Guide · The $0 tier of a very new category
Free ways to check your AI visibility, before you pay for anything
Short answer
Ahrefs runs three genuinely free, no-signup checkers (AI Overviews Tracker, AI Mode Tracker and AI Visibility Checker), each giving a limited one-off snapshot of your brand. Every dedicated GEO platform offers a free trial instead of a permanent free tier; Scrunch's is the clearest, at seven days, though its own pages disagree on whether a card is needed. And the option that needs no tool at all: just ask ChatGPT or Perplexity directly whether they know your brand. It is not a measurement, but it costs nothing and tells you something real. What Google Search Console cannot do, at any price, is separate AI Overviews data from ordinary organic search.
Before signing up for anything in the paid AI-visibility comparison, it is worth spending fifteen minutes on what is already free. Most of it is limited to a single snapshot rather than ongoing tracking, but a snapshot is enough to answer the first question most people actually have: does this show up for me at all right now.
The free options, compared
| Option | Type | What you get | The limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs AI Overviews Tracker | Free, no signup | Mention count, mentions over time, top 5 topics, domains and pages cited | One-off preview, not daily tracking |
| Ahrefs AI Mode Tracker | Free, no signup | Brand mentions and citations in Google AI Mode specifically | Same limited-preview pattern |
| Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker | Free, no signup | Mentions across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity | Same limited-preview pattern |
| Asking ChatGPT / Perplexity yourself | Free, unlimited | A real, current answer to whatever you ask | Not reproducible or trackable over time: see below |
| Scrunch | 7-day trial, no card | Full Core-tier access: 125 prompts, 4 platforms, site audits | Reverts to paid after 7 days |
| Otterly AI | Free trial | Lite-tier feature set | Time-limited; check current terms at signup |
| Peec AI | Free trial | Starter-tier access | Time-limited; check current terms at signup |
| Profound | Free trial, 7 days | 50 prompts a day on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews | Ends after 7 days; paid access is Enterprise only |
Checked against each vendor's own site in September 2026. Trial lengths on self-serve signups change without much notice: confirm the current terms before you start one, since some require a card and some do not.
What Google Search Console can't tell you
The obvious free tool most people reach for first does not help here. Google does not separate AI Overviews impressions and clicks from ordinary organic search data inside Search Console, and there is no sign that is changing. If an AI Overview sits above your listing, that interaction is folded into your regular organic numbers with no way to isolate it. A third-party tool is required to see this specifically, which is exactly the gap the free checkers above, and the paid platforms beyond them, exist to fill.
The method that costs nothing and needs no tool
Open ChatGPT or Perplexity and ask the question a real customer would ask, not "tell me about [brand]," but the actual buying question: "what's the best [category] for [use case]." See whether you come up, and if you do, what gets said. It is a genuinely free, immediate signal, and most brands have never actually looked.
It is not a substitute for tracking, for three honest reasons: the answer is personalised to your account and history, so it is not what a stranger would see; it is not reproducible, since the same prompt can return a different answer minutes later; and one check gives no trend line and no competitor comparison. Treat it as a spot check, not a metric.
When free stops being enough
Free and trial options answer "am I visible right now." They do not give you daily tracking, a trend over weeks, or a side-by-side view against competitors: that is what a paid platform is actually for, and it is worth paying for once that question starts to matter. The current self-serve options, starting at $29 a month, are in best AI visibility tools. If you are still deciding whether any of this applies to you at all, GEO vs SEO, explained covers what genuinely changed and what didn't.
Frequently asked questions
Are there really free ways to check my AI visibility?
Yes. Ahrefs offers three no-signup checkers (AI Overviews Tracker, AI Mode Tracker and AI Visibility Checker), each giving a limited one-off snapshot. Every dedicated GEO platform also offers a free trial rather than a permanent free tier.
Can Google Search Console show AI Overview impressions?
No. Google does not separate AI Overviews impressions and clicks from ordinary organic search data inside Search Console, and there is no indication that is changing. A third-party tool is required to see AI Overviews visibility specifically.
Is asking ChatGPT directly a reliable way to check my AI visibility?
It is a real, free signal, but not a measurement. A single chat response is personalised and not fully reproducible, gives no historical trend, and does not benchmark you against competitors the way a tracking tool does.
Which paid tool should I move to once free isn't enough?
Once you want daily tracking, a trend line, or a competitor benchmark, a dedicated tool earns its price. The current self-serve options, starting at $29 a month, are compared in best AI visibility tools.
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Last reviewed . Free tiers and trial terms change often: re-checked monthly. Spotted one out of date? Tell me.