Last checked: 10 June 2026. Methodology: facts verified against HubSpot's public AEO pages and our own published pricing on that date. Read our full methodology.
The short answer
HubSpot AEO is the best thing that has happened to awareness of AI visibility, and at $50 per month it is a fine starting point. If budget is your constraint, take it; we mean that. The differences between HubSpot AEO and Fortitude are depth and destination. HubSpot tracks 25 prompts across three engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, with no Claude and no Google AI Overviews in its tracking claims). Fortitude Sentinel tracks five engines including Claude, with configurable prompt depth, named-competitor share of voice and up to twelve months of your category's history on day one. And when the score needs to move, our Forge service does the work, while HubSpot leaves the doing to you. Run their free grader, then run our Free AI Visibility Check as a second opinion. The gap between the two reports will tell you which depth you need.
What is HubSpot AEO?
HubSpot AEO is HubSpot's answer engine optimisation product, launched at its Spring 2026 Spotlight. HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) is one of the most widely used marketing and CRM platforms in the world, which means AEO arrived in front of an enormous installed base on day one. That distribution matters: more businesses will learn that AI visibility exists from HubSpot than from every dedicated tracking startup combined, ourselves included.
The product comes in two parts, both at hubspot.com/aeo-grader:
- The free AEO Grader. A one-off snapshot of how AI engines see your brand, with no account needed. It scores five dimensions: sentiment, presence quality, brand recognition, share of voice and market position.
- Ongoing tracking. 25 prompts monitored across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, free for a 28-day trial and then $50 per month.
For a great many businesses, that grader will be the first time anyone has shown them what ChatGPT says when a buyer asks about their category. That is a service to the whole market.
HubSpot AEO vs Fortitude Media: side by side
| HubSpot AEO | Fortitude Media | |
|---|---|---|
| Free entry | AEO Grader, one-off snapshot, no account needed | Free AI Visibility Check, then Sentinel Free (£0, 1 brand, 5 prompts, monthly refresh) |
| Paid tracking | $50/mo after a 28-day free trial | Sentinel Basic £199/mo, Standard £499/mo, Pro £999/mo |
| Engines tracked | 3: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | 5: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews |
| Claude coverage | No | Yes, on every tier |
| Google AI Overviews | Not in tracking claims | Yes |
| Prompts | 25 | 5 on Sentinel Free, configurable depth on paid tiers |
| Named-competitor share of voice | No named-competitor depth | Yes |
| Category history at signup | None, snapshot plus tracking from day of signup | Up to 12 months of your category's history on day one |
| Does anyone do the work? | No, software only | Yes: Forge managed plans, £3,950 to £11,950+/mo |
| Built for | Any business taking its first look at AI visibility | UK B2B founders and MDs who need depth, history and delivery |
What HubSpot AEO does well
We would rather praise HubSpot accurately than score cheap points, because three things about AEO are simply good.
Price and accessibility. A free grader with no account needed, a 28-day free trial, then $50 per month. There is no cheaper way to start watching your AI visibility with a brand you already know. If $50 a month is a stretch right now, stop reading comparison pages and take the HubSpot deal.
Distribution and market education. HubSpot has put AI visibility in front of its enormous installed base. Thousands of founders who had never heard the term now have a score on a screen. We benefit from that education, and we are happy to say so.
A sensible scoring framework. The grader's five dimensions, sentiment, presence quality, brand recognition, share of voice and market position, give a first-time user a vocabulary for the problem. That is more useful than a single opaque number.
Where Fortitude is different
The differences come down to how deep the measurement goes and what happens when it shows a problem.
Five engines, including the two HubSpot skips. HubSpot AEO tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. It does not track Claude, and Google AI Overviews is not in its tracking claims. Fortitude Sentinel tracks all five: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. In B2B, where considered purchases get researched in Claude and a large share of buyers still start at Google, those two gaps are exactly where deals are won or lost unseen.
Depth where it counts. 25 prompts is a sample, and a useful one. But B2B buying happens across many specific, intent-loaded questions, and you need to know how you fare against the rivals actually named in the answers. Sentinel offers configurable prompt depth and named-competitor share of voice, so you can see not just "are we visible" but "who is taking the recommendation instead of us, on which questions".
History versus snapshot. HubSpot's grader is a one-off snapshot, and its tracking starts the day you subscribe. The Registry, our longitudinal record of how AI engines answer canonical buyer-intent prompts per category, lets us hand new customers up to twelve months of their category's history at signup, deepest in UK B2B categories today. Trends, not dots.
A destination when the score needs to move. HubSpot AEO has no path to anyone doing the work. Fortitude runs one continuous ladder: Free AI Visibility Check, Sentinel Free, Sentinel Basic at £199, Standard at £499, Pro at £999, a Discovery engagement at around £1,500 (credited back if you proceed), then Forge managed plans from £3,950 to £11,950+ per month, each including Sentinel Pro. The same company that measures your AI visibility does the work and is accountable to the same chart. We have not found another UK provider that combines a tracking platform and a managed delivery service on one continuous ladder from free to full service. If you are weighing a tool against an agency, our guide to tools, agencies or both walks through that choice.
The natural sequence: grader first, second opinion next
There is no conflict between the two products at the start. Run HubSpot's free grader. Then run our Free AI Visibility Check, which covers the five engines including the two HubSpot skips. If both come back strong, congratulations, you may not need either of us yet. If the grader looks fine but the five-engine check does not, you have learned something important: the problem lives in the engines HubSpot does not watch. And if both come back weak, the question is no longer whether to act but who does the work, which is where the ladder exists. We have written a full guide on what to do after the AEO Grader.
Choose HubSpot AEO if... / Choose Fortitude if...
Choose HubSpot AEO if:
- Budget is the deciding factor. At $50 per month nothing on our ladder beats it on price, and we do not pretend otherwise.
- You already run your marketing in HubSpot and want one less vendor.
- You want a first, low-commitment look at AI visibility before deciding whether it matters to your pipeline.
- A 25-prompt sample across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini is enough signal for your stage.
Choose Fortitude if:
- You sell B2B and need Claude and Google AI Overviews covered, not just the three engines HubSpot tracks.
- You need named-competitor share of voice on the prompts your buyers actually ask.
- You want up to twelve months of category history on day one rather than a snapshot.
- You want a path from measurement to delivery: when the score needs to move, Forge does the work, measured in the same platform.
Frequently asked questions
Is HubSpot AEO worth $50 a month?
Yes, if budget is your main constraint or you want a first look at AI visibility. For $50 per month you get 25 prompts tracked across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, after a free 28-day trial. Its limits are depth: three engines, no Claude, no Google AI Overviews in its tracking claims, no named-competitor depth and no history.
Which AI engines does HubSpot AEO track?
HubSpot AEO tracks three engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Claude and Google AI Overviews are not in its tracking claims. Fortitude Sentinel tracks five engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
Is the HubSpot AEO Grader free?
Yes. The AEO Grader is a free, one-off snapshot and you do not need an account to run it. It scores five dimensions: sentiment, presence quality, brand recognition, share of voice and market position. Ongoing tracking costs $50 per month after a 28-day free trial.
What is the best alternative to HubSpot AEO?
It depends on what is missing for you. If you need more engines, history and competitor depth as a UK B2B company, Fortitude Sentinel starts free and runs from £199 to £999 per month with five engines including Claude and up to twelve months of category history. If you need someone to do the work as well as measure it, Forge managed plans run from £3,950 per month. Our market round-up compares the other options too.
Can I use HubSpot AEO and Fortitude together?
Yes, and at the start we recommend it. Run HubSpot's free grader, then run our Free AI Visibility Check as a second opinion across all five engines. Comparing the two reports shows you whether the engines HubSpot does not track are costing you recommendations.
Get the second opinion
Run our Free AI Visibility Check and see how all five engines, including Claude and Google AI Overviews, answer when buyers ask about your category. No card, no sales call. If the HubSpot grader already told you everything you need, you have lost nothing but five minutes.
For the wider market, see our round-up of AI visibility tools for UK B2B, why Fortitude, and our guides on how to compare AI optimisation providers and how to track which AI engines recommend your business.