The most visible SEO tools, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked in English, worldwide · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

Most cited source

youtube.com

17citations

From Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

They agree

Every engine names the same top three.

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
11 AnswerThePublic GB New entry 27 , range 3–50 15#11 47#11
27
  • : score 27 · #11
9% 7% First reading
12 RankMath IN New entry 26 , range 1–47 5#14 62#7
26
  • : score 26 · #12
7% 5% First reading
13 Surfer PL New entry 22 , range 2–49 9#12 45#13
22
  • : score 22 · #13
9% 4% First reading
14 Clearscope US New entry 8 , range 1–46 5#15 13#24
8
  • : score 8 · #14
4% 2% First reading
15 BrightLocal GB New entry 6 , range 2–46 8#13 3#37
6
  • : score 6 · #15
5% 2% First reading
– AccuRanker DK Unranked Too few answers Not measured 13#23
–
  • : Unranked
3% 1% None First reading
– Advanced Web Ranking RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured 19#19
–
  • : Unranked
2% 1% None First reading
– Ahrefs Webmaster Tools SG Unranked Too few answers Not measured 7#26
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% First reading
– AIOSEO US Unranked Too few answers Not measured 26#16
–
  • : Unranked
5% 1% None First reading
– AlsoAsked GB Unranked Too few answers Not measured 3#38
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% None First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 youtube.com Social 11.7% 2 of 4 17 Not read
2 reddit.com Community 15.0% 3 of 4 11 Not read
3 zapier.com Vendor site 16.7% 4 of 4 2 17
4 onelittleweb.com Consultancy 8.3% 3 of 4 3 23
5 lendio.com Vendor site 5.0% 2 of 4 1 11
6 seo.com Consultancy 5.0% 2 of 4 3 Not read
7 topelevens.com Directory 3.3% 1 of 4 2 15
8 web.dev Vendor site 5.0% 1 of 4 1 Not read
9 agencyanalytics.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read
10 bestseozone.com Consultancy 3.3% 2 of 4 1 7

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best seo tools for small business websites English Google Search Console and Semrush, tied
keyword research tool for content marketers English Ahrefs, AnswerThePublic, Google Search Console and Semrush, tied
how to check why my website is not ranking English Google Keyword Planner, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, Semrush and Website Grader, tied
how to track competitor keyword rankings English Ahrefs, Google Search Console, SE Ranking and Semrush, tied
all-in-one seo platform vs separate seo tools English Google Search Console

Each engine's top three

Method

Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.

For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured