AI Peekaboo vs Semrush in 2026: API-first AI visibility specialist vs full SEO suite with a bolted-on AI module
AI Peekaboo tracks AI visibility only, with a read/write API and white-label on every plan from $50/month. Semrush covers keyword research, backlinks, and technical SEO too, but gates its AI tracking behind the $249.95/month Guru plan.
AI Peekaboo
Semrush- AI Peekaboo Starter is $50/month with API access and white-label included. Semrush does not unlock AI visibility tracking until Guru at $249.95/month, and API access requires Business at $499.95/month.
- Both tools track the same five AI engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode. Neither tracks Claude.
- Semrush includes keyword research, backlink analysis, technical site audits, and a content marketing toolkit. AI Peekaboo has none of that; it is AI visibility monitoring only.
- AI Peekaboo ships white-label guest access links on every plan. Semrush reserves full white-label delivery for its $499.95/month Business tier.
- AI Peekaboo prices by prompt usage, which scales predictably across multiple client brands. Semrush prices by flat tier, so unlocking AI tracking means paying for the whole Guru feature set whether you use it or not.
- For teams that already run their SEO programme on Semrush and just need cheaper, more accessible AI tracking, AI Peekaboo is a bolt-on, not a replacement.
If you are trying to work out how AI Peekaboo compares to Semrush for tracking brand visibility in ChatGPT and Gemini answers, the honest starting point is that these tools are not really competing for the same budget line. Semrush is a full SEO platform, keyword research, backlink analysis, technical audits, and content tools, that added AI visibility tracking on top, available on Guru at $249.95/month and above. AI Peekaboo does one job: it tracks AI visibility across five engines with a read and write API and white-label delivery on every plan starting at $50/month, and does nothing else. The comparison only makes sense once you separate the question into two: do you need a full SEO suite, and separately, how much are you willing to pay for AI visibility tracking with API access.
The tools at a glance
AI Peekaboo
AI visibility monitoring with a read/write API and white-label delivery
AI Peekaboo tracks where your brand appears in AI-generated answers across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode. There is no keyword research module, no backlink index, no technical crawler. What it does have, on every plan starting at $50/month, is a read and write API and white-label guest links, which is the combination Semrush does not offer below its top two tiers.
Pricing is per-prompt rather than per-seat, so an agency managing several client brands pays based on how much monitoring they actually run, not a flat platform fee per client login. That matters against Semrush, where getting AI tracking for a second client brand generally means a second Guru or Business subscription rather than incremental usage cost.
Founded by Filipe Duarte and John Rice, AI Peekaboo is built for the specific job of getting AI visibility data out of the platform and into wherever the rest of your reporting already lives, whether that is a client-facing dashboard, a Looker Studio report, or an internal tool triggered by the write API.
| Feature | Starter $50/mo | Peek $100/mo | Grow $200/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prompts included | 40 | 40 | 100 |
| Tracking frequency | Every 2 days | Daily | Daily |
| AI models tracked | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Looker Studio connector | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access (read + write) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White label | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Semrush
All-in-one SEO and AI visibility platform with keyword research, backlinks, and technical audits
Semrush is a full digital marketing platform built around keyword research, backlink analysis, technical site audits, and content optimization, with AI visibility tracking added across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode. For a team that wants one subscription to cover SEO research and AI tracking together, Semrush is a genuinely complete answer, provided the budget stretches to Guru.
The AI tracking module only turns on at Guru, $249.95/month, and above. Below that, on the $139.95/month Pro plan, you get the full SEO toolset but nothing for AI visibility. That means a team evaluating Semrush purely for AI tracking is paying for keyword research, backlinks, and technical audits they may not need, just to reach the tier where AI monitoring exists.
API access sits a level higher still, at Business, $499.95/month. White-label reporting is the same story: Guru gets you reports you can share, but they carry Semrush branding until Business. For an agency that wants AI visibility data with API access and branded client delivery, the realistic entry price on Semrush is $499.95/month, not the headline $139.95/month.
| Feature | Free Free | Pro $139.95/mo | Guru $249.95/mo | Business $499.95/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI visibility tracking | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI models tracked | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Keyword research | Limited | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backlink analysis | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White-label reporting | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| API access | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | AI Peekaboo | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| AI engines tracked | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode |
| Competitive share-of-voice | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt-level citation data | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword research | No | Yes |
| Backlink analysis | No | Yes |
| Technical site audits | No | Yes |
| Content marketing toolkit | No | Yes |
| API access | Read + Write, all plans | Business only ($499.95/mo) |
| Looker Studio / BI connector | Yes, all plans | No |
| White-label delivery | Yes, all plans | Business only ($499.95/mo) |
| Pay-per-prompt pricing | Yes | No |
| Agency multi-brand support | Yes | Limited |
| Starting price for AI tracking with API | $50/mo | $499.95/mo (AI + API + white-label) |
Which should you choose?
AI PeekabooSemrushAI PeekabooSemrushAI PeekabooSemrushAI PeekabooThese tools solve overlapping but different problems. AI Peekaboo is a specialist: it tracks AI visibility and nothing else, but does it with an API and white-label on every plan starting at $50/month, well under what Semrush charges to unlock the equivalent combination. Semrush is a generalist: keyword research, backlinks, technical audits, content tools, and AI tracking in one platform, but AI tracking only turns on at Guru and API access only at Business. If AI visibility is the whole job, AI Peekaboo is cheaper and more accessible. If AI visibility is one part of a broader SEO programme you are already running, Semrush keeps everything in one login, provided you can absorb the pricing to reach the tier where AI tracking and API access actually exist.
Bottom line
Pick AI Peekaboo if AI visibility tracking is the specific thing you need, with an API to move the data and white-label to hand it to clients, starting at $50/month. Pick Semrush if you want keyword research, backlink analysis, technical audits, and AI visibility tracking together in one subscription, and are willing to pay $249.95/month for Guru or $499.95/month for Business to get API access and white-label alongside it. For teams already on Semrush who find the AI module too expensive or too locked down for how they want to use the data, AI Peekaboo is the natural bolt-on rather than a full replacement.
Frequently asked questions
Is AI Peekaboo cheaper than Semrush for tracking AI visibility?
Yes, significantly. AI Peekaboo includes AI visibility tracking with API access on its $50/month Starter plan, while Semrush does not unlock AI tracking until Guru at $249.95/month and does not include API access until Business at $499.95/month. If AI visibility tracking with programmatic access is the whole requirement, AI Peekaboo is roughly a tenth of the realistic Semrush cost.
Can Semrush replace AI Peekaboo for agencies that need white-label AI visibility reports?
Only at the Business tier, $499.95 per month, since Semrush reserves full white-label delivery for its top plan. AI Peekaboo includes white-label guest access links on every plan starting at $50/month, so for agencies whose main need is branded AI visibility reporting without paying for a full SEO suite tier, AI Peekaboo reaches that outcome at a much lower price.
Does AI Peekaboo do keyword research or backlink analysis like Semrush?
No. AI Peekaboo is an AI visibility specialist with no keyword research, backlink index, or technical site audit tools at all. Semrush covers all of those alongside its AI tracking module. Teams that need full SEO tooling should stay on Semrush or a comparable suite; AI Peekaboo is not built to replace that layer.
Should a team already using Semrush also subscribe to AI Peekaboo?
It depends on whether Semrush's AI tracking is meeting the need. If your team is already on Guru or Business and using the AI visibility module with API access, there is little reason to add AI Peekaboo. If you are on Pro (no AI tracking) or Guru (AI tracking but no API), and the cost of upgrading just for AI features feels disproportionate, AI Peekaboo at $50/month is a cheaper way to get API-accessible AI visibility data alongside your existing Semrush subscription.
Which tool tracks more AI engines, AI Peekaboo or Semrush?
They track the same five: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode. Neither tool currently tracks Claude, Copilot, Grok, or DeepSeek, so engine coverage is not the differentiator between them; price, API access, and white-label availability are.
Is Semrush worth it just for the AI visibility tracking feature?
Generally no, unless you are already using or planning to use its keyword research, backlink analysis, and technical audit tools. Paying $249.95/month for Guru just to access AI tracking means paying for a full SEO suite around a feature you could get standalone from AI Peekaboo at $50/month. Semrush's AI module earns its cost when it is one part of a broader SEO subscription you are already running.