AEO for AI chatbot builders: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank AI chatbot builders by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured quarterly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Platforms used to build AI chatbots, assistants, and conversational workflows for support, sales, and internal operations. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When buyers inquire about AI chatbot builders, AI engines often recommend Botpress as the leader in this category, with a visibility of 50 percent. Other notable brands include Manychat and Tidio. Botpress stands out not just in visibility but also in citations by AI engines, with a citation percentage of 37.5 percent.
The rankings are significantly influenced by the sources that AI engines frequently reference. These include sites like sitegpt.ai and quickchat.ai, along with platforms like YouTube and Reddit. Many of these are aggregator or review sites, suggesting that community-driven content and peer reviews heavily impact visibility and citations.
For buyers evaluating chatbot builders, consider how recently updated reviews and third-party validations influence AI engine recommendations. Brands that consistently provide fresh content and maintain topical authority in specific subcategories tend to rank higher. Focus on those names that AI engines frequently cite, as they are likely trusted within the AI community.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Botpress leads the AI chatbot builders category with a composite score of 46.2, ahead of Manychat and Tidio who both score 38.8. The gap between Botpress and the fourth-ranked Voiceflow (21.2) is substantial, and every brand from rank six downward scores zero. Only five of the twenty tracked brands register any visibility at all, meaning the category is highly concentrated at the top and the floor drops sharply after rank five.
A clear divergence exists between being named and being cited. Manychat and Tidio both achieve 50% visibility but only 12.5% citation each, while Botpress converts its equal 50% visibility into a 37.5% citation rate, nearly three times higher. HubSpot Chatbot Builder is the only brand where visibility and citation are equal (both 12.5%), suggesting its appearances are consistently sourced rather than merely mentioned without a reference.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in this dataset, with no other engine appearing as a primary driver for any tracked brand. The cited sources are notably third-party and community-oriented, including reddit.com, youtube.com, sitegpt.ai, and medium.com, rather than the brands' own domains. This pattern suggests AI Mode is building category answers from aggregated community and review content rather than anchoring on official brand pages.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Botpress 0% → 50% · rank #3 → #1+50pp
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Manychat 0% → 50% · rank #9 → #2+50pp
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Tidio 0% → 50% · rank #2 → #3+50pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
botpress.com
|
50% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Botpress leads with a composite score of 46.2 and converts its 50% visibility into a 37.5% citation rate, the highest citation share among all tracked brands in this category. |
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| 2 |
manychat.com
|
50% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Manychat matches Botpress on visibility at 50% but its citation rate is only 12.5%, producing a composite score of 38.8 and revealing a significant gap between appearances and trusted sourcing. |
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| 3 |
tidio.com
|
50% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Tidio shares a 50% visibility and 12.5% citation rate with Manychat, scoring 38.8 composite, but its citation delta fell 25 points compared to the previous period, indicating recent citation losses. |
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| 4 |
voiceflow.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Voiceflow sits at 25% visibility and 12.5% citation for a composite of 21.2, placing it roughly half the visibility of the top three brands and largely isolated from the leading cluster. |
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| 5 |
hubspot.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
HubSpot Chatbot Builder scores the lowest composite among visible brands at 12.5, but its visibility and citation rate are equal, making it the most efficiently cited brand in the bottom tier. |
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| 6 |
chatfuel.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
crisp.chat
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
flowiseai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
zapier.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
cloud.google.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
aws.amazon.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
microsoft.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
liveperson.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
freshworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
kore.ai
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
wonderchat.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
landbot.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
ada.cx
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
intercom.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
drift.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on AI chatbot builders, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this AEO ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
AEO rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Run an AEO audit on your own AI chatbot builders brand
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about AEO for AI chatbot builders
Who leads AI visibility in the AI chatbot builders category?
Botpress leads with a composite score of 46.2 and 50% visibility, pulling ahead of Manychat and Tidio who both score 38.8 composite. Every brand from rank six onward has a composite score of zero.
What sources does AI cite most for AI chatbot builder research?
The top cited sources in this category include sitegpt.ai, youtube.com, reddit.com, and medium.com, suggesting Google AI Mode relies heavily on community and third-party review content rather than official brand domains.
Which brands have the biggest gap between visibility and citation in this category?
Manychat and Tidio both show the largest gap, achieving 50% visibility but only 12.5% citation, compared to Botpress which converts the same visibility level into a 37.5% citation rate.
Which engine drives AI visibility for chatbot builder brands?
Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every single brand in this dataset, with no other engine appearing as a primary visibility driver across all twenty tracked brands.
Which brands rose most sharply in AI visibility recently?
Botpress, Manychat, and Tidio all moved from 0% previous visibility to 50% current visibility, with Manychat recording the largest rank improvement, climbing from rank nine to rank two.
How concentrated is AI visibility in the AI chatbot builders category?
Visibility is highly concentrated, with only five of twenty brands registering any score at all and the category average visibility sitting at just 9.4%, well below the 50% held by the top three brands.