ORIGINAL RESEARCH · 23 OCTOBER 2026
AI VISIBILITY INDEX #1.
Which AI tools do AI assistants recommend to small businesses? We asked two Google AI experiences the same 15 questions in fresh, logged-out sessions and recorded what changed.
01 FINDINGS
WHAT WE FOUND.
8 of 13 comparable answers matched.
Tidio, InVideo AI, Fathom, Wix AI, Canva, Apollo.io, Zapier, and ChatGPT or Claude were shared top picks in comparable answers.
Different engines still produce different winners.
Bookkeeping, email marketing, scheduling and SEO produced different recommendations. One content question had no single clear pick.
HubSpot appeared repeatedly.
HubSpot was named six times across five categories in this snapshot. This shows the advantage of being a credible answer across nearby buyer questions.
02 METHOD
STATED HONESTLY.
A single-run snapshot is not a universal ranking. AI answers change by model, day, location and user.
ENGINES
Gemini (model shown as Flash-Lite) and Google AI Mode, both logged out.
QUESTIONS
15 fixed small-business AI-tool questions, each asked in a fresh chat on 23 October 2026.
COVERAGE
Gemini answered 13 of 15; Google AI Mode answered all 15. CRM and hiring could not be compared because Gemini stalled.
03 THE NEXT STEP
AI VISIBILITY IS A SYSTEM, NOT ONE LUCKY RANKING.
List the questions buyers ask before they buy. Test how several AI engines answer them. Note which competitors appear. Then publish useful, quotable answers on your own site.