The best AEO tools in 2026, grouped by what they fix.
Answer engine optimization is the work of getting named in AI answers. Most AI visibility tools measure that; the AEO question is what each one does once it finds an answer that leaves you out. This page groups 19 tools by that step: the ones that draft or write the fix, the ones that recommend it, and the ones that measure and leave the fix to you. Every fact links to the vendor's own page with the day we read it.
Which AEO tool does the most after it finds a gap?
Grouped by the fixes each vendor publishes, in the order AI engines named them within each group. The bold line is the vendor's own description of its fixes; the fit line is our read.
Tools that draft, write or act on the fix
Profound
AI Marketer agent, Opportunities, reusable Agents and Profound Sheets
Best fit if: you want an agent that turns AI search findings into marketing work, across up to 9 engines on Enterprise.
Scrunch
Insights and recommendations, 1 page optimization a month on Core, content generation
Best fit if: you want to change what AI agents receive from your site, with a page optimization each month on Core.
Writesonic
AI articles (15 a month on Starter), site audits, Action Center (full on Enterprise) and agentic workflows
Best fit if: your team wants AI articles and site audits produced in the same tool that tracks the answers.
Siftly
GEO blog posts (8 a month on Starter), citation outreach campaigns, Reddit and social distribution
Best fit if: you want posts written and citation outreach run for you, starting from a free plan.
AIclicks
Clicky AI Agent and AI-optimized articles (5 a month on Starter)
Best fit if: you want an AI agent and a monthly quota of AI-optimized articles at a published entry price.
AthenaHQ
On-page and off-page actions and a content optimization agent; a recommendation engine on Enterprise
Best fit if: you want on-page and off-page actions, plus crawler access managed through robots.txt and llms.txt.
ZipTie
Content Generation add-on: briefs and pieces with footnote citations
Best fit if: you want content briefs with footnote citations as an add-on to usage-based tracking.
Promptwatch
Agent credits, content gap analysis and AEO articles (5 a month on Professional, 10 on Business)
Best fit if: you want content gap analysis and AEO articles next to daily tracking on several projects.
Tools that recommend the fix
Otterly.AI
Recommendations (3 a week on Lite) and GEO audits (1,000 a month on Lite)
Best fit if: you want a weekly set of recommendations and GEO audits at the lowest month-to-month entry price on our hub list.
Peec AI
Gap analysis, ranked recommended actions and agent actions
Best fit if: you want gaps ranked into recommended actions, with deep source data behind each one.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
AI-generated strategic recommendations
Best fit if: your team works in Semrush and wants AI recommendations beside its SEO data.
Ahrefs Brand Radar
Finds the pages AI cites and mention opportunities
Best fit if: you want to see which pages AI cites and where a mention is within reach, from a large prompt database.
Rankscale
Rankscale Scout recommendations and page audits (50 a month on Pro)
Best fit if: you want recommendations and page audits across many brand dashboards.
Tools that measure and leave the fix to you
SE Ranking
Fix workflow: not published on the pages we read
Best fit if: you want AI answer tracking inside an SEO suite and plan to run the fixes in your own process.
Knowatoa
Fix workflow: not published on the pages we read
Best fit if: you track several sites and want daily data, cited sites and alerts to steer your own fixes.
And Proofsource, on the same facts
Proofsource
Each gap names the pages the engine cited instead and comes with a draft held for your approval
Best fit if: you want each lost answer tied to the pages that won it, and a drafted fix you approve before anything goes live.
How we grouped: by the fixes, recommendations and actions each vendor publishes on its own pricing or product page, read on and . A tool in the third group may help with fixes in ways its pricing page does not describe. Proofsource makes this list and includes itself, last, on the same facts.
How do the AEO tools compare on fixes, answer coverage and price?
16 tools from our hub list, the same five facts for each, including ours. "Not published" means the vendor's public pages did not say, not that the feature is missing.
| Tool | Fixes and actions | Of the four answer engines, on the entry plan | All four from | Price to start | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profoundsource | AI Marketer agent, Opportunities, reusable Agents and Profound Sheets | ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews on the trial; no Perplexity or Claude | Enterprise only | Free trial, then Enterprise at a custom price through a demo | Free: 50 prompts run daily for 7 days on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews |
| Scrunchsource | Insights and recommendations, 1 page optimization a month on Core, content generation | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Core; no Claude | Enterprise only (Claude) | $250/mo Core (125 prompts, 5,000 responses a month, 4 LLMs) | 7-day free trial on Core |
| Writesonicsource | AI articles (15 a month on Starter), site audits, Action Center (full on Enterprise) and agentic workflows | ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews; no Perplexity or Claude below Enterprise | Enterprise only | Starter $79/mo billed annually (50 prompts); Basic $199/mo; Growth $399/mo; Enterprise custom | Free start, no card; trial length not stated on the pricing page |
| Siftlysource | GEO blog posts (8 a month on Starter), citation outreach campaigns, Reddit and social distribution | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Starter; no Claude | Enterprise only (Claude) | Free plan; Starter $79/mo (50 prompts); Growth $249/mo; Scale $599/mo; Enterprise custom | 7-day free trial on any paid plan, no card; also a free plan (10 prompts, weekly) |
| AIclickssource | Clicky AI Agent and AI-optimized articles (5 a month on Starter) | Any 3 of the four on Starter | Pro, if you choose those four as its 4 models | Starter $59/mo (30 prompts, 3 models); Pro $189/mo (150, 4 models); Business $499/mo (300, 6 models); Enterprise custom | 3-day free trial on Starter and Pro, no card |
| AthenaHQsource | On-page and off-page actions and a content optimization agent; a recommendation engine on Enterprise | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on the free plan; no Claude | Starter | Essential free ($25 credit, 300 credits); Starter $295/mo (3,600 credits, 1 credit = 1 AI response); Enterprise custom | Free Essential plan; no trial length stated |
| ZipTiesource | Content Generation add-on: briefs and pieces with footnote citations | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can be picked; no Claude | None: Claude is not tracked | Usage-based, about $0.01 per prompt check per engine; presets from $42.75/mo | 7-day free trial: 25 daily prompts on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Copilot, no card |
| Promptwatchsource | Agent credits, content gap analysis and AEO articles (5 a month on Professional, 10 on Business) | All four, if you choose them as your 4 models on Essential | Any plan, using all 4 model slots | Essential $95/mo (50 prompts, 1 project); Professional $245/mo (150, 2); Business $579/mo (350, 5) | 7-day free trial on Essential and Professional; Business starts with a demo |
| Otterly.AIsource | Recommendations (3 a week on Lite) and GEO audits (1,000 a month on Lite) | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Lite; Claude is an add-on | Any plan, with the paid Claude add-on | $29/mo Lite (15 prompts); Standard $189/mo (100); Premium $489/mo (400) | Free trial offered; length not stated on the pricing page |
| Peec AIsource | Gap analysis, ranked recommended actions and agent actions | Pick ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews among your 3; Perplexity is an extra model; no Claude | Enterprise only (Claude) | $95/mo Starter (50 prompts, 3 models); Pro $245/mo (150); Advanced $495/mo (350) | Free trial offered; length not stated on the pricing page |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkitsource | AI-generated strategic recommendations | Not published | Not published | $99/mo per user (25 tracked prompts, 1 domain); 50 more prompts for $60/mo | No free trial, per Semrush's knowledge base |
| Ahrefs Brand Radarsource | Finds the pages AI cites and mention opportunities | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; Claude at 8 checks per update | Brand Radar, with Claude billed at a higher check rate | Brand Radar AI from $199/mo; custom prompt packages from $50/mo; Ahrefs plans from $129/mo include 5 to 20 tracked AI prompts | Not published |
| Rankscalesource | Rankscale Scout recommendations and page audits (50 a month on Pro) | All four on Pro | Pro, the first full plan | Pro $99/mo (1,200 credits, 10 brand dashboards); Pro+ $229; Growth $385; Enterprise $780; Essentials from $17/mo, billed yearly | 7-day free trial of Pro |
| SE Rankingsource | Not published | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; no Claude | None: Claude is not tracked | Core $129/mo (100 prompts tracked daily); AI Search add-on +$89/mo | 14-day free trial, no card |
| Knowatoasource | Not published | ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews on Starter | Growth | Starter $59/mo; Growth $199/mo; Enterprise custom | Free trial on Starter and Growth; length not stated |
| Proofsource | Each gap names the pages the engine cited instead and comes with a draft held for your approval | All four, in the trial | The trial, and every plan's default four | Free trial; then plans from $9 a month (5 questions on ChatGPT, weekly), at self-serve checkout | 2 days of full AI visibility, today and tomorrow: 25 questions on 4 engines, no card |
How much of the answer does each AEO tool cover?
A fix is judged by the answers it changes, so coverage decides what you can prove. If the plan you buy leaves out an engine your buyers use, a fix on that engine never shows up in your numbers. Here is which of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews each entry plan covers:
- Profound: ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews on the trial; no Perplexity or Claude.
- Scrunch: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Core; no Claude.
- Writesonic: ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews; no Perplexity or Claude below Enterprise.
- Siftly: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Starter; no Claude.
- AIclicks: Any 3 of the four on Starter.
- AthenaHQ: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on the free plan; no Claude.
- ZipTie: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can be picked; no Claude.
- Promptwatch: All four, if you choose them as your 4 models on Essential.
- Otterly.AI: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews on Lite; Claude is an add-on.
- Peec AI: Pick ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews among your 3; Perplexity is an extra model; no Claude.
- Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit: Not published.
- Ahrefs Brand Radar: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; Claude at 8 checks per update.
- Rankscale: All four on Pro.
- SE Ranking: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; no Claude.
- Knowatoa: ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews on Starter.
- Proofsource: All four, in the trial.
The four engine list shows the first plan that covers all four for each tool.
Which other AEO tools are built around action?
Three more tools whose own pages lead with fixes, from our sourced compare pages.
| Tool | What it does about a gap | AI engines covered | How often answers are re-read | Price | Best fit if (our read) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trakkrsource | Prioritized actions with playbooks, 25 articles a month on Growth (100 on Scale), and AI-applied technical fixes after your approval | 8 on every paid plan: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI | Daily | Growth $100 a month ($1,000 a year) for 1 brand; Scale $500 a month for 10 brands; Enterprise from $1,000, billed annually | you want prioritized actions with playbooks and technical fixes applied after your approval. Proofsource vs Trakkr |
| LLM Pulsesource | Recommendations and a GEO writer on every plan; GEO testing on Scale | 5 included: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Gemini; Grok, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek and others as add-ons | Weekly or daily, chosen per plan | Starter €49, Growth €99, Scale €299 a month with weekly tracking; daily tracking priced separately; Enterprise custom | you want recommendations and a GEO writer on every plan, with weekly or daily tracking. Proofsource vs LLM Pulse |
| Evertunesource | Insights and action agents, 25 AI-optimized articles a month on Pro, ChatGPT ads, affiliate partnerships and AI retargeting | 11 AI models; the homepage names ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, DeepSeek and Meta | Daily, weekly or monthly | Pro $800 a month; Enterprise custom; both through a demo | you are a large brand that wants action agents, monthly articles and heavy sampling per model. Proofsource vs Evertune |
What should an AEO tool do after it finds a gap?
Answer engine optimization is a loop, and a tool earns its place at each step:
- Know. Which buyer questions leave you out, on which engine, and who is named instead. The prompt coverage page shows one way to read it.
- Act. The pages each engine cited in your place, and what they have that yours does not. A draft or a recommendation should start from those pages, not from a generic checklist.
- Prove. Ask again, enough times to tell a real change from a noisy day. AI answers vary from run to run; see how Proofsource measures.
- Repeat. Engines change their sources, and so do your competitors.
What an AEO tool is, in more depth, is on the AEO tool page, and the term is defined in the glossary.
Where is Proofsource weaker for AEO?
- No monthly article quota on self-serve. Proofsource drafts a fix for each gap and holds it for your approval; Writesonic, AIclicks, Siftly, Promptwatch and Trakkr publish a monthly count of articles. On Managed, our team writes and publishes for you.
- 4 engines at self-serve checkout. Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI are enabled on a call (Book a demo) or on Managed, while AthenaHQ and Rankscale publish 9 to 11 on a self-serve plan.
- No prompt database to browse. Ahrefs and Semrush let you explore a market-wide set of prompts; Proofsource starts from your own buyer questions.
Where it is stronger: every percentage carries a 95% Wilson interval, so you can tell whether a fix worked, and each gap names the pages the engine cited instead. Daily or weekly, chosen per plan; the trial runs 2 scans about a day apart.
What buyers ask about AEO tools
What is the best AEO tool?
It depends on the step you want help with. If you want the fix written for you, look at Writesonic, Siftly, AIclicks, Promptwatch or Trakkr. If you want ranked recommendations, Peec AI, Otterly.AI and Rankscale publish them. If you want each gap tied to the pages that won it, a drafted fix and a 95% interval on every number, that is how Proofsource works.
What is the difference between an AEO tool and an AI visibility tracker?
A tracker tells you how often AI answers name you. An AEO tool goes one step further: it shows which answers leave you out, which pages the engines used instead, and what to change. Most tools on this list do some of both; the groups above show how far each one's published fix workflow goes.
Which AEO tools write content for you?
On their pricing pages: Writesonic (AI articles), Siftly (GEO blog posts), AIclicks (AI-optimized articles), Promptwatch (AEO articles), Scrunch (content generation), ZipTie (a Content Generation add-on), Trakkr (articles each month) and Evertune (AI-optimized articles on Pro). Proofsource drafts a fix for each gap and holds it for your approval.
Is there a free AEO tool?
Siftly has a free plan with weekly tracking and AthenaHQ a free Essential plan. Proofsource starts with 2 days of full AI visibility, free and with no card: 25 buyer questions on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews, with the gaps and drafted fixes included.
Is AEO different from SEO?
They overlap. SEO earns a ranking on a results page; AEO earns a mention inside the answer. Google AI Overviews are built from pages in Google's index, so SEO work still feeds them, while ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude choose their sources in their own ways. The AI SEO tools list sorts the tools that serve both.
- Profound pricing www.tryprofound.com/pricing, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Scrunch pricing scrunch.com/pricing, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Writesonic pricing writesonic.com/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- Siftly pricing siftly.ai/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- AIclicks pricing aiclicks.io/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- AthenaHQ pricing www.athenahq.ai/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- ZipTie pricing ziptie.ai/pricing/, read Oct 5, 2026
- Promptwatch pricing www.promptwatch.com/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- Otterly.AI pricing otterly.ai/pricing, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Peec AI pricing peec.ai/pricing, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Semrush KB: AI Visibility Toolkit www.semrush.com/kb/1493-ai-toolkit, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Ahrefs pricing ahrefs.com/pricing · Ahrefs Brand Radar ahrefs.com/brand-radar, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Rankscale pricing rankscale.ai/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026
- SE Ranking pricing seranking.com/pricing.html · SE Ranking AI visibility tracker seranking.com/ai-visibility-tracker.html, read Oct 4, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026
- Knowatoa pricing knowatoa.com/pricing · Knowatoa homepage knowatoa.com/, read Oct 5, 2026
Each vendor's own pricing or product page, read on the date shown. Proofsource's facts render from its own pricing source. Spot an error? Write to hello@proofsource.co and we will correct it.
- Trakkr pricing trakkr.ai/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026 · Trakkr homepage trakkr.ai/, read Oct 5, 2026
- LLM Pulse pricing llmpulse.ai/pricing/, read Oct 5, 2026 · LLM Pulse homepage llmpulse.ai/, read Oct 5, 2026
- Evertune pricing www.evertune.ai/pricing, read Oct 5, 2026 · Evertune homepage www.evertune.ai/, read Oct 5, 2026
Find the answers that leave you out, and draft the fix.
See which buyer questions name your brand, who gets named instead, and what to fix. 200 answers. 25 Prompts/Question. Top AI engines. 2 days. Free. No card.
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