HubSpot's AI Search Grader, now branded the AEO Grader, is a handy free tool for a first snapshot of your presence in AI answers. It queries three engines, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. It stays a one-shot audit though, with no history and no prioritized action plan, and ongoing tracking means paying $50/month for HubSpot AEO. It is also a US platform that processes data outside the EU. If you want a dedicated tool to track and improve your AI visibility over time, here are the best HubSpot alternatives in 2026. Hikoo leads as the complete, GDPR-compliant European alternative.
Quick Comparison
| Rank | Tool | Score |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Hikoo | 9.6 |
| #2 | Profound | 9 |
| #3 | Peec AI | 8.3 |
| #4 | Otterly.ai | 8.2 |
| #5 | Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | 7.5 |
Hikoo
Hikoo is the European GEO platform built for continuous tracking, where HubSpot's AI Search Grader delivers a single snapshot. Four modules (Analyzer, Spotlight, Elevate, Battlemap) cover page audit, mention monitoring, a prioritized action plan and competitive analysis, across up to 9 AI engines, with a permanent Free plan and European hosting.
Key Features
- European solution with data hosted in Europe and GDPR compliance by design (vs US players)
- Analyzer audits each page and scores it 0 to 100, detecting missing content types (FAQ, comparisons, glossary) that AI engines look for
- Spotlight runs continuous mention monitoring, with theme clustering and geographic performance by country
- Elevate ranks recommendations by estimated impact on AI visibility and surfaces gaps where competitors rank
- Battlemap exposes through Source Intelligence the sites cited by AI (review sites, forums, blogs, media)
- Permanent Free plan at 0 EUR with 10 prompts, 100 URL audits/month and ChatGPT
Profound
Profound is the reference enterprise platform for AI visibility, a world away from HubSpot's free tool. A $96M Series C in February 2026, Fortune 500 customers and the widest engine coverage on the market with 9 platforms. Two self-serve tiers exist, Starter at $99/month on ChatGPT only and Growth at $399/month on three engines, but full coverage takes an Enterprise quote and data is processed outside the EU.
Key Features
- Tracking across 9 AI engines (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews)
- Profound Agents automate content production and distribution aligned with brand voice
- Agent Analytics tracks site crawling by GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and GeminiBot
- Shopping Module dedicated to product discovery in AI engines
Peec AI
Peec AI is a German analytics platform that tracks the brand across 7 AI engines, well beyond the ChatGPT-only coverage of HubSpot. Public pricing from EUR 85 to 425/month, unlimited users and Source Identification to trace mentions. Each plan gives access to 3 models, the rest as add-ons.
Key Features
- Six standard engines (ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini), eleven with the Enterprise models
- Select 3 models per plan, each extra model at EUR 30, 70 or 140/month depending on tier
- Daily tracking and unlimited users on every plan
- Source Identification to detect mention origin (review sites, social, news)
- Sentiment analysis, competitive benchmarking, CSV export, API access, Looker Studio on Advanced
Otterly.ai
Otterly.ai brings the continuous monitoring that HubSpot's one-shot audit lacks. An Austrian vendor, it tracks 4 native engines daily from $29/month, with Gemini and Google AI Mode as add-ons. Built for mention tracking, with no page audit module or action plan.
Key Features
- Daily tracking on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot
- Lite at $29/month with 15 prompts and 1,000 GEO URL audits/month
- Standard at $189/month with 100 prompts, 5,000 audits and Google Looker Studio connector
- Premium at $489/month with 400 prompts and 10,000 audits
- Add-ons with extra 100 prompts ($99/month) and Google AI Mode/Gemini ($9 to $149/month)
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
For already-equipped teams, Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit adds, at $99/month, the AI tracking HubSpot does not do continuously. Coverage of Google AI Mode and ChatGPT, six reports and an AI Search Site Audit that detects crawler blockers.
Key Features
- AI Visibility Score that benchmarks AI search presence
- Prompt Research with volumes, difficulty and intent per prompt
- Prompt Tracking on Google AI Mode and ChatGPT, 25 prompts included
- Brand Performance with Share of Voice, sentiment and key narratives
- AI Search Site Audit that checks technical issues blocking AI bots
Methodology
This article compares HubSpot's AI Search Grader, a free one-shot audit, with dedicated AI visibility tools. We evaluated each alternative on feature depth, ease of use, value for money and support, favoring continuous monitoring, multi-engine coverage, action planning and a GDPR-compliant European footprint, dimensions that HubSpot's free tool does not cover.
Conclusion
HubSpot's AI Search Grader is a good free first step, but it stops at the snapshot. To drive your AI visibility over time, you need a dedicated tool. Hikoo stands out as the most complete alternative, with continuous monitoring, up to 9 engines, a prioritized action plan, GDPR compliance and a free plan. Profound targets enterprise, Peec AI and Otterly offer good European options. See also our comparisons of the best alternatives to Peec AI, Profound and Otterly.