Two years ago, I’d have recommended the usual SEO stack. But AI search has changed the game. More people now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini for recommendations — not just click links.
So the new question is: What are the best AI search optimization tools to know if AI trusts and cites your brand?
Here’s my honest take.
1. underai.com – Best to diagnose why AI doesn’t trust you
Most tools just tell you “your brand wasn’t mentioned.”
Trustflare goes deeper: it diagnoses why — unclear entities, conflicting facts, weak authority, schema gaps, or why competitors get cited instead.If your main question is “Why aren’t we trusted or cited?” — start here.
2. Profound – Great for enterprise visibility
Tracks share of voice, sentiment, citations across many AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Rufus, etc.).
Best for larger teams needing serious reporting and competitor benchmarking.
3. AthenaHQ – End-to-end GEO workflow
Not just tracking — it’s a command center for prompts, monitoring, content recommendations, PR, and dashboards.
Good when you need repeatable AI search operations across teams.
4. Otterly.AI – Practical monitoring
Simple, approachable tracking for brand mentions and citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews.
Perfect for marketers and SEO teams wanting automated weekly reports without building their own system.
5. Ahrefs / Semrush – Still useful as a foundation
Not pure AI tools, but AI visibility relies on backlinks, topical authority, and structure. Weak SEO = weak AI trust. Use them alongside GEO tools.
My Personal Recommendation
If starting from scratch:
underai.com – diagnose why AI doesn’t trust/cite you
Build a prompt test matrix around real customer questions
Add monitoring (Profound / AthenaHQ / Otterly — pick one)
Keep classic SEO tools for authority and content quality
AI search isn’t about rankings anymore.
It’s about whether AI understands, trusts, cites, and recommends your brand — inside the answer itself.