Guide, checked 3 November 2026
AI SEO tracking: what to measure and which tools to use
Customers now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude who to buy from. AI SEO tracking tells you whether you’re in those answers. Here’s what to measure, how to start for free, and when a paid tool is worth it.
The five numbers that matter
Every tracker reports some version of these. Learn them once and you can compare any tool.
- Mention rate
- Out of the buyer questions you track, how often an assistant names you at all. This is the headline number.
- Position
- Whether you’re named first, third or last. Assistants usually list a few options, and the first ones get the attention.
- Competitors named
- Who appears when you don’t. This tells you who you’re really up against in AI answers, which is often different from Google.
- Sources cited
- The pages an assistant links to or draws on. Getting mentioned on those pages is the most direct way to improve.
- Change over time
- AI answers vary from one run to the next. One answer proves little; a trend over weeks is what counts.
Start with a free baseline
Before paying for anything, find out whether AI assistants name you today. Our free check reads your site, writes three questions your customers would ask, puts them to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, and shows your mention rate, position and the competitors named instead.
Free, no sign-up, about a minute.
Which tool for which need
Just want to know where you stand
Seenrix free check
Run the free Seenrix check. Pay for a tracker only if the result matters to your sales.
Small budget, daily tracking
Otterly.AI
Lowest published entry price among established trackers, at $29 a month.
SEO and AI tracking in one suite
SE Ranking (AI Search add-on)
Cheaper than Semrush for rank tracking plus an AI add-on covering ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI features.
You write content to improve rankings
Surfer (AI Tracker)
Daily AI tracking next to Surfer’s content tools, so findings turn straight into articles.
AI SEO tracking tools compared
Prices from each vendor’s public pages, checked 3 November 2026. They change often, so confirm before buying. Links to paid tools may be affiliate links; that never changes the order or what we say. Disclosure.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | AI assistants covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otterly.AI | Small businesses and solo marketers starting out | $29/month (Lite, 15 prompts) | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot. Gemini, Google AI Mode and Claude are paid add-ons. |
| Promptwatch | Teams that want many AI models covered on a flat fee | $95/month (Essential, 50 prompts) | All supported models on every paid plan, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google, Claude, Gemini, Meta AI and DeepSeek. |
| Peec AI | Growing brands and agencies tracking a few markets | $95/month (Starter, 50 prompts); 15% off billed yearly | Choose 3 models on Starter, Pro and Advanced (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, AI Mode and others). Up to 13 on Enterprise. |
| SE Ranking (AI Search add-on) | Small teams that want SEO and AI tracking in one cheaper suite | Core plan $129/month ($103.20 billed yearly), includes 25 AI prompts daily; larger AI visibility add-on from $71/month | Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot and others, per its pricing page. |
| Surfer (AI Tracker) | Content teams that also write and optimise articles | $82/month billed yearly (AI Search Analytics, 50 prompts daily) | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. |
| Writesonic (AI visibility) | Marketers who want AI tracking plus AI content tools | $79/month billed yearly (Starter, 50 prompts daily) | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews on self-serve plans. Claude, Perplexity and others on Enterprise. |
| Semrush (AI Visibility Toolkit) | Teams that also need classic SEO research in the same tool | AI Visibility Toolkit $99/month per domain billed yearly (25 prompts daily) | ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, Perplexity. |
| Profound | Large companies and enterprise teams | Free 7-day trial; Enterprise is priced on request | Trial covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Enterprise covers up to 9 engines including Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and DeepSeek. |
How to track by hand
- Write five to ten questions a customer would ask when choosing a business like yours, without your name in them.
- Ask each one in a new chat in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, logged out or in a private window where possible.
- Record for each answer: named or not, position, competitors named, and any sources linked.
- Repeat monthly with the same questions so you can compare like with like.
It works, but it takes time and the answers vary from run to run. Once the results start to matter, a tool that asks every day and averages the answers gives you a steadier picture.
Questions
What is AI SEO tracking?
It means regularly asking AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google’s AI Overviews the questions your customers ask, and recording whether your business is named, in what position, next to which competitors, and which sources the answer relies on.
Can I track AI visibility for free?
Yes, by hand or with a one-off check. Ask each assistant your buyer questions in a fresh chat and note who is named, or run the free Seenrix check, which does this across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Daily tracking across many questions needs a paid tool.
How often should I check?
Monthly is enough for most small businesses. Daily tracking is useful when AI assistants already drive a meaningful share of your enquiries, or when you’re actively working to change the results.
Is AI SEO tracking different from rank tracking?
Yes. A rank tracker records your position in a list of ten links. AI answers are written text that may name one business or none, vary between runs, and differ by assistant. That’s why AI trackers measure mention rate and sources rather than a single position.