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Four ways to get named by AI

When buyers ask ChatGPT which tool to use, there are four ways to make sure they hear about yours. Here's what each costs, how much of your time it takes, and how you'll know it worked.

  • Updated
  • Sources checked

We make one of the four, so we're not neutral. We've stuck to facts we can source, said what each option does well, and left a placeholder where we don't have a fact yet.

The four ways, side by side

Each one is a way to get the same job done: buyers hear your product's name when they ask AI.

Do it yourself

What it is

You ask ChatGPT and the other AI tools your buyers' questions, note who's named, then do the fixes and the outreach yourself.

What it costs

Free, apart from your time.

Your time

The most of the four: each question asked several times in each AI tool, every week, then the work itself.

How you'll know it's working

Hard to tell. Answers change every time: in one study, the same list of brands came back twice less than once in 100 tries (Search Engine Land).

Good for

A first look, before you spend anything. Our guide shows how to check.

The catch

It's slow to do fairly. One marketer called checking by hand “tedious” (r/seogrowth).

An SEO agency

What it is

An agency works on your site, your content and the links to it, and reports to you each month.

What it costs

A monthly retainer: [typical monthly range, with source].

Your time

A monthly call, and approving their work.

How you'll know it's working

A monthly report, usually about Google positions and traffic.

Good for

Google search, if that's still where most of your buyers start.

The catch

Doing well on Google isn't the same job. Agencies say clients assume “if they rank well on Google they should automatically appear in AI answers” (r/DigitalMarketing).

A tracking tool

What it is

A tool asks AI tools your questions, often daily, and charts where you show up. Peec AI, Otterly.AI and Profound are three.

What it costs

As published: from $29 a month at Otterly.AI and $95 at Peec AI; Profound lists a free trial, then custom pricing.

Your time

Reading the reports, then doing the work they point to.

How you'll know it's working

Charts of how often you show up, across many questions and AI tools.

Good for

Marketing teams with time to act on the data.

The catch

It shows you the gap; closing it is still your job. As one person in the field put it, “we can track presence, but not impact” (r/SEO_LLM).

outshone That's us

What it is

We check your buyers' questions every week, pick up to five jobs most likely to get you named, do most of each one, and tell you honestly whether it's working.

What it costs

From [$N] a month for up to 5 jobs a week. No card to start. See pricing.

Your time

About [N] minutes a week, approving what goes out. Nothing is sent in your name without your OK.

How you'll know it's working

Every Monday: named in X of Y answers, with a likely range, and what we can't measure. See how we measure.

Good for

Small software teams with no SEO person, who want the work done rather than another report.

The catch

We're new, so we can't show you results from other customers yet. And nobody can promise you a spot in AI answers. We won't.

Why it's worth doing now

In G2's 2026 survey of B2B software buyers, 51% said they start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google, and 69% had chosen a different vendor than they planned because it came up in a chatbot's recommendation (G2).

Whichever of the four ways you choose, the first step is the same: find out what AI tools tell your buyers today. The free check does that in about a minute.

Comparing outshone with a specific tool?

Who each is for, what it costs as published, and when to choose it instead of us.

  • outshone vs Profound

    Profound: An AI marketing platform for large companies and their marketing teams, with AI agents and enterprise controls.

    • Checked

  • outshone vs Peec AI

    Peec AI: AI search analytics for marketing teams and agencies, with daily tracking across many questions and AI models.

    • Checked

  • outshone vs Otterly.AI

    Otterly.AI: Low-cost tracking of brand mentions in AI search, for marketers and small teams, from $29 a month.

    • Checked

How we write these

Comparison pages are easy to slant. These are the rules we hold ourselves to.

  • Their facts come from them

    What we say about another tool comes from its own website or the press, linked, with the date we checked it.

  • We say what they do well

    Every comparison lists the other option's strengths, and who should choose it over us.

  • No scores or winners

    No star ratings, no made-up scores, no “winner” badges. You decide what fits.

  • We fix what goes out of date

    Prices and plans change. If you spot something old, write to us and we'll update it and the date.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these sources. We checked each on 6 Nov 2026.

Start with what AI tells your buyers today.

Type your product's name or website. In about a minute you'll see what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews say when a buyer asks for a tool like yours.

Free. See who AI recommends instead of you, in about a minute.