HubSpot's AEO Grader is a free one-time tool that scores how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini characterize your brand, returning a number out of 100 across five dimensions in 3 to 5 minutes. It is a genuinely useful free starting point, and as of June 2026 it has no account requirement and no usage limits. But it is a diagnostic, not a platform: it does not monitor continuously, it does not track changes over time, and it does not create any content to improve your score. Loudmink ($99-599/mo, with a free scan at /scan) is what you use after the grade. It monitors across up to 5 AI search engines on 24-hour cycles and creates the blog, Reddit, and YouTube content that closes the gaps a grader only points at.
A score tells you that you have a problem. It does not fix it. The honest comparison here is not platform against platform, it is a free one-time grade against a continuous AEO platform that does the work the grade implies you need.
What the HubSpot AEO Grader actually does
The AEO Grader runs a set of test queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, then scores how those engines describe your brand right now. You enter your company name, location, industry, and product. A few minutes later you get a total score out of 100, built from five weighted dimensions: sentiment (40 points), presence quality (20), brand recognition (20), share of voice (10), and market competition (10). ChatGPT and Gemini answer largely from their training data, while Perplexity pulls from live search, so the grade blends a memory of your brand with a snapshot of the live web.
That is a real, free diagnostic, and it is worth running. It will tell you, accurately, whether AI search engines recognize you and whether they describe you well or poorly. For a brand that has never checked, it is a fast reality check at zero cost.
Where the grader stops
The grader gives you a number and ends. As of June 2026, HubSpot's AEO Grader is a one-time audit: you enter your details, get a report, and that is it. It does not track changes over time, it does not alert you when your visibility drops, and it does not show trend data. Run it again next month and you get another isolated snapshot, with no line connecting the two.
It also does not tell you which pages, threads, or sources are driving your score. It scores the outcome, not the cause. And critically, it does not produce anything. A grade of 42 out of 100 is a problem statement with no attached solution. You still have to figure out what content to create, where to publish it, and how to verify it worked.
What to do: Treat the grade as step one. Use it to confirm the gap, then move to a platform that can monitor the cause and create the content that changes the number.
What Loudmink does after the grade
Loudmink is the continuous AEO platform that picks up where a grader leaves off: it monitors across up to 5 AI search engines, shows where their answers come from, and creates content across blog, Reddit, and YouTube to close the gaps. Where the grader gives you a static score, Loudmink runs 24-hour monitoring cycles so you can see whether your visibility is improving or slipping. Where the grader scores the outcome, Loudmink's source intelligence shows you the actual pages and threads AI search engines pull from, so you know what to fix.
Then it does the fixing. Loudmink creates 8 to 40 optimized articles per month by tier, plus up to 40 Reddit opportunities and 10 YouTube opportunities on higher plans, with human review on by default so nothing publishes under your brand without approval. After content goes live, it rechecks the engines to verify your brand is actually getting cited. That is the full loop the grader does not attempt: monitor, diagnose the source, create, publish, verify.
Loudmink also has a free entry point
Loudmink offers a free scan at /scan, the same kind of zero-cost starting point as the AEO Grader. It shows how AI search engines represent your brand without payment or commitment. So the choice at the free tier is not "paid platform versus free grader." Both have a free check. The difference is what happens after the check.
With the AEO Grader, the free check is the whole product. With Loudmink, the free scan is the front door to continuous monitoring and content execution on plans from $99/mo. If all you ever want is a one-time number, either free check works. If you want to move that number, only one path continues past the score.
Free score vs continuous execution
The grader and Loudmink are not really competitors, they are sequential. One measures, the other moves the measurement. A free grade is a smart first move precisely because it is free and fast, and we would not tell anyone to skip it. But our research shows that AI recommendations are built from third-party sources, review sites, Reddit threads, and editorial coverage, not from a brand simply existing. Grok cites Reddit far more than other AI search engines, and YouTube is among the most-cited third-party sources on Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok. A score cannot build presence on any of those. Content can.
The question after you see your grade is simple: do you want to know your number, or change it? If it is the former, the free tools are enough. If it is the latter, you need the execution to close the gaps, not another snapshot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HubSpot's AEO Grader free?
Yes. As of June 2026 it is completely free with no account or credit card and no usage limits. You enter your company name, location, industry, and product, and within 3 to 5 minutes it returns a score out of 100 across five dimensions based on how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini describe your brand. It is a one-time snapshot, not ongoing tracking.
What does the HubSpot AEO Grader actually do?
It runs test queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini and scores how those engines characterize your brand right now. ChatGPT and Gemini answer mostly from training data while Perplexity uses live search. The output is a diagnostic score, not a list of the sources behind your visibility, and it does not create content or monitor your brand after the report.
What are the limits of a free AEO grader?
A free grader gives you a number and stops. HubSpot's AEO Grader does not monitor continuously, does not track trends or alert you to drops, covers 3 engines, and does not produce content to improve the score. It is a good way to confirm you have a problem. Closing the gap requires ongoing tracking and content execution, which is what Loudmink provides.
Does Loudmink have a free option like the AEO Grader?
Yes. Loudmink offers a free scan at /scan as its comparable free entry point, showing how AI search engines represent your brand at no cost. The difference is what follows: where the grader ends at the score, Loudmink continues into 24-hour monitoring and content creation across blog, Reddit, and YouTube on plans from $99/mo.
Should I use HubSpot's AEO Grader or Loudmink?
Use both, in sequence. Start with the free AEO Grader or Loudmink's free scan to see where you stand. If the grade shows you are invisible or poorly described in AI search, move to Loudmink to monitor across up to 5 engines and create the content that fixes it. The grader identifies the gap. Loudmink closes it.