AI visibility analysis for solo founders and SMEs.

Key benefits:

• Affordable & transparent: Open-source code means no hidden fees.
• Full AI coverage: Track ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and more.
• Automated insights: Weekly reports, alert emails and CSV exports.
• Community-driven: Suggestions from users shape our roadmap.

Maggie’s AutoBlog: Your Content Wingman

One standout service is Maggie’s AutoBlog. Here’s why it rocks:

• AI-powered posts: Automatically generate SEO & GEO-optimised blogs.
• GEO focus: Tailor content for regional queries—vital for European SMEs.
• Time-saver: Spend minutes, not hours, on content creation.
• Insight loops: Combine brand monitoring data with fresh content to improve AI mentions.

When you link Maggie’s AutoBlog with our visibility tracker, you close the loop: track, optimise, publish, repeat. No more guesswork.

Explore our features

How to Choose the Right 2025 AI monitoring tools

Picking a tool can feel like dating fraud. Here’s how to avoid heartbreak:

1. Platform coverage
   – Which AI engines do your customers really use? ChatGPT or maybe Google AI Overviews?
   – If you sell on Amazon, you’ll need Amazon Rufus tracking.

2. Budget reality
   – Don’t overspend on enterprise features if you’re a local boutique.
   – Many SMEs find sweet spots between £60–£120/mo.

3. Tech stack fit
   – Already on Semrush or Ahrefs? Their AI modules can slot right in.
   – Starting fresh? Go standalone with LLMrefs or our open-source kit.

4. Reporting needs
   – Agencies often need white-label dashboards.
   – In-house teams may prefer simple alerts and CSV exports.

5. Content vs monitoring
   – Need just monitoring? Otterly.AI or LLMrefs works.
   – Want content as well? Combine our tracker with Maggie’s AutoBlog.

By weighing these factors, you’ll find the perfect match among the 2025 AI monitoring tools—plus our solution that bridges gaps others leave open.

Real-World Example: Local Bakery Goes Big

Meet Sweet Crumbs, a small bakery chain in Lisbon. They tried Otterly.AI but missed customer queries in Portuguese. After switching to our open-source tracker:

• Monthly brand mentions jumped by 40%.
• Localised prompts in ChatGPT started recommending their pastries.
• Using Maggie’s AutoBlog, they published “Best Portuguese Pastel de Nata in 2025” and saw a 25% boost in AI citations.

That’s real AI Visibility in action.

The Future of AI Visibility

AI conversational traffic keeps rising. Analysts predict:

• AI-referred visitors convert up to 23× better than organic clicks.
• 2026 might see over 50% of retail queries answered within AI chats.
• SMEs that master Generative Engine Optimisation will outpace big brands in niche segments.

Tracking isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

Ready to Get Started?

Stop guessing where your brand sits in ChatGPT or Gemini. With AI Visibility Tracking for Small Businesses, you get:

• Clear metrics on brand mentions.
• Competitive insights.
• Automated alerts.
• Gorgeous dashboards.

All without breaking the bank. Plus, integrate Maggie’s AutoBlog to feed AI-friendly content that drives mentions.

Get a personalized demo