Stop Wasting Money on Fantasy Data.
Get the Truth for $49.

Real visibility. Real analysis.

15 minutes. Persona-based testing across 6 AI models.

The Market at a Glance

Tool Price Speed Methodology For
Signal $49 one-time 15 minutes Persona-based testing Business owners
Otterly AI $29/month Hours Generic prompts Marketers
Rankscale AI $20/month (credit-based) Days Generic prompts SEO pros
Promptmonitor $29/month Days Generic prompts + features SMBs
Peec AI $90-99/month Days Generic prompts Enterprise
Am I on AI $99/mo Hours Generic prompts Curious users
Profound $499/month Weeks Generic prompts Fortune 500
Writesonic $99+/month Days Big data analytics Enterprise teams
Semrush AI $99/month Days Generic prompts SEO experts
LogicMonitor $299+/month Weeks Infrastructure monitoring Enterprise IT
Ahrefs Brand Radar $699/month Weeks Generic prompts Enterprise
AI Visibility $19-49/month Days Generic prompts SMBs
Am I On AI (Mindshare) $19-99/month Days Generic prompts Marketers
Ceel.ai Enterprise pricing Weeks 4D Framework Regulated industries
Squarespace Beacon AI Built into platform Minutes Basic SEO scanner Squarespace users

Notice the pattern: Every other tool uses generic prompts. Only Signal tests as your actual customer — 50+ persona-based queries across 6 AI systems.

The difference isn't price. It's methodology. Generic testing = fantasy data. Signal = what your customers actually see.

Detailed Comparison

Surmado Signal

$49 one-time

Diagnostic AI Visibility report delivered in 15 minutes. Tests as your actual customer, not with generic prompts.

Why it works: We "become" your customer and ask 6 AI systems for recommendations. You see exactly what they see—not generic testing that produces fantasy data.

Otterly AI The Rear-View Mirror

$29/month

Monitors mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews. Share-of-voice tracking.

The Problem: Otterly is a good monitoring tool for a great price. It tells you what happened yesterday. But a dashboard of data is just another chore for a busy business owner. It's a diagnostic without a prescription. $348/year for monitoring without solutions.

The Signal + Solutions Advantage: We give you the diagnosis and the cure. Signal shows you the problem, and Solutions gives you the step-by-step strategic plan to fix it. We deliver an answer, not just more data to analyze.

Rankscale AI The False Economy

$20/month (credit-based)

SEO + AI Visibility tracking. Rank/position monitoring in AI responses. Technical, data-heavy.

The Problem: Rankscale offers a cheap entry point for basic monitoring. But their methodology is still based on the same flawed, generic prompts as everyone else. Complex interface built for technical users. $240/year credit-based pricing.

The Signal Advantage: You get the truth for a one-time price that's still less than two months of their service. Clear answers, not complex dashboards.

Promptmonitor The Feature Trap

$29/month

SMB-focused tool with AI crawler analytics and contact discovery for outreach. Feature-rich monitoring dashboard.

The Problem: Promptmonitor is a powerful tool with some unique features. But like all monitoring dashboards, it gives you more data to analyze, not a finished answer. It's another chore. $348/year for access to tools, not solutions.

The Signal + Solutions Advantage: We do the analysis for you. Signal delivers a finished diagnostic, and Solutions delivers a finished strategy. We sell you the answer, not just access to the data.

Peec AI The Nickel-and-Dime Model

€89/month (~$95/month)

Daily prompt tracking, competitor benchmarking, live dashboards. Berlin-based, €7M funded. Pricing limited by prompts and countries tracked.

The Problem: Peec AI offers a solid tool but penalizes you for growth. Their pricing is based on how many prompts you track and, critically, how many countries you operate in. Manual setup for every competitor. $1,140+/year for generic monitoring with artificial limits.

The Signal Advantage: We're built for a global, digital economy. Our one-time price is simple, transparent, and has no hidden limits. We don't charge you more just because your customers are in different places.

Writesonic The Bridge to Nowhere

$99+/month

AI Visibility tracking + content creation platform. 120M+ conversation dataset, enterprise-grade analytics. Y Combinator backed.

The Problem: Writesonic is an all-in-one platform trying to serve two masters: old SEO and new AI optimization. By clinging to outdated SEO frameworks and generic query datasets, their strategy is compromised. Their 120M queries are meaningless for local businesses because AI is becoming MORE personal, not less. $1,188+/year for enterprise-focused data that doesn't reflect how your actual customers interact with AI.

The Signal Advantage: We're not a bridge; we're built from the ground up for persona-based reality. We show you what your customers actually see, not what a generic dataset suggests.

Am I on AI

Free scan / $99/month

Free one-time scan across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini. Basic sentiment + share-of-voice.

The Problem: Static snapshot that takes hours. No ongoing monitoring on free tier. $99/month for what Signal gives you for $49 once.

Am I On AI (Mindshare)

$19-99/month

AI Visibility tracking with weekly action plans. 7,000+ users, tracks ChatGPT, Google Overview, AI Mode. Agency program available.

Why Signal Wins: Generic weekly action plans without persona-based testing. Claims "7,000+ marketers" but no methodology explanation. $228-1,188/year for generic recommendations that don't reflect how your actual customers interact with AI.

Ceel.ai

Enterprise pricing

4D Framework for LLM visibility. Focuses on regulated industries (Pharma, SaaS). Enterprise-grade with "Audience Agent" simulation.

Why Signal Wins: Ceel.ai ONLY serves regulated industries and enterprise clients. They explicitly ignore small business. Their 4D Framework is complex and expensive. Signal gives small businesses the same quality insights for $49 that enterprises pay thousands for.

Squarespace Beacon AI

Built into platform

Basic SEO scanner built into Squarespace. Scans page titles, descriptions, alt text. Generic AI content generation tools.

Why Signal Wins: Beacon AI is just a basic SEO scanner with generic AI content tools. No persona-based testing, no customer journey simulation. It's a website builder feature, not a specialized AI visibility solution. Signal provides deep insights that Beacon AI can't match.

Profound The Ivory Tower

$499/month

Enterprise AI monitoring + content creation. Ongoing tracking, brand mentions, content optimization.

The Problem: Profound is a powerful, brilliant tool built for the Fortune 500, with a price tag to match. $5,988/year. Generic prompt library. They serve the 1%.

The Signal Advantage: We are "The Deflation Company." We built the core strategic value of their platform, made it better with a laser focus on SMB personas, and delivered it for $49. We serve the other 99%.

Semrush AI Toolkit

$99/month

AI Visibility integrated with SEO data. Part of broader Semrush suite.

The Problem: Feels bolted-on. Designed for SEO experts who live in dashboards, not business owners who need answers.

Ahrefs Brand Radar

$699/month

Enterprise-grade AI mention monitoring. Premium tier of Ahrefs suite.

The Problem: $8,388/year. Prohibitively expensive for SMBs. Enterprise overkill.

Cost vs. Value

Why methodology matters more than monthly pricing

Generic Prompt Testing

  • Tests with generic prompts ("best restaurant in Boston")
  • Doesn't account for different customer types
  • Provides surface-level metrics
  • Monitoring without actionable insights
  • Annual cost: $240-348/year

Persona-Based Testing

  • Tests as your actual customer would ask
  • Accounts for different customer types
  • Shows what your customers actually see
  • Diagnostic + actionable recommendations
  • One-time cost: $49

The Core Difference

Generic Testing

  • One-size-fits-all prompts
  • Surface-level results
  • No context or action

Persona-Based Testing

  • Realistic, customer-specific queries
  • Accurate visibility results
  • Actionable strategy

Generic dashboards show activity. Signal shows truth — in 15 minutes, for $49.

Proof: 0% → #1 in 30 Days

El Tianguis (San Diego)

0%
Before: 0% visibility for "celiac-safe" queries
Completely invisible
67%
After: 67% visibility, #1 in category
How: Signal identified the gap, Solutions provided the roadmap

How They Did It

  1. Signal diagnosis: Revealed 0% visibility with celiac families (their target customer)
  2. Solutions roadmap: Created persona-specific action plan
  3. Execute: One month of focused work
  4. Results: 67% visibility, #1 ranking, now expanding to tourist persona

Persona-based testing found what generic tools missed entirely.

This is what persona-based methodology looks like in practice.
Generic tools would have missed the celiac opportunity entirely.

Read the Full Case Study

Tools, Not Suites

Use what you need, when you need it. No bloated enterprise subscriptions.

Need AI Visibility?

Use Signal. Get your $49 diagnostic report. See where you stand. No subscription required.

Learn More

Need Strategy?

Use Solutions. Get your $49 action plan. Execute it. No ongoing consulting fees.

Learn More

Need Both?

Signal shows the problem, Solutions fixes it.

See Case Study

We're a hammer for when you need a hammer.
Not a toolbox subscription you'll never fully use. Buy the tool when you need it. Solve the problem.

Why Signal Is Different

Better Than Am I on AI

$49 vs their free-but-slow scan. 15 minutes vs hours. Persona-based vs generic. Actionable vs informational.

Accessible, Not Cheap

$49 one-time for accurate data beats $240-348/year for worthless dashboards. Quality methodology at the right price. Delivered in 15 minutes while competitors take days.

vs Writesonic's Big Data

Their 120M queries are meaningless for local businesses. AI is becoming MORE personal, not less. Signal's persona approach reflects reality.

Solutions, Not Dashboards

Otterly shows problems. We fix them. Diagnostic + roadmap via Signal + Solutions integration.

Persona-Based = Real

They test "best pizza in Boston." We test as your actual customer. This is the only way to get real data.

Built for Business Owners

Not SEO pros or marketing teams. You get a report with answers, not a dashboard you need to interpret.

The Deep Dive: The Fatal Flaw in "AEO" and "GEO"

Here's the simple, technical reason why our data reflects reality and theirs is fantasy.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are contextual recommendation systems, not "answer engines." They are designed to give different answers to different people. A parent asking for a "kid-friendly restaurant" gets a different recommendation than an executive asking for a "client lunch spot"—even when they're on the same street.

This is the fatal flaw in every other tool.

Competitors who test with generic prompts like "best restaurant in Boston" are measuring data devoid of context. It looks impressive in a dashboard but has zero correlation with what your customers see.

Their entire methodology is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how AI works. You cannot "optimize" for a single answer that doesn't exist. You can only measure your visibility with the specific customer personas you are trying to reach.

Persona-based testing isn't a feature; it's the only methodology that works.

What About "Answer Engine Optimization"?

Why the industry's favorite buzzwords miss the point entirely

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

The term is wrong. LLMs aren't "answer engines" that provide one answer per query. They're contextual recommendation systems that provide different responses based on user personas.

A busy executive asking "best coffee shop for a meeting" gets completely different recommendations than a parent asking "coffee shop with space for strollers." Same neighborhood. Same moment. Different results.

Companies selling "AEO" are porting SEO thinking to a fundamentally different system. That's why their data doesn't match reality.

GenAI Optimization / AI Optimization (AIO)

Umbrella terms that sound comprehensive but miss the critical insight: different customer personas see completely different recommendations.

Most "AI optimization" treats this like SEO - optimize for generic queries and measure broad visibility. But a celiac mother and a business traveler get entirely different restaurant recommendations from AI, even in the same city.

Generic optimization = generic (useless) data. You need persona-specific visibility.

"Getting My Business Into ChatGPT"

The right question. But the answer isn't "optimize your website" or "add structured data" or other SEO tactics ported to AI.

The answer is: understand how your actual customers ask AI for recommendations, then fix the specific gaps in your persona-based visibility.

You can't fix what you can't measure. And you can't measure accurately without testing as your actual customer personas.

Why This Matters

If you're using tools that test with generic prompts and call it "AEO" or "AI optimization," you're measuring fantasy data.

Persona-based testing is the only method that shows what your actual customers see when they ask AI for recommendations. Everything else is boardroom theater.

Competitor Deep Dive: Writesonic

Why Writesonic's 120M Queries Don't Help Small Business

Writesonic treats AI like traditional search—big data, generic queries, enterprise focus. But AI is becoming MORE personal, not less.

❌ Writesonic's Approach

  • 120M+ generic conversation dataset
  • Treats AI like traditional search
  • Enterprise-focused analytics
  • $1,188+/year for big data
  • Generic prompts for all businesses

✅ Signal's Approach

  • Persona-based customer testing
  • Reflects how customers actually interact
  • Built for small business reality
  • $49 one-time for actionable insights
  • Local business focus

"AI is becoming more personal, not less. Their million queries are meaningless for local businesses. We figured out how to do localized strategies—they didn't."

Competitor Deep Dive: Ceel.ai

Why Ceel.ai Ignores Small Business (And Why That's Your Advantage)

Ceel.ai explicitly focuses ONLY on regulated industries (Pharma, SaaS) and enterprise clients. They don't serve small business at all.

❌ Ceel.ai's Focus

  • ONLY regulated industries (Pharma, SaaS)
  • Enterprise clients only
  • Complex 4D Framework
  • Enterprise pricing (thousands)
  • Ignores small business completely

✅ Signal's Focus

  • Built FOR small business
  • Local restaurants, shops, services
  • Simple, actionable insights
  • $49 one-time pricing
  • Persona-based testing for SMBs

"They serve Fortune 500. We serve the 99% of businesses Silicon Valley ignores. Signal gives small businesses enterprise-quality AI Visibility insights for $49."

Which Tool Do You Need?

Choose Signal If:

  • You're a small business owner
  • You need data that reflects your actual customers
  • You want results in 15 minutes, not weeks
  • You can't afford $200-700/month subscriptions
  • You want answers, not dashboards
  • You need actionable insights, not just monitoring

Other Tools Are Better For:

  • Rankscale ($20/mo): Technical SEO pros who want the cheapest entry point for basic monitoring
  • Otterly ($29/mo): Ongoing monitoring dashboards if you prefer subscriptions
  • Promptmonitor ($29/mo): SMBs who want feature-rich dashboards and don't mind analyzing data themselves
  • Peec ($90-99/mo): Enterprise teams with budget for daily tracking across multiple countries
  • Writesonic ($99+/mo): Large teams needing content creation + AI Visibility tracking combined
  • Ceel.ai (Enterprise): Regulated industries (Pharma, SaaS) with enterprise budgets
  • Squarespace Beacon AI: Basic SEO scanning for Squarespace users only
  • Am I on AI: Quick curiosity check with their free scan
  • Profound ($499/mo): Fortune 500 companies with dedicated AI strategy teams
  • Semrush/Ahrefs: SEO professionals who need AI Visibility alongside SEO tools

Future: Signal Subscription

We're building a subscription tier with multi-persona support and automatic Solutions integration. But for now, $49 one-time gets you everything you need to start winning.

The Choice Is Simple

You can pay $300+/year for a dashboard of fantasy data.

Or $49 once for the truth.

Get My Report — $49

15 minutes. No fluff.

Common Questions About AI Visibility

What is AI Visibility? It's how often AI platforms like ChatGPT or Claude recommend your business when customers ask for help.

What makes Signal different? It tests as your customer—across six major AI systems—so you get real visibility data, not generic prompt results.

How much does it cost? $49, one-time. Results in 15 minutes.