The best free AI visibility checkers (2026)

You do not need a paid subscription to find out whether AI mentions your business. Several free tools and methods will give you a real first reading, which is often all you need to decide whether the problem is worth investing in. Here are the best free ways to check your AI visibility in 2026, and an honest note on where free runs out.

Disclosure: amimentioned makes a free AI check as well as paid plans, so this roundup is informed rather than neutral. We have been straight about what each option can and cannot do.

What "free" can and cannot do

A free check is a snapshot: it tells you how you look right now. That is genuinely useful for deciding whether to act. What free generally cannot do is track you every week, alert you when something changes, or hand you an ongoing fix list. Keep that line in mind as you read, because the gap between a one-off snapshot and continuous tracking is exactly where paid tools earn their place.

The best free AI visibility checkers

1. amimentioned free AI check: best free multi-assistant reading

Our own free check puts five real customer questions to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, then shows how many of the answers mention you, your rank against rivals, and a preview of what to fix. There is no signup to run it, and it takes about a minute.

Strengths: reads live answers across all four major assistants, shows competitors and a fix preview, and needs nothing but your website. Watch-outs: the free version is a snapshot of five questions; weekly tracking and the full fix list are on the paid plans. Best for: a fast, honest reading across every major assistant. Run it at amimentioned.com.au/check.

2. Ask the assistants yourself: best zero-cost DIY method

The most basic free method is to open ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity and ask the questions your customers ask: "best [your trade] in [your city]." It is free, and it shows you the raw answer.

Strengths: genuinely free and completely direct. You see exactly what a customer sees. Watch-outs: it is manual, easy to bias with your own phrasing, tests one question at a time, and is hard to track over time. Best for: a quick gut check before you use a structured tool.

3. HubSpot's free AI Search Grader: best free grader

HubSpot offers a free grader aimed at AI search and AEO readiness. Grader tools score your brand and site against best practices rather than continuously reading live answers, so treat the result as a checklist of things to improve.

Strengths: free, quick, and backed by a major software company. Watch-outs: a grader is a point-in-time score and a prompt to sign up, not ongoing monitoring. Best for: a free to-do list of fundamentals to shore up.

4. Free trials of paid tools: best for a deeper one-off look

Most paid platforms, including Otterly, Peec and the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, offer free trials. A trial lets you see the full product before paying.

Strengths: full-featured access, so you can properly evaluate a tool. Watch-outs: a trial is temporary, not a free tier, and usually asks for card details up front. Best for: evaluating whether a specific paid tool is worth buying.

5. Google's own AI surfaces: best free way to check Google

Searching your own key questions in Google and watching whether you appear in the AI Overview is free and tells you about the Google surface specifically.

Strengths: free, and the only way to eyeball the exact Google AI Overview a customer sees. Watch-outs: Google only, manual, and answers can vary by person and location. Best for: checking your presence in Google's AI Overviews.

At a glance

Where free ends

A free reading answers the first question: does AI mention me, and who does it name instead. If the answer worries you, the next questions, is it getting better or worse, what exactly changed this week, what should I fix first, are the ones that need ongoing tracking. That is where a paid plan earns its keep. For a fuller comparison of paid options, see our roundups of the best AEO software and best GEO software in Australia.

FAQ

Can I really check my AI visibility for free? Yes. A free check gives you a real snapshot across the major assistants. What it will not do is monitor you continuously.

Are free trials the same as free tools? No. A trial gives you full access for a limited time, usually with card details up front. A genuinely free tool or check keeps working at no cost, though usually as a one-off snapshot.

What is the fastest free option? The amimentioned free AI check. No signup, about a minute, all four major assistants.

Do free graders read live AI answers? Usually not. Graders score your site against best practices. Checkers like ours read the live answers themselves. Both are useful for different reasons.

Take your free reading now

There is no reason to guess. Run a free AI check to see how often ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity mention your business today, and who they recommend instead. If you like what a snapshot tells you, you can always add weekly tracking later. You can also browse the Australian AI Visibility Index to see who currently leads your category.