In short: a good AI visibility tool tells you which assistants it checks and how, keeps the evidence behind every result, is clear about who pays for AI usage, helps you fix what it finds, keeps your data where you can reach it, admits what it cannot promise and has a price that fits how you work. Ask these seven questions of any tool, including ours, before you pay.
Tools that measure “GEO”, or how visible a business is in AI assistants, are multiplying. Their dashboards look alike, their scores look alike, and the words on their sales pages look alike. For a business owner in Lusaka or a web designer in Abidjan with a small budget, the risk is paying for numbers you cannot check or use. The questions below are neutral: use them to compare any tools you are considering. Under each one, we show how Amaso AI answers it, so you have a concrete example.
Coverage and evidence: what does it really measure?
1. Which AI assistants does it check, and how?
Ask for the exact list of engines, and ask how the tool gets the answers: through the AI companies’ official APIs, or some other way. The method matters, because an answer obtained one way can differ from what a person sees in the app. Also ask about Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, since some buyers assume every tool covers them.
How Amaso AI answers: Amaso AI checks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, through each provider’s API with your own key. Its documentation says plainly that results can differ from the provider’s consumer app and change across questions, models and dates. Amaso AI does not track Google AI Overviews or AI Mode.
2. Does it show the evidence behind each result?
A score on its own is hard to trust. You want to be able to open any result and see the exact question asked, the engine, the date, the answer and the sources used. Without that, you cannot explain a change to your boss or your client, and you cannot learn from it.
How Amaso AI answers: each result shows the exact question, the engine and the date, with the answer and citation evidence available. It also shows which businesses and websites were named instead of you, and which sites the assistant consulted.
Costs and fixes: what do you get for your money?
3. Who pays for the AI usage, and how?
Every check costs something, because the AI company charges for each request. Some tools bundle that cost into the plan with a cap; others let you connect your own keys. Ask what happens when you hit a limit, and whether the price you see includes AI usage.
How Amaso AI answers: Amaso AI uses your own keys (bring your own key). The provider bills its usage directly to you, separately from any Amaso AI plan. In Amaso AI Free there is no Amaso AI monthly limit on checks; provider limits still apply.
4. Does it help you fix things, or only measure?
Knowing you are invisible is only useful if you can act on it. Look for practical help on the things that make a site easier for assistants to read: structured data, clear business information, FAQ content, crawler access and page quality.
How Amaso AI answers: the free Lite edition generates JSON-LD schema automatically, with guided forms for types such as LocalBusiness, Service, Product, Event and FAQ, plus llms.txt. It lets you allow or block each AI crawler, runs a content audit and a technical health check of your key pages. Paid plans add AI content fixes, the FAQ generator and GEO Autopilot. For context on llms.txt, see our llms.txt explainer.
Data and honesty: can you trust it?
5. Where does your data live?
Ask whether your questions, results and notes sit in the tool’s cloud or on your own site, and whether you can export them. If you stop paying, can you still read your history?
How Amaso AI answers: Amaso AI runs inside WordPress and saves its data in your site’s own database, with CSV and JSON exports for the available datasets. Lite screens show every citation result stored on your site.
6. Is it honest about what it cannot promise?
No one controls what an AI assistant says. Be wary of any tool that guarantees citations or rankings, or presents a score as if it were a measured chance of being cited.
How Amaso AI answers: Amaso AI promises no rankings and no citations. Its documentation describes its GEO and content scores as heuristic checklists, not a probability of citation, and notes that a crawler visit does not prove indexing or citation. Our explainer on citation rate shows what it does measure.
Price: does it fit how you work?
7. Is the plan right for your sites and budget?
Check four things: is there a free way to start, is billing yearly or monthly, how many websites are included, and is there an agency option if you manage clients?
How Amaso AI answers: Amaso AI Free is free on WordPress.org, with nothing locked and on-demand checks. Paid plans are yearly: Starter $35.99, Pro $79.99 (up to 3 websites, GEO Autopilot) and Agency $199.99 (unlimited websites, GEO Autopilot 4 runs a month). Founders lifetime licenses are $99.99, $229.99 and $549.99. Details are on the pricing page.
A quick scorecard to compare tools
| Question | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Engines and method | Named list, method explained | “All AI engines”, no detail |
| Evidence | Question, engine, date and sources per result | A score you cannot open |
| AI usage cost | Clear who pays and how much | Hidden caps or credits |
| Fixes | Concrete actions on your own site | Reports only |
| Data | Exportable, you keep your history | History lost when you stop paying |
| Honesty | Limits stated in writing | Guaranteed citations or rankings |
| Price | Free start, plan fits your sites | Long commitment before any test |
The simplest test of all: install the free version of any tool, run the same ten questions, and see whether the results help you decide what to change next week. Our Amaso AI Free setup guide shows how to do that with Amaso AI, and our walkthrough on checking whether Perplexity cites your website shows the kind of evidence to expect.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid tool to measure AI visibility?
No. You can check by hand, and Amaso AI Free is free on WordPress.org. A paid plan mainly saves time with scheduled checks, alerts and reports.
Why does a tool’s result differ from what I see in ChatGPT?
Answers change with the wording, the date, the model and the way they are requested. Look at trends over several weeks rather than one result.
Should a GEO tool replace my SEO plugin?
Not necessarily. Amaso AI works next to Yoast, Rank Math, All in One SEO or SEOPress: when one of them is active, Amaso AI writes the search description into their field instead of printing its own.
Can a tool guarantee that AI assistants will cite me?
No. The AI companies decide what their assistants say. A good tool shows where you stand and what to fix.
Which plan suits a web designer with several clients?
Amaso AI Pro covers up to 3 websites and Agency covers unlimited websites, both billed yearly.
The best way to judge is to try. Install Amaso AI Free free, run your own questions, then compare the plans if you need scheduled checks.
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