Targetlytics or HubSpot: which fits your team?
HubSpot added an AI visibility tracker, HubSpot AEO, in 2026 and bundles it into Marketing Hub Pro and Enterprise. Targetlytics covers more assistants, identifies the companies AI sends you, and writes them into HubSpot. They can work together.
The short answer
- HubSpot AEO fits a team standardised on Marketing Hub that wants a directional AI visibility score next to its campaign data.
- Targetlytics fits a team that wants twelve assistants checked many times, a weekly to-do list, and AI-referred companies landing in HubSpot as records.
- HubSpot AEO tracks ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Targetlytics covers twelve assistants including Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Claude and Copilot.
- Targetlytics syncs to HubSpot. Using both is a normal setup: HubSpot stays the CRM, Targetlytics feeds it.
What HubSpot does
HubSpot AEO is HubSpot's answer engine optimisation tool, launched in April 2026 from technology it acquired. It monitors how ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity represent a brand, gives a visibility score that updates daily, compares competitors and analyses which sources the engines cite. It is sold on its own with a set number of prompts, and included in Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise, where recommendations connect to HubSpot's content tools.
HubSpot also offers a free one-time AI Search Grader that scores a brand without an account. It is a snapshot, not ongoing tracking.
What Targetlytics does
Targetlytics checks where twelve AI assistants name you, gives you a weekly to-do list, and shows which companies AI sends to your site. Qualified accounts go to HubSpot and Slack, and follow-up runs by email and on-site chat until they reply or book.
Paid plans cover ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta Llama, Mistral and GLM. Each question is asked many times, so one odd answer does not move the result.
Where they differ
- Coverage: HubSpot AEO tracks three engines. Targetlytics covers twelve, with Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Claude and Copilot among them.
- Sampling: Targetlytics asks each question many times and reports a stable share. HubSpot AEO tracks a prompt set and scores it daily.
- Accuracy: Targetlytics checks AI answers against your official facts and alerts you when they are wrong. HubSpot AEO reports visibility and sources.
- Pipeline: Targetlytics identifies which companies AI sent to your site, applies your lead rules and writes qualified accounts into HubSpot with Slack alerts. HubSpot AEO measures visibility; it does not identify AI-referred visitors.
- Follow-up: Targetlytics runs an on-site assistant and follow-up emails that stop when the person replies. In HubSpot that is a separate workflow you build.
- Fit: HubSpot AEO is strongest when everything else is already in HubSpot. Targetlytics is CRM-aware but not tied to one.
Choose HubSpot if…
- You are on Marketing Hub Pro or Enterprise and the tracker is already included.
- A daily score on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity is enough to steer content.
- You want recommendations to flow straight into HubSpot's content tools.
- You prefer one vendor and one login.
Choose Targetlytics if…
- You want twelve assistants checked, including Google AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- You want to know which companies AI sent to your site and have them created in HubSpot automatically.
- You want alerts when AI gets your facts wrong.
- You want a weekly to-do list, best job first, with instructions.
- You are not on Marketing Hub Pro, or you use another CRM alongside HubSpot.
How each is priced
HubSpot AEO is sold as a standalone monthly subscription with a set number of prompts and the option to buy more, and it is included in Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise. The AI Search Grader is free and one-time. Check HubSpot's pricing page for current figures.
Free plan: ChatGPT, one brand. Paid plans from €49 a month, 14-day trial. Agency plan for teams with several clients.
What each can't do
- HubSpot: Three engines; no Google AI Overviews, AI Mode or Claude as of October 2026.
- HubSpot: No identification of AI-referred companies.
- HubSpot: Follow-up needs separate HubSpot workflows.
- Targetlytics: Not a CRM or marketing automation suite; it feeds one.
- Targetlytics: Visitor identification is company-level in the EU and UK, so you see the organisation, not the person.
- Targetlytics: Pipedrive, Attio and Zoho sync are still coming; HubSpot is live.
How we wrote this
We make Targetlytics, so read this as a vendor's view and check the other side yourself.
Details about the other product come from its public website and independent reviews, checked in October 2026. Plans, prices and engine lists change often, so look at the vendor's pricing page before you decide. If something here is out of date, contact us and we will fix it.
Side by side
What you get on each product's standard paid plans, as of October 2026.
| What you need | HubSpot | Targetlytics |
|---|---|---|
| AI assistants checked | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity | Twelve on every paid plan |
| How often each question is asked | Prompt set scored daily | Many times per question, for a stable result |
| Pages AI cites | Yes | Yes, with outreach suggestions |
| Competitors named instead of you | Yes | Yes |
| What to change next | Recommendations, linked to HubSpot content tools on Pro/Enterprise | Weekly to-do list with step-by-step instructions |
| Alerts when AI gets your facts wrong | No | Yes, checked against your official facts (Professional and up) |
| Which companies AI sends to your site | No | Yes (Ultimate and Agency) |
| Writes leads into HubSpot | It is HubSpot | Yes, with your lead rules and Slack alerts |
| On-site assistant and follow-up emails | Build with HubSpot workflows | Included (Ultimate) |
| Pricing model | Standalone with prompt allowance, or included in Marketing Hub Pro/Enterprise | Per brand with a query allowance, all assistants included |
| Free option | Free one-time AI Search Grader | Free plan (ChatGPT, one brand) and 14-day trial |
See it on your own brand
Start free with one brand on ChatGPT, or take a 14-day trial of a paid plan and see every assistant.