HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility: Which is right for your team?
By arigby@hubspot.com (Amy Rigby)
If you’re comparing HubSpot AEO vs Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, I tested both for you as a marketing and AEO practitioner myself and will share my detailed review.
To run the experiment, I used one of the niche websites in my portfolio (a golf website) that hasn’t yet been optimized for AI search. Below, you’ll get screenshots and information from my personal experience testing both HubSpot AEO and Semrush One (which includes Semrush’s AI Visibility features). Then, I’ll walk you through the pros and cons of both AEO tools and help you pick the best one based on your team’s needs.
But first, let me demystify AEO, GEO, and all things AI visibility so we’re working from the same definitions.
Table of Contents
- What is AEO vs. AI visibility? (And why it matters)
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility: Core Comparison
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility: Actionability
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility: Integrations
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility for Ease of Use
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility Pricing + How to Start
- HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility: Which should you choose?
- Alternatives to HubSpot AEO and Semrush AI Visibility
- Frequently Asked Questions About HubSpot AEO vs. Semrush AI Visibility
What is AEO vs. AI visibility? (And why it matters)
AEO stands for answer engine optimization, and it’s the practice of creating and modifying online content so that it is more likely to be mentioned and cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. You might also hear people refer to AEO as GEO (generative engine optimization) or AI SEO, but here at HubSpot, we stick with the term AEO.
AEO matters because, as AI becomes more popular, people are turning to answer engines to do their buyer research, in addition to Google. In 2026, nearly half of U.S. adults use AI chatbots, up from one-third in 2024, according to the Pew Research Center. Further, Pew found that 60% of American adults read the AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, while only 30% say they do not. Brands that learn and leverage AEO will gain a competitive advantage.
AI visibility is an umbrella term for the metrics that measure how your brand shows up in AI search, including share of voice, sentiment, citations, and mentions. It matters because this is how marketers and SEOs track their AEO progress.
Pro tip: To get a baseline snapshot of your AI visibility, use the free AI Search Grader tool.
Prompts are to AEO what keywords are to SEO. Prompts are the phrases that users type into answer engines to get information about their query. Marketers use AEO tools like HubSpot AEO to track the prompts their brands should show up for.
Citations are the websites that the AI consulted to generate its answer. They may or may not …read more
Source:: HubSpot Blog
