{
  "measured_by": "GetIntel",
  "measured_on": "2026-09-18",
  "question": "Which AI visibility vendors offer a genuinely free check you can run without signing up, and what does each one actually return?",
  "method": "Live first-party fetch of each vendor's free-tool or homepage on 2026-09-18, reading what the page itself states about engine coverage, signup requirement and scope. Where a vendor's page renders its tool in JavaScript we record what the surrounding copy claims rather than the tool's output, and say so. This is a read of what each vendor publishes, not a hands-on run of every tool.",
  "the_distinction_being_measured": "A free CHECK runs without an account and returns a result. A free TRIAL requires signup and usually a card, and ends. Vendors market both with the word free, and the difference is the whole question for someone who just wants to know where they stand.",
  "scope": {
    "vendors_read": 6,
    "genuinely_free_check_no_signup": 4,
    "trial_only_not_a_check": 2
  },
  "publisher_disclosure": "GetIntel publishes this and operates one of the checks listed. We do not come first on engine coverage: Ahrefs covers five engines to our three. We cover more buyer questions. Both facts are in the rows below.",
  "rows": [
    {
      "vendor": "Ahrefs",
      "domain": "ahrefs.com",
      "page_read": "https://ahrefs.com/ai-visibility-checker",
      "read_date": "2026-09-18",
      "free_type": "free check, no signup",
      "signup_required": false,
      "engines_stated": [
        "ChatGPT",
        "Gemini",
        "Perplexity",
        "Copilot",
        "Google AI Overviews"
      ],
      "engine_count": 5,
      "scope_stated": "Checks whether a brand shows up in AI search results. Page states 'No signup required'. Powered by Ahrefs Brand Radar.",
      "note": "The broadest engine coverage of any free check read here, and the page holding this search term."
    },
    {
      "vendor": "GetIntel",
      "domain": "getintel.ai",
      "page_read": "https://getintel.ai/",
      "read_date": "2026-09-17",
      "free_type": "free check, no signup",
      "signup_required": false,
      "engines_stated": [
        "ChatGPT",
        "Perplexity",
        "Google AI Overviews"
      ],
      "engine_count": 3,
      "scope_stated": "60 AI checks across 20 buyer questions, roughly 2 minutes, no signup.",
      "note": "This is the publisher. Fewer engines than Ahrefs, more buyer questions per run. Depth against breadth, not a win on both."
    },
    {
      "vendor": "Siftly",
      "domain": "siftly.ai",
      "page_read": "https://siftly.ai/free-tools",
      "read_date": "2026-09-18",
      "free_type": "free check, no signup",
      "signup_required": false,
      "engines_stated": [],
      "engine_count": null,
      "scope_stated": "Page offers a 'Free AI visibility check' and describes it as 'See where you stand in 30 seconds'. Engine coverage is not stated on the free-tools page.",
      "note": "Also runs a genuinely free paid-tier-equivalent plan at $0. A 30-second check is a different depth of measurement from one that runs a set of buyer questions."
    },
    {
      "vendor": "LLMrefs",
      "domain": "llmrefs.com",
      "page_read": "https://llmrefs.com/",
      "read_date": "2026-09-18",
      "free_type": "free check on the homepage, account free to create",
      "signup_required": false,
      "engines_stated": [
        "Google AI Overviews",
        "Perplexity"
      ],
      "engine_count": null,
      "scope_stated": "A keyword box sits on the homepage with 'No credit card required' beneath it. The site also offers 'Create account, it's free'.",
      "note": "Engine list on the homepage is partial in our capture, so engine_count is left null rather than guessed."
    },
    {
      "vendor": "Otterly.AI",
      "domain": "otterly.ai",
      "page_read": "https://otterly.ai/",
      "read_date": "2026-09-18",
      "free_type": "trial only",
      "signup_required": true,
      "engines_stated": [],
      "engine_count": null,
      "scope_stated": "Site offers 'Start Free Trial' and its FAQ states a 7-day free trial for new users. No no-signup check was found in this read.",
      "note": "Marketed with the word free throughout, but it is a trial, not a check. This is the distinction the dataset exists to record."
    },
    {
      "vendor": "Peec AI",
      "domain": "peec.ai",
      "page_read": "https://peec.ai/",
      "read_date": "2026-09-18",
      "free_type": "trial only",
      "signup_required": true,
      "engines_stated": [],
      "engine_count": null,
      "scope_stated": "Offers free 7-day pitch projects for agencies rather than a public no-signup check.",
      "note": "The free offer is agency-shaped, aimed at running a prospect, not at a buyer checking their own brand."
    }
  ],
  "limits": "Six vendors, read on one day, from what each page publishes rather than from running every tool end to end. A vendor can operate a free check we did not find, and pages in this category change often. Engine counts are recorded only where the vendor states them; where a page renders its tool in JavaScript we left the count null rather than infer one."
}