HubSpot's AI Search Grader gives you a free snapshot of how often your brand appears in AI-powered search results. This matters because traditional SEO metrics don't capture visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews. You'll get specific data on which queries trigger mentions of your brand and how you stack up against competitors.
The tool crawls AI search engines and provides a percentage score for your brand's visibility. While it won't replace comprehensive monitoring, it's the fastest way to baseline your AI search presence without spending money on enterprise tools.
What You'll Need
A website URL and basic brand information. No account required. The tool works best with established brands that already have some online presence. You'll want competitor domains handy for comparison, and 15 minutes to review the results properly.
Step 1: Access the AI Search Grader
Time: 2 minutes | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Navigate to the HubSpot AI Search Grader landing page. The tool sits within HubSpot's free marketing tools section, not behind their main CRM login. You'll see a simple form asking for your website URL and company name. Enter your primary domain without the www prefix. Don't use subdomain URLs or campaign landing pages — the tool needs your main brand domain to crawl effectively. The company name field should match how customers typically search for your business, not your legal entity name.
Step 2: Run the Initial Brand Scan
Time: 3-5 minutes | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Click "Get My AI Search Grade" and wait for the analysis to complete. The tool queries multiple AI search engines including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI features using brand-related queries. This isn't instant — expect 3-5 minutes for comprehensive results. You'll see a percentage score appear first, followed by detailed breakdowns. Scores above 60% indicate strong AI visibility. Below 40% suggests your brand rarely appears in AI-generated responses. The tool tests roughly 50-100 brand-related queries to calculate this score.
Step 3: Review Citation Analysis
Time: 3 minutes | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Scroll to the citations section showing exactly how AI engines mention your brand. This reveals whether you're cited as a primary source, mentioned in passing, or included in lists with competitors. Primary citations carry more weight than casual mentions. Look for citation patterns across different query types. Strong brands get cited for industry expertise, product recommendations, and company information. Weak visibility shows sporadic mentions only for direct brand searches. Note which specific phrases trigger your mentions — this data guides content strategy.
Step 4: Analyze Competitor Visibility
Time: 4 minutes | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Enter competitor domains using the comparison feature. Most plans allow 3-5 competitor analyses per session. Choose direct competitors, not industry giants that dominate through sheer volume. You want realistic benchmarks. Compare citation frequency and context quality. A competitor with 70% visibility but only list mentions might be weaker than one with 50% visibility but expert citations. The tool shows query types where competitors outperform you — these represent content gaps.
Step 5: Examine Query Categories
Time: 2 minutes | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Review the query breakdown showing which topics trigger your brand mentions. Categories typically include product searches, industry questions, comparison queries, and general expertise areas. Strong brands appear across multiple categories. Missing categories reveal optimization opportunities. If you sell software but only appear in product queries (not implementation or troubleshooting), you're missing expertise positioning. Note query patterns where competitors appear but you don't.
Step 6: Export and Document Findings
Time: 1 minute | Tool: HubSpot AI Search Grader Download the results report if available, or screenshot key metrics for later reference. Document your overall visibility score, top-performing query categories, and competitor gaps. This becomes your baseline for measuring AI search optimization progress. Set a calendar reminder to rerun this analysis monthly. AI search results change faster than traditional SERP positions, especially as models update and training data refreshes.
Pro Tips
The tool works better for B2B brands with established thought leadership content than pure e-commerce sites. AI engines favor authoritative sources over transactional pages. If your score seems low, check whether your brand has sufficient news mentions, industry content, and expert positioning online. Run analyses on different days to account for AI model variations. Some engines update responses based on recent training data, causing visibility fluctuations that aren't your fault.
Common Pitfalls
Don't panic over low scores if you're a new brand or operate in highly regulated industries. AI engines avoid citing companies without established authority. Focus on building legitimate expertise content rather than trying to game AI responses. Avoid running multiple analyses on the same domain within short timeframes. The tool may cache results or hit rate limits, giving you stale data instead of fresh scans.
Expected Results
You'll finish with a concrete AI visibility percentage, specific citation examples, and competitor comparison data. Use this to prioritize content topics where competitors dominate AI mentions and identify query patterns where you should appear but don't.
Quick Facts
About HubSpot AI Search Grader
Free AI visibility scan across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
View tool review →