Free AI Visibility Tools
Can you track your AI visibility for free? Yes. Here's what open-source self-hosting, free tiers, and DIY methods can and can't do.
Yes, you can track your AI visibility for free. The free options come in three forms: an open-source tool you self-host, the limited free tiers of paid tools, and checking by hand. Each trades the subscription cost for either your time or your own infrastructure. Here is what each can and can't do.
Key takeaways
- The most capable free option is an open-source tool you self-host, like Elmo, which is free under the MIT license.
- "Free" still has a cost: self-hosting means running infrastructure and paying for your own AI provider API usage.
- A few paid tools have genuinely free tiers, but they are usually capped to a single engine.
- You can check any engine by hand for nothing, though it is slow and leaves you no history.
- Managed paid tools mostly sell convenience: coverage, history, and not having to run anything yourself.
Free AI visibility tools at a glance
| Approach | What's free | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Self-host an open-source tool (Elmo) | Full features, every engine, unlimited prompts | You run the infrastructure and pay for your own API usage |
| Free tier of a paid tool (AirOps) | Tracking for a single engine | Capped to ChatGPT; broader coverage is paid |
| Manual checks | Any engine, no tool needed | Slow, no history, doesn't scale |
| DIY script | Whatever you build | Build and maintenance time is on you |
| Free trials | Full features, briefly | Time-limited, then paid |
AI products and prices change quickly, so confirm current details with each vendor.
Self-host an open-source tool
The most capable free option is to self-host an open-source tool. Elmo is free under the MIT license, tracks every major engine, and computes each metric in code you can read. There is no license fee and no per-seat pricing.
Free here means no software cost, not zero cost. You run the infrastructure, typically Docker and a database, and you supply your own AI provider API keys, so you cover the models' usage fees. For most teams that comes to far less than a subscription, and your data stays in-house. For the wider picture, see our roundup of open-source AI visibility tools.
Free tiers of paid tools
A few paid tools include a genuinely free tier, though they tend to cap it tightly. AirOps, for example, has a free Insights tier that tracks ChatGPT only; broader engine coverage moves you to a paid plan. Most other tools offer a free trial rather than a free tier, so you get full features for a limited window and then pay.
Read the fine print before you commit. A free tier in this category usually means one engine and a small prompt allowance, which is enough to try the product but not to run an ongoing program.
Check it by hand
You can measure AI visibility with no tool at all. Ask the engines the questions your buyers ask, in both base and search modes where they exist, and record whether each answer mentions or cites you. Do it on a schedule, because answers vary between runs.
Manual checking is fine for a one-off read or a very small brand. It falls apart as you add engines and prompts: there is no history, no competitor benchmarking, and it eats the time you could spend fixing the gaps it finds. For a repeatable method, see how to track your brand in AI search.
Build your own
If you are technical, you can script the loop yourself. Send your prompt set to the model APIs, directly or through a router like OpenRouter, parse each answer for your brand and any links to your site, and log the results over time. Getting started is not hard.
The cost is maintenance. You own the engine coverage, the parsing, the storage, and the reporting, and you keep all of it running as the models change. Self-hosting an existing open-source tool gives you the same loop without building and maintaining it from scratch.
Free vs paid: when to upgrade
Free options are enough until they aren't. The signal to change is usually scale: more engines, more prompts, a need for history and competitor benchmarking, or simply not wanting to run anything yourself.
At that point you have two upgrades. Self-host an open-source tool and keep it free but hands-on, or pay for a managed tool and buy back the time. Either beats flying blind in a channel that increasingly shapes how buyers find you. To weigh the paid options, see our roundup of the best AI visibility tools and the AI visibility software hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free AI visibility tool?
Yes. Elmo is free and open source when self-hosted, with full features across every major engine; you only pay for infrastructure and your own AI provider API usage. AirOps offers a free tier that tracks ChatGPT only. Most other tools are paid, though several offer free trials.
Can I check my AI visibility for free?
Yes. You can prompt the AI engines by hand and note whether they mention or cite your brand, which costs nothing but your time. For ongoing tracking across several engines, self-hosting an open-source tool like Elmo automates the same loop for free.
How do I see if ChatGPT mentions my brand for free?
Ask ChatGPT the questions your buyers ask, in both its base and search modes, and record whether it names or links to you. Repeat on a schedule, since answers vary between runs. To automate it, self-host a tool that queries the API for you.
Are free AI visibility tools good enough?
For a quick, occasional check, yes. For ongoing tracking across multiple engines with history and competitor benchmarking, you need either to self-host an open-source tool, which is free but hands-on, or pay for a managed one. Manual checks don't scale.