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Free AI SEO tools: what each one checks
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The free AI SEO tools worth running cost nothing and most need no card. Google Search Console now reports how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Bing Webmaster Tools shows when Microsoft Copilot cites you. HubSpot's AEO Grader scores how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini see your brand, and AthenaHQ's free plan tracks five engines on 300 credits a month. AfterLaunch's free tools check whether AI crawlers can read your site, whether you serve an llms.txt and whether Wikidata and Google know your brand.
What each one offers for free was read off its owner's own page on 23 October 2026. Free plans change without notice, so check before you rely on one.
- Google's generative AI performance report in Search Console reached every site on 31 August 2026. It counts impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Bing Webmaster Tools added an AI Performance report in public preview in February 2026. It shows when your site is cited in Copilot's answers.
- HubSpot's AEO Grader is a free one-time check with no account, but the full report sits behind a form.
- Free tools give you a reading. Tracking the same questions every week, and doing the work they point to, is where the paid plans start.
The free tools side by side
| Tool | What it checks | What's free, 23 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | How often your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode | Free for a site you've verified. Impressions only |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | When your site is cited in AI answers across Microsoft Copilot, and your citation share per query | Free for a site you've verified, in public preview |
| HubSpot AEO Grader | A score out of 100 for how GPT-5.4 mini, Perplexity and Gemini describe your brand, across sentiment, presence, recognition and how you stand against competitors | A free one-time check with no account. The full report needs a form |
| AthenaHQ Essential | Brand tracking on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot | 300 credits a month, one credit per AI answer |
| Semrush free plan | 10 reports a day across its main tools, with one demo project | Free, no card. The AI Visibility Toolkit itself is $99 a month |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Site Audit and Site Explorer for your own verified sites | Free with sign-up, 5,000 crawl credits per project a month |
| AfterLaunch Findable | Your robots.txt, sitemap and up to 50 pages, for what search engines and AI assistants need, scored out of 100 | Free, no signup |
| AfterLaunch AI crawlability checker | Whether the crawlers behind ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google can reach your homepage, scored out of 100 | Free, no signup |
| AfterLaunch llms.txt checker | Whether your site serves an llms.txt, and a file to publish if it doesn't | Free, no signup |
| AfterLaunch AI entity check | Whether Wikidata and Google's Knowledge Graph know your brand | Free, no signup |
| AfterLaunch deep scan | Your customers' questions put to ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, and who gets named | Free, no card |
What to run first
- Check the engines can read you. Run the AI crawlability checker or Findable, because nothing else on this page matters if the crawlers are blocked.
- Verify your site in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. They're the only free tools here that read the engines' own data about your pages.
- Get one reading of how the assistants describe you, from HubSpot's grader or AfterLaunch's deep scan, and note which competitors come up instead.
- Add an llms.txt if you don't have one. It's cheap, though Google says its Search ignores the file.
- Check Wikidata and Google know your brand with the AI entity check.
Where free stops
Every tool above gives you a reading. None of them asks the same questions every week and tells you whether the work you shipped changed the answer. That's where the paid plans start: Otterly.ai's Lite plan at $29 a month for 15 prompts is the cheapest steady tracker we found, and Search Console and Bing stay free alongside whatever you pick.
AfterLaunch's free tools and deep scan are the start of the paid product. After 14 free days with no card it's $149 a month, and for that it tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews every week, reads your SEO, competitors and channels, and ranks the next growth move with a working draft in your voice. You or your AI finishes it.
Run the free AI crawlability checker →Check your site with Findable →The AEO tools compared on price →Is there a completely free AI SEO tool?
Several. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are free for any site you verify, HubSpot's AEO Grader runs once with no account, and AfterLaunch's crawlability checker, Findable, llms.txt checker and entity check need no signup. AthenaHQ's Essential plan is free with 300 credits a month.
Does Google Search Console show AI Overviews?
Yes. Google announced generative AI performance reports on 3 June 2026 and says they reached every site on 31 August 2026. The report counts how often your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Is Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit free?
No. Semrush's free plan gives 10 reports a day and lists some AI visibility features, but its help page says the AI Visibility Toolkit needs a paid subscription, at $99 a month, and the pricing page lists no trial specific to the toolkit.
- Google Search Central, Introducing Search generative AI performance reports in Search Console, 3 June 2026, read 23 October 2026
- Google, Search Console Help, generative AI performance report, read 23 October 2026
- Bing Webmaster Blog, Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools, public preview, February 2026, read 23 October 2026
- Bing Search Blog, new AI visibility insights in Bing Webmaster Tools, 16 June 2026, read 23 October 2026
- HubSpot, AEO Grader, read 23 October 2026
- AthenaHQ, Pricing, read 23 October 2026
- Semrush, Pricing, read 23 October 2026
- Semrush Knowledge Base, AI Visibility Toolkit, read 23 October 2026
- Ahrefs, Webmaster Tools, read 23 October 2026
- Otterly.ai, Pricing, read 23 October 2026
- AfterLaunch, Pricing
The deep scan asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity the questions your customers ask, and shows who they name. Free, no card.
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