AI visibility tools for small local businesses, compared

The question we kept in mind is the one a dentist, a plumber or an office furniture maker actually has: when someone asks an AI assistant for a business like mine in my city, am I named, and what should I change? That is a narrower job than brand monitoring, and it changes which tool makes sense.

Disclosure: we build Zmienka, one of the tools below. Prices and features of the other tools come from their own websites, read on 3 November 2026. Prices change, so check the pricing page before you buy.

The short version

Tool	Cheapest paid option	Billing	AI assistants
Otterly.AI	$29/month ($25 billed annually)	Subscription	4, plus 3 as add-ons
Prominara	$29/month	Subscription	Up to 5 (2 on Starter)
Rankfender	$89/month	Subscription	Up to 8
Profound	No public price	Enterprise	Up to 9
Zmienka	€4.90 one-off (test free)	One-off, optional €9/month	1 (Gemini)

Otterly.AI

Otterly.AI monitors how often a brand is mentioned and which websites are cited in AI search. The Lite plan costs $29 a month, or $25 a month on annual billing, and higher plans are $189 and $489 a month. It tracks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot, with Gemini, AI Mode and Claude available as add-ons. You can choose a country, but the pricing page does not mention tracking by city.

Good fit if you or a marketer will check the dashboard regularly and want several assistants in one place.

Prominara

Prominara combines AI visibility checks with a website audit and generated fixes such as schema and llms.txt. Starter is $29 a month and covers two AI surfaces; Pro ($149) and Agency ($299) cover all five it supports. Billing is monthly with a 14-day free trial. Its homepage speaks mainly to agencies and marketing teams.

Good fit if you manage a website yourself and want monitoring plus technical fixes in one subscription.

Rankfender

Rankfender is an SEO platform with AI answer checks added: site audit, keyword data, article publishing to WordPress and checks across up to eight assistants. Plans start at $89 a month (Essential), then $199 and $499. There are also pay-as-you-go credit packs. It suits someone who wants SEO and AI tracking in one tool and will use the content features.

Good fit if you already do regular SEO work and want AI tracking alongside it.

Profound

Profound is an enterprise AI search visibility platform with an AI agent that drafts marketing fixes. Its pricing page shows a free trial (50 prompts a day for 7 days) and an Enterprise plan with custom pricing. We could not find a published self-serve price.

Good fit if you are a larger brand with a marketing team and budget for an enterprise contract.

Zmienka

Zmienka asks an AI assistant the questions a customer in your city would ask, three times each, because answers change from run to run. The report shows who was named, in how many answers, and which sources the assistant used, with the engine and date next to every result. For now it measures Google's Gemini with Google Search. The test is free. The Fix list (€4.90) lists what to change; the Action plan (€9.90) adds specific pages, a competitor comparison and ready-to-copy texts; Done for you costs €79. Monthly re-measurement is an optional €9 add-on.

Limits to know: one assistant for now, not five or nine, and it was built and first tested on local businesses in Slovakia. It does not track brand mentions across the web or prompts at scale.

Good fit if you run a local business and want to know where you stand and what to fix, without a monthly subscription.

How to choose

• Will someone act on the numbers every month? If yes, a subscription tool such as Otterly.AI or Prominara is worth considering. If not, a one-off check is usually enough.
• Do your customers search by city? Most tools here track by country or brand. Check whether the tool lets you ask city-level questions such as “best dentist in Leeds”.
• Which assistants do your customers use? More assistants means a fuller picture, but also a higher price. One assistant measured carefully can still show the direction.
• Do you need help with the fixes? Some tools stop at numbers; others give a task list or texts you can paste.

A note on what any tool can tell you

Every tool on this list measures a sample of answers at a point in time. In our own test of 216 Gemini answers to 72 local business questions on 30 October 2026, only 36 % of named businesses appeared in all three runs of the same question, and 57 % in at least two. A single answer, from any tool, says little. Look for tools that repeat questions and show the date and the assistant next to each result, and be wary of anyone who promises a place in AI answers.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI visibility tool?

It asks AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity the questions your customers might ask and records whether your business or brand is named and which sources the answer used. Most tools repeat this on a schedule and show the trend.

Do I need a monthly AI visibility subscription as a local business?

Not always. Monthly tools make sense when someone will act on the numbers every month. If you mainly want to know where you stand and what to fix, a one-off check and a task list may be enough, and you can measure again after the changes.

Which AI visibility tool is cheapest?

Among the tools in this comparison, Zmienka has a free test and paid plans from €4.90 as a one-off payment. Otterly.AI Lite and Prominara Starter start at $29 a month, Rankfender at $89 a month. Profound does not publish a self-serve price on its pricing page.

Can any tool guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend my business?

No. Answers change from run to run and depend on the question, location and sources. A tool can measure and suggest changes, but no one can promise placement in AI answers.