Best AI Visibility Tools for Small Businesses (2026)

A small business can track its AI visibility for $20 to $50 a month: Otterly.AI at $29 suits a simple daily check of four engines, Cituna at $39 suits anyone who wants all seven major engines and Search Console, and Rankscale at $20 suits a tight budget that can live with credits. If you already pay for Semrush or Ahrefs, their AI tracking costs $99 to $129 a month, and SE Visible gives the most prompts under $100, 200 for $99 (all checked 28 and 29 September 2026).

Before you pay anything, you can check a handful of questions by hand or with a free checker, and this guide starts there.

Which AI visibility tools fit a small business budget?

How this list works: a tool made the list if it has a public price a small business can pay without a sales call, a published prompt or credit allowance, and at least four engines on the entry plan without add-ons, including ChatGPT and one Google AI surface. We grouped the tools by budget (under $50, $50 to $100, then AI tracking inside SEO suites at $99 to $129) and ordered each group by month-to-month entry price, low to high; LLM Pulse is placed by the $59 its page shows for €49. Every rival fact comes from the vendor's own pages, read on 28 or 29 September 2026. Cituna is included because we build it; judge its entry by the same criteria.

Can you check AI visibility for free first?

Yes, and you should. The free route has two steps.

Check by hand. Type five to ten questions your customers ask into ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot and Google, using each engine's free tier, and note who gets named. It costs nothing, but nothing is stored, answers change from run to run, and it does not scale past a handful of prompts.

Run a free checker. Several vendors offer a one-off snapshot, all checked 28 or 29 September 2026:

• HubSpot's AI Search Grader scores ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini with no account.
• Semrush's checker runs three times a day without registering, on ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode and AI Overviews.
• SE Ranking's checker gives five free checks a day across five engines, with up to five competitors.
• Ahrefs' checker needs no signup and covers six engines, showing the top five results per section.
• Geoptie's free GEO Rank Tracker covers five engines including Claude, with no signup.

None of these track change over time. For the full comparison, see free AI visibility checkers. Move to a paid tool when you want the same questions checked on a schedule.

What does a small business actually need to track?

Engines. Start with ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, because of their reach. Google says AI Overviews has over 2.5 billion monthly active users and AI Mode has passed 1 billion monthly users, and OpenAI says ChatGPT reaches more than 1 billion weekly active users (both checked 23 September 2026). Add Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or Grok if your customers use them.

Prompts. Most small businesses need 10 to 30 real buyer questions, not hundreds: the questions a customer types before choosing a supplier like you, with your town or region where it matters. How to choose the prompts to track shows how to build that list. Otterly.AI and Geoptie include 15 prompts on their entry plans, most others 25 to 200, and Ahrefs Lite 5.

Cadence. Weekly checks are enough if you review results monthly. Daily checks matter if you publish often or report weekly.

Reports. A shareable report or export matters if you answer to a boss, a client or a board.

Which AI visibility tools cost under $50 a month?

1. Rankscale (best for the lowest bill with every engine)

Rankscale's Essentials plan costs $20 a month, or $204 a year, and runs on credits (checked 28 September 2026). You get 120 credits a month, which Rankscale says covers up to 480 engine answers, because a typical run costs 0.25 credits per engine per prompt. Every engine is available on every plan, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot. You set the cadence, from hourly to monthly.

The credits decide how far $20 goes. One prompt on four engines, checked daily for 30 days, uses 30 credits, so Essentials covers four prompts that way. Checked weekly, the same credits cover about 30 prompts. A Claude run costs 2 credits, eight times as much. MCP is included on every plan, and Rankscale Scout gives recommendations.

Strength: every engine and MCP for $20, with the cadence in your hands.

Limit: credits run out quickly on daily checks or Claude, and the 7-day trial covers only the $99 Pro plan.

Pick it if: you want to test many engines on a short list of questions, checked weekly, for the least money.

2. Otterly.AI (best for simple daily tracking with Copilot)

Otterly.AI's Lite plan costs $29 a month, or $25 billed annually, for 15 prompts checked daily (checked 28 September 2026). Every plan includes ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Gemini and Google AI Mode are $9 add-ons each and Claude is $29, so Lite with AI Mode costs $38 and with all three add-ons $76. Grok is not listed.

Lite includes one workspace, unlimited team members and three recommendations a week. API and MCP start on Standard at $189 for 100 prompts. Otterly.AI offers a free trial with no card, but its homepage FAQ says 7 days and its sign-up banner says 14. It also has a set of free GEO tools, such as a crawlability check.

Strength: the lowest flat monthly price on this list, with Copilot included and daily checks.

Limit: 15 prompts is a short list, and Gemini, AI Mode and Claude cost extra on every plan.

Pick it if: you want a simple daily check on a few core questions and Copilot matters to your customers. Cituna vs Otterly.AI sets the two side by side.

3. Cituna (best for all seven major engines at a flat price)

Cituna costs $39, $119 or $399 a month (checked 29 September 2026). From $39 it checks seven engines daily: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. Google Search Console is included from $39 too, so you can see AI visibility next to the searches that already bring people to your site.

Cituna also writes the fix for each gap it finds and publishes articles, and MCP is included. It does not track Microsoft Copilot. The trial lasts 3 days and needs a card.

Where others beat it: Rankscale and Otterly.AI cost less at entry, Otterly.AI includes Copilot, and Otterly.AI and AIclicks offer trials with no card. See Cituna's plans at cituna.com

Strength: all seven major engines, including Claude and Grok, and Search Console at one flat price with no engine add-ons.

Limit: no Microsoft Copilot, and a 3-day trial that needs a card.

Pick it if: you want every major engine and your Search Console data in one place, and you want the fixes written rather than only listed.

4. Geoptie (best for choosing your own engines)

Geoptie's Starter plan costs $49 a month, or $490 a year ($41 a month), for 15 prompts and two brands (checked 28 September 2026). You pick any four of seven engines, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, and can change them at any time. Checks run daily, in 123 markets. Grok is not offered.

Starter includes unlimited team members, unlimited audit reports and unlimited content generations. A prompt tracked in three countries uses three prompts. The REST API and MCP server start on Professional at $99. No free trial is published, but plans are month to month, and Geoptie's free GEO Rank Tracker covers five engines with no signup.

Strength: engine choice is not gated by plan, so the $49 Starter can include Claude, Copilot or AI Mode.

Limit: 15 prompts, shared across countries, and no API or MCP until $99.

Pick it if: you run two brands or locations, or your customers use a specific mix of engines such as Copilot and Claude.

Which AI visibility tools cost $50 to $100 a month?

5. LLM Pulse (best for many prompts on weekly checks)

LLM Pulse's Starter plan costs €49 a month with weekly checks, which its page shows as $59, or €79 with daily checks (checked 28 September 2026). You get 50 prompts on five engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews. Each prompt runs on every included engine and counts once.

Claude (€25), Copilot (€10) and Grok (€15) are monthly add-ons on the weekly Starter. MCP is on every plan, Starter includes three GEO Writer tasks, and team members are unlimited. Google Search Console over MCP starts on Growth at €99 (checked 29 September 2026). Weekly plans come with a 14-day trial that needs a payment method; LLM Pulse charges in local currency at live exchange rates.

Strength: 50 prompts on five engines, including AI Mode and AI Overviews, for €49.

Limit: weekly by default, and Claude, Grok and Copilot cost extra.

Pick it if: you review results monthly and want more questions covered rather than faster checks.

6. Promptwatch (best for Search Console, MCP and API under $100)

Promptwatch's Essential plan costs $95 a month, or $950 a year, for 50 prompts and 6,000 responses a month, checked daily (checked 28 September 2026). The plan tracks four models from a list of 11 that includes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode; how the four are chosen is not published. Microsoft Copilot is not listed.

Essential includes Google Search Console integration and MCP and API access, plus 500 agent credits. It has one project and one seat, and AEO articles start on Professional at $245. Essential and Professional come with a 7-day free trial.

Strength: Search Console, MCP and API on the entry plan.

Limit: one seat, four models, and no articles below $245.

Pick it if: one person runs your marketing and wants AI answers next to Search Console data, or plans to pull the data into other tools.

7. SE Visible (best for the most prompts under $100)

SE Ranking's SE Visible Basic costs $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for 200 prompts, about 30,000 AI answers a month and three projects (checked 28 September 2026). It covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, refreshed daily. Claude is not covered yet, and Grok and Copilot are not listed.

SE Visible has a 10-day free trial and an API. If you also want SEO tools, SE Ranking's Core plan at $129 a month includes 100 AI prompts daily on five models, plus Search Console and GA4 integrations and a 14-day trial with no card.

Strength: 200 prompts and three projects for $99, about $0.50 a prompt.

Limit: no Claude, Grok or Copilot, and no Search Console published for SE Visible itself.

Pick it if: you serve several areas or product lines and need many questions tracked daily.

8. Trakkr (best for Claude and Grok plus articles)

Trakkr's Growth plan costs $100 a month, or $1,000 a year, for one brand and 50 prompts, checked daily (checked 28 September 2026). "All 8 models included" covers ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI. Google AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot are not listed.

Growth includes 25 articles a month, three seats, three automations and MCP. The REST API starts on Scale at $500. There is no native Search Console connector, only a guide to using Search Console exports. The 14-day trial needs a card, and Growth bills $100 after it unless you cancel.

Strength: eight models, including Claude and Grok, and 25 articles for one price.

Limit: no AI Mode or Copilot, and a trial that needs a card.

Pick it if: you want Claude and Grok covered and content written, and Google AI Mode is not a priority.

What if you already pay for Semrush or Ahrefs?

9. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit (best for teams already on Semrush)

Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit Base is $99 a month per domain, billed annually, for 25 custom prompts checked daily (checked 28 September 2026). The pricing card names mentions from ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity. It adds 1,000 prompt research queries and 300 AI analysis reports a day, useful for seeing what a competitor's domain shows up for.

Extra domains and user licenses cost $99 a month each, and 50 more prompts cost $60. Search Console reports need the $10 Base Report add-on. The toolkit has no free trial, per Semrush's knowledge base (checked 29 September 2026).

Strength: a large prompt database for research on any domain.

Limit: 25 prompts, per-domain pricing, annual billing and no trial.

Pick it if: you already run your SEO in Semrush and want AI answers in the same place.

10. Ahrefs Lite with Brand Radar (best for teams already on Ahrefs)

Ahrefs Lite costs $129 a month and includes Brand Radar with 5 tracked AI prompts, 150 checks a month on a daily cadence, plus API and MCP access (checked 28 September 2026). Custom prompts cover Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Claude, though Claude uses 8 checks per update. Grok is not listed.

Custom prompt packages start at $50 a month for 2,500 more checks. Ahrefs offers no trial, but its free AI Visibility Checker needs no signup (checked 29 September 2026).

Strength: AI tracking with API and MCP inside the SEO suite you already use, and a free checker to look first.

Limit: 5 tracked prompts on Lite, and no Grok.

Pick it if: Ahrefs is already your SEO tool and you want a first look at AI visibility without a new vendor.

Which tools did we leave out, and why?

These fit a small budget but track three engines or fewer on the entry plan without add-ons, all checked 28 or 29 September 2026:

• AIclicks Starter, $59: 30 prompts on any three of 11 engines, with a 3-day trial and no card.
• Peec AI Starter, $95 (€85): 50 prompts on three models, unlimited users; Claude and Grok are Enterprise only.
• Writesonic Starter, $99 month to month: 50 prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews, with Search Console.
• Knowatoa Starter, $59: ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode; the question allowance is not published.

AthenaHQ's $295 Starter is over budget, though its free Essential tier with $25 of credit is a way to look first. For a price ranking of every tool, see the cheapest AI visibility tools.

Which one should you pick?

• The lowest bill: Rankscale at $20 on credits, or Otterly.AI at $29 flat.
• All seven major engines, including Grok: Cituna from $39. Trakkr covers Claude and Grok at $100 but not AI Mode.
• Search Console beside AI visibility: Cituna from $39 or Promptwatch at $95.
• Microsoft Copilot: Rankscale on credits, Otterly.AI at $29, or Geoptie as one of four picks.
• The most questions: SE Visible, 200 prompts for $99.
• A trial with no card: Otterly.AI, SE Ranking Core, or AIclicks.

For more options at every budget, see the best AI visibility tools and AI visibility tools compared.

When should a small business upgrade?

Upgrade when the plan stops matching your questions, not when a vendor emails you.

• You hit the prompt cap. Otterly.AI goes from 15 prompts at $29 to 100 at $189, a big jump, while SE Visible starts at 200.
• Add-ons cost more than the next plan. Otterly.AI Lite with Gemini, AI Mode and Claude is $76, so compare that with a plan that includes them.
• You add a brand, location or client. Geoptie's Starter covers two brands, SE Visible Basic three projects.
• You need the data elsewhere. API and MCP start at $189 on Otterly.AI and $99 on Geoptie.

Prices above were checked on 28 September 2026. For a full walk-through of costs by team size, see how much you should pay for AI visibility tools, and for the criteria, how to choose an AI visibility tool.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a small business spend on AI visibility tracking?

Most small businesses can start at $20 to $100 a month. On 28 and 29 September 2026, Rankscale started at $20, Otterly.AI at $29, Cituna at $39 and SE Visible at $99.

Is there a free AI visibility tool for small businesses?

Free checkers from HubSpot, Semrush, SE Ranking, Ahrefs and Geoptie give a one-off snapshot, and checking questions by hand in each engine costs nothing. None of them track changes over time, so move to a paid plan when you need the same questions checked on a schedule.

How many prompts does a small business need?

Usually 10 to 30 real buyer questions, including your town or region where it matters. Otterly.AI Lite covers 15, Geoptie Starter 15, and LLM Pulse, Promptwatch and Trakkr 50 each on their entry plans (checked 28 September 2026).

Which AI engines matter most for a small business?

ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode reach the most people. Add Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or Grok if your customers use them.

Do I need daily checks?

Not always. If you review results monthly, weekly checks such as LLM Pulse's €49 plan (checked 28 September 2026) cover more questions for less; daily checks matter if you publish often.

Which tool tracks Grok for a small business budget?

Rankscale includes Grok on credits from $20, Cituna from $39 and Trakkr at $100, and Promptwatch lets you pick it as one of four models at $95 (checked 28 and 29 September 2026). Otterly.AI, Geoptie, SE Visible and Semrush do not list it.

Correction

23 September 2026: an earlier version said Cituna's API and MCP start on the $399 Max plan. That was wrong; Cituna's developer and MCP pages show them on lower plans too.