Head-to-head · July 2026 snapshot

Profound vs Semrush

Profound leads overall; Semrush owns the budget and best-of-2026 questions. Profound pulls ahead on Visibility Score (49 vs 38) primarily because it wins the first-pick slot 29% of the time against Semrush's 7%, and it dominates across use-case fit, enterprise, and startup questions. ChatGPT drives the clearest separation, scoring Profound at 61 versus Semrush at 23, while Claude essentially calls it a draw at 66 versus 62. Semrush's real ground is the broader, less specific questions where buyers ask for top tools or a single pick, and Gemini is the one model that leans its way at 28 versus Profound's 20.

	Profound	Semrush
Visibility Score	49	38
Rank in category	#1	#2
Mention rate	57%	57%
#1 pick rate	29%	7%
Avg. position when named	2	4

Who each model prefers

ChatGPT

Profound 61

Semrush 23

Claude

Profound 66

Semrush 62

Gemini

Profound 20

Semrush 28

The models split: ChatGPT prefers Profound, Claude prefers Profound, Gemini prefers Semrush.

The shape of the fight

Each axis is one of the 8 measured buyer questions; the further out, the more of that question's answers name the brand. Hover an axis for the raw counts. Single-axis gaps ride on 9 answers each, so read the overall shape, not one spike.

ProfoundSemrush

The fight, question by question

Mentions out of 9 answers per question. Click any question for the full transcripts.

Question	Profound	Semrush	Edge
Best overallWhat's the best tool for tracking how my brand appears in AI assistant answers?	7	7	even
Use-case fitOur CEO asked why ChatGPT recommends our competitor and not us. What tools help measure and fix that?	7	6	Profound
Top tools in 2026What are the top AI visibility and answer engine optimization tools in 2026?	6	8	Semrush
Startup & small teamWhich AI search visibility tool should an early-stage B2B SaaS use?	7	4	Profound
Enterprise pickWhich AI visibility and AEO platform should a large enterprise standardize on, considering security, compliance, and scale?	7	3	Profound
Feature-led askI need to track brand citations across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews with an API. What are my options?	5	2	Profound
If you could pick oneIf you could only pick one AEO or GEO tool, which one and why?	2	5	Semrush
Budget & alternativesWhat's a budget-friendly alternative to the big AI visibility platforms?	0	6	Semrush

Open this matchup in the compare tool → · Profound brand report · Semrush brand report

Measured from 72 fresh answers collected from the models' production APIs in July 2026; rankings change monthly. Neither brand can pay to appear here or to move the numbers. Full recipe on the methodology page.