Answer engine optimization tools help you see, and improve, how your brand shows up in AI answers from ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini and Claude. Some track whether AI answers mention you. Others help you write pages that answer questions clearly, find the questions people ask, or mark up entities.
One point first. Google’s guidance for site owners says no special optimization is needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode: a page has to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, and normal SEO practice applies. No special file or markup is required. So the tools below do not unlock anything; they measure and speed up work. If your pages are not helpful, crawlable and trusted, no tool will fix that.
How this list was made: descriptions and prices come from each vendor’s own website, checked on 8 October 2026. We have not run every tool ourselves, so we do not give scores. Prices change often, so confirm them on the vendor’s page.
What are answer engine optimization (AEO) tools?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of making your content easy for AI answer systems to find, understand and cite. You can read the definition in our AEO glossary entry. AEO sits on top of normal SEO, so it helps to know what SEO is and how it works and how to build an SEO strategy first.
The tools fall into four groups:
- AI visibility trackers run a set of prompts on AI engines and report whether your brand is mentioned or cited, and by which sources.
- Content optimization tools compare your draft with top-ranking pages and suggest topics, questions and terms to cover.
- Question research tools show the questions people ask around a topic.
- Entity and schema tools help state what your pages are about in structured data and internal links.
AEO tools compared
| Tool | Group | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026) | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otterly.ai | AI visibility | $29/month (Lite, 15 prompts) | Low-cost brand tracking on ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot |
| Goodie | AI visibility | $399/month (Core, 120 prompts) | Teams that need monitoring plus an action list |
| Arobis AI Visibility Checker | AI visibility | Free checker; audits priced on request | A one-off look at how AI engines see your brand |
| Frase | Content and AI tracking | $39/month billed yearly ($49 monthly) | Briefs plus basic AI visibility in one tool |
| Surfer | Content and AI tracking | $49/month (Discovery, billed yearly); AI Search Analytics from $82 | Content scoring against top results |
| Clearscope | Content | $129/month (Essentials) | Editors who want clear, term-based guidance |
| MarketMuse | Content and topic planning | Free plan (10 queries a month); paid plans by demo | Topic clusters and content gaps |
| NeuronWriter | Content | $23/month (Bronze, monthly billing) | Budget content scoring with AI-monitored questions |
| AlsoAsked | Question research | $12/month (Basic) | Mapping People Also Ask questions |
| AnswerThePublic | Question research | $20/month (Starter) | Question ideas from a seed phrase |
| InLinks | Entities and schema | Free tier; from $49/month | Internal links, schema and entity coverage |
AI visibility trackers
Otterly.ai
Otterly tracks how AI engines talk about your brand and which sources they cite. Its core engines are ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot; Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini are paid add-ons. Plans: Lite $29 a month (15 prompts), Standard $189 (100 prompts) and Premium $489 (400 prompts), with annual billing listed at a discount and an Enterprise tier on request.
- Strengths: focused on mention tracking, low entry price.
- Limits: the entry plan covers few prompts, and it does not help you write content.
Goodie
Goodie is an AI visibility platform that tracks brand mentions and citations across several AI models, and gives a list of actions to improve them. The Core brand plan is $399 a month (120 prompts, 5 models, 5 seats) and Pro is $999 (250 prompts, 8 models). Enterprise covers up to 13 models. An agency plan starts at $275 a month for pitch workspaces.
- Strengths: wide model coverage, with monitoring and an action list.
- Limits: higher price; small teams may not need it.
Arobis AI Visibility Checker
Arobis offers a free checker that shows how leading AI search engines, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Mode, currently describe your brand, and points out gaps. Deeper audits are priced on request.
- Strengths: free, quick, no setup.
- Limits: an assessment, not continuous tracking.
Content optimization tools with AI features
Frase
Frase builds content briefs from the pages that rank, and its plans now include AI visibility tracking. Starter is $39 a month billed yearly ($49 monthly) with 50 AI prompts on ChatGPT and Google AI; Professional is $103 ($129 monthly) with 200 prompts and Perplexity; Scale is $239 ($299 monthly) and adds Claude and Gemini.
Surfer
Surfer scores your draft against top-ranking pages. Listed prices, with yearly billing, are Discovery $49 (no AI tracking), Standard $99 (25 AI prompts), Pro $182 and Peace of Mind $299, plus a stand-alone AI Search Analytics plan at $82 (50 daily prompts).
Clearscope
Clearscope gives term and question guidance in a clean editor. Essentials is $129 a month (50 tracked queries, 50 pages) and Business $399 (300 tracked queries), with Enterprise on request.
MarketMuse
MarketMuse maps topics and content gaps across a site. A free plan allows 10 queries a month; paid plans (Optimize, Research, Strategy) are quoted on request.
NeuronWriter
NeuronWriter is a lower-cost content editor with built-in AI-monitored questions. Monthly prices run from Bronze $23 (5 AI-monitored questions) to Diamond $117, with lower yearly rates.
Question research tools
AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked maps the People Also Ask questions around a topic, which helps you plan headings that match the questions asked. Plans: Basic $12 a month (100 credits), Lite $23 (300) and Pro $47 (1,000).
AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic groups the questions, comparisons and prepositions people use around a phrase. Plans: Starter $20 a month, Growth $99 and Business $199, billed with a monthly credit allowance.
Entity and schema tool
InLinks
InLinks is an entity SEO tool for internal linking, schema markup and topic planning. It has a free tier (2 content optimizations a month), Freelancer from $49 a month and Agency from $196. Remember that Google says no special schema is required for its AI features, so use markup to describe what is on the page, not as a trick.
How to choose an AEO tool
- Start with the question you need answered. “Does AI mention us?” needs a tracker. “What should this page cover?” needs a content or question tool.
- Check which engines and how many prompts are included. A tracker only tests the prompts you give it, so it samples answers; it does not show every answer people get.
- Look at the data export and history. You need trends over months, not one snapshot.
- Count the real cost. Add-on engines, extra prompts and seats raise the price.
- Test with a free plan or trial on your own brand before you commit.
Do you need a tool at all?
Often not at first. A free start looks like this:
- Ask the main AI assistants the questions your customers ask, and record whether you are mentioned and which sites are cited.
- Check Search Console for pages that already gain impressions. Traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode is counted in the “Web” search type.
- Make sure search and AI crawlers are not blocked in robots.txt or by your host.
- Rewrite key pages so the answer is clear and sourced near the top, and keep facts such as prices, locations and dates current.
Buy a tracker when you have many prompts or clients to monitor, or when leadership wants a regular report. If you want a specialist to do the work, see our AI search visibility service.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO aims to rank pages in search results. AEO aims to have your content used and cited in direct answers from AI systems. They share most of the same work: helpful, crawlable, trusted pages.
Do old SEO tools work for AEO?
Rank trackers do not show whether an AI answer mentions you. Content tools still help you write clear, complete pages. Use a visibility tracker for the mention question.
How do I know if AEO is working?
Track how often AI answers mention or cite you for a fixed set of prompts, over months, and watch referral visits from AI assistants in your analytics. Because answers vary, look at trends, not single results.
Is there a ranking factor for AI answers?
Google says there are no extra requirements beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet. Other AI services do not publish their rules, so treat advice that claims to know them with caution.
Which tool is best for a small business?
Start with free options: manual prompt checks, Search Console and a free visibility checker. If you need ongoing tracking on a small budget, a low-cost tracker such as the Otterly Lite plan is one option.
Related guides
Terms in this guide
