Use the one that matches the suite you already pay for: the switching cost of a second SEO platform outweighs the differences between their AI add-ons. If you're choosing fresh, they do different jobs. Semrush tracks a small list of your own prompts daily (ChatGPT and Google AI Mode are the engines it names), with prompt research, weekly Brand Performance reports and Site Audit checks around it. Ahrefs Brand Radar is a research index: hundreds of millions of questions already run on six AI platforms, so you can size up any brand without writing a prompt, but its chatbot data refreshes monthly.
| Pick Semrush if… | Pick Ahrefs Brand Radar if… | |
|---|---|---|
| You already use | Semrush | Ahrefs |
| Your question is | "How do we show up for these 25 questions?" | "Who owns AI answers in our market, and which pages get cited?" |
| Engines you need | Daily tracking on ChatGPT and AI Mode is enough | You want AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot in the same index |
| Freshness | You want your own prompts tracked regularly | Monthly market snapshots are fine (custom prompts can run daily) |
| Team size | One person | A team on one Ahrefs account |
Side by side
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Ahrefs Brand Radar | |
|---|---|---|
| Rubric score | 2.8 / 5 | 2.9 / 5 |
| Entry price | $99/mo | $199/mo |
| Prompts at entry | 25 ($3.96 each) | n/a |
| Engines at entry | ChatGPT, AI Mode | One of: AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot |
| Most engines | Prompt tracking names ChatGPT and AI Mode; Brand Performance covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini | All six for $699; Claude for custom prompts only |
| Data method | Collection method (interface or API) not described in the knowledge base articles we read. | Takes People Also Ask questions from Ahrefs' keyword index and submits them through each chatbot's web interface in the keyword's location. Claude runs via API. |
| Refresh | Prompt tracking daily; Brand Performance weekly; Site Audit on demand | AI chatbot indexes monthly; AI Overviews every few days; custom prompts daily, weekly or monthly |
| AI crawler data | No; Site Audit checks AI crawlability, which isn't the same as agent logs | None |
| Seats | One per $99 licence | Per Ahrefs account |
| Trial | None (Semrush says the toolkit has no free trial) | None stated; Brand Radar buyers get a free Ahrefs account |
| Cost for one small business | 2 | 2 |
| Engine coverage at entry tier | 3 | 3 |
| Data method and freshness | 3 | 3 |
| Insight and next steps | 4 | 4 |
| View of your own site | 2 | 1 |
| Self-serve and trial | 3 | 4 |
Prices from semrush.com and help.ahrefs.com, checked Nov 1, 2026. USD, monthly billing. Rubric rows are scored 1–5; the higher score is highlighted. How we score
The differences that matter
Tracking versus research
Semrush's model is the classic tracker: you choose 25 prompts and it follows them, with Prompt Research to help you pick. Ahrefs inverted that. It takes People Also Ask questions from its keyword index, runs them through each chatbot's web interface from the keyword's location, and lets you query the result for any brand. You get share of voice for your whole category on day one, including for competitors you'd never have thought to track.
The trade-off is relevance. Brand Radar's prompts come from search behaviour, which isn't always how customers phrase a question to an assistant. Both tools let you add your own prompts; Ahrefs prices them in checks ($50 for 2,500 a month, enough for 20 prompts on four platforms daily).
Engines
Semrush's knowledge base names ChatGPT and Google AI Mode as examples for daily prompt tracking; its weekly Brand Performance report covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Brand Radar covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, plus Claude for custom prompts, but each platform's index is $199 a month on its own; all of them is $699.
Freshness and method
Ahrefs documents its method and refresh openly: web interfaces, monthly for chatbot indexes, every few days for AI Overviews, and your choice for custom prompts. Semrush documents its refresh (prompt tracking daily, Brand Performance weekly) but not whether answers come from interfaces or APIs. Monthly refresh is Brand Radar's biggest weakness for anyone trying to see whether last week's change worked.
Seats
Semrush's toolkit is per user: "another license ($99) for each subuser". Brand Radar is tied to your Ahrefs account and plan.
What it costs to track 20 prompts on four engines
- Semrush: 20 prompts fit the $99 base plan, tracked daily on the engines Semrush names (ChatGPT and AI Mode). Four engines daily isn't documented.
- Ahrefs: 20 × 4 × 30 days = 2,400 checks, inside the $50 Basic prompt pack, on top of a paid Ahrefs plan or Brand Radar. Confirm the base plan Ahrefs requires for your account.
- For contrast: Otterly.AI tracks 15 prompts on four engines for $29, and Peec AI 50 prompts on three for $95.
The two reviews
We have no commercial relationship with Semrush or Ahrefs. We own cite-met, which isn't part of this comparison.
Questions people ask
Is Ahrefs Brand Radar or Semrush better for AI visibility?
They're built differently. Semrush's toolkit tracks a list of prompts you choose (25 for $99) daily, documented on ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. Ahrefs Brand Radar gives you an index of hundreds of millions of search-backed prompts already run on six AI platforms, refreshed monthly for chatbots. Semrush suits tracking; Brand Radar suits research.
How much do Semrush and Ahrefs charge for AI visibility?
Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 a month per user. Ahrefs Brand Radar is $199 a month per AI platform index or $699 for all platforms, with custom prompt packs from $50 (checked November 2026).