Who's selling AI search optimization?
I walked through Profound — the largest AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) platform — from homepage to pricing to dashboard to blog. Full competitive teardown.
Product Matrix: 4 Pillars
Prompt Volumes
Track what users ask AI engines
Answer Engine Insights
Brand visibility + competitor benchmarking
Agents
Auto-generate AEO-optimized content
Agent Analytics
AI crawler traffic analysis
Pricing: $99/mo Entry Point
| Tier | Price | Engines | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $99/mo | 1 (ChatGPT) | 50 prompts |
| Growth | $399/mo | 3 engines | 100 prompts + 6 articles/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | 10 engines | Multi-brand + SSO |
Note
No free scan. Minimum entry is $99/mo + demo call. Small brands and solo founders are priced out completely.
Profound Index: Their "Showcase"
Industry leaderboard for AI visibility, built on 1.5B+ real user prompts. Three analysis dimensions:
| Dimension | What it shows | Visual format |
|---|---|---|
| Co-mention Analysis | Which competitors AI mentions alongside you | Network graph / heatmap |
| Topic Clusters | Keywords users actually search | Keyword coverage table |
| Mention Position | Your rank in AI responses | Heatmap matrix |
Their dashboard is built for data analysts — maximum data density, zero "3-second comprehension."
Three Critical Weaknesses
1. Too expensive. $99/mo minimum. Small brands can't justify it.
2. Too complex. Co-mention, Topic Clusters, Mention Position — great for analysts, gibberish to founders.
3. Zero Chinese engines. DeepSeek, Kimi, Doubao, Qwen — covering 2.5B users — completely absent from their platform.
Where We Win
| Profound's approach | Our approach |
|---|---|
| $99/mo + demo call | $0 free scan, instant results |
| 1-3 Western engines | 8 engines (4 Chinese + 4 Western) |
| Complex dashboard | Health score + traffic lights: 3-second clarity |
| Monthly lock-in | $20 one-time or $99/mo optional |
What does AI say about your brand?
Free scan of one engine. No credit card. Results in 1 minute.
Free DeepSeek Scan →Or go straight to Deep Report $20