Gumshoe AI vs Authoritas AI Tracker (2026): Which AI search monitoring tool is right for you?

Key Takeaways

• Pricing model clash: Gumshoe uses pay-per-report ($0.10/conversation) while Authoritas charges monthly subscriptions (£99-£799/mo) -- if you run fewer than 990 reports per month, Gumshoe is cheaper
• LLM coverage: Authoritas tracks 7 AI models (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews, Bing AI) vs Gumshoe's 3 (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity)
• Target audience split: Gumshoe is built for lean marketing teams and startups testing AI visibility; Authoritas targets eCommerce brands, publishers, and agencies needing enterprise-grade SEO integration
• Feature depth: Authoritas bundles traditional SEO tools with AI tracking; Gumshoe is AI-only with no keyword rankings or backlink analysis
• Best for testing: Gumshoe's 3 free reports let you experiment risk-free; Authoritas requires upfront commitment with no free tier
• Content strategy: Gumshoe offers AI-assisted content generation and cited source analysis; Authoritas focuses on licensing insights for publishers and competitive benchmarking

Both tools monitor how AI search engines talk about your brand, but they serve different needs. Gumshoe is the scrappy pay-as-you-go option for brands dipping their toes into AI visibility. Authoritas is the full-stack platform for teams that need AI tracking alongside traditional SEO data.

Overview

Gumshoe AI

Gumshoe AI is a lightweight AI search monitoring tool that tracks brand mentions across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. The pitch is simple: see what AI says about your brand, compare yourself to competitors, and get recommendations on how to improve. It uses persona-based tracking -- you can test how different buyer types (budget-conscious vs premium shoppers, for example) get different AI recommendations.

The unusual part is the pricing. Instead of a monthly subscription, you pay $0.10 per conversation report. Your first 3 reports are free, then you top up credits as needed. For small teams running occasional checks, this beats paying $99/month for a tool you barely use.

Gumshoe doesn't try to be an all-in-one SEO platform. No keyword tracking, no backlink analysis, no technical audits. It does one thing: show you how AI models answer questions related to your brand and industry.

Authoritas AI Tracker

Authoritas started as a traditional SEO platform and added AI search monitoring as the landscape shifted. The AI Tracker module sits inside a broader suite that includes keyword rankings, site audits, backlink analysis, and competitive intelligence. You're not just buying an AI monitoring tool -- you're buying an SEO platform that happens to track AI.

The AI tracking covers 7 models: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews, and Bing AI. Authoritas positions itself for eCommerce brands, publishers, and agencies managing competitive niches. Publishers get specific features around content licensing insights and IP protection -- tracking how AI platforms use their content and identifying monetization opportunities.

Pricing starts at £99/month for the Essential plan and scales to £799/month for Expert. Enterprise customers get custom pricing. There's no free tier or trial -- you commit upfront.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Pricing: Pay-per-report vs subscription

Gumshoe's pricing is genuinely different. You pay $0.10 per conversation report. If you run 100 reports in a month, that's $10. If you run 500 reports, that's $50. The first 3 reports are free so you can test without a credit card.

This works if you're checking AI visibility sporadically -- maybe once a week or after publishing new content. It falls apart if you need continuous monitoring. At 990 reports per month, you hit $99 -- the same cost as Authoritas' entry plan.

Authoritas charges £99/month ($125) for Essential, £299/month ($375) for Professional, and £799/month (~$1,000) for Expert. Enterprise pricing is custom. These are subscriptions -- you pay whether you use the tool daily or forget it exists.

The subscription includes traditional SEO features (keyword tracking, site audits, backlink monitoring) that Gumshoe doesn't offer. If you need those, Authoritas bundles them in. If you only care about AI visibility, you're paying for features you won't use.

Verdict: Gumshoe wins on flexibility for small-scale monitoring. Authoritas makes sense if you're running hundreds of reports monthly or need the bundled SEO tools.

LLM coverage: 3 models vs 7 models

Gumshoe tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. These are the big three for consumer-facing AI search, but the coverage stops there. No Claude, no DeepSeek, no Bing AI, no Google AI Overviews.

Authoritas covers all of those plus the original three. Seven models total. This matters if your audience uses Claude (popular with technical users) or if you're optimizing for Google AI Overviews (which show up in regular Google search results).

DeepSeek is a newer addition -- a Chinese AI model gaining traction globally. Authoritas includes it; Gumshoe doesn't. Same with Bing AI, which powers Copilot and reaches Microsoft's enterprise user base.

The gap isn't just about quantity. Different AI models cite different sources and have different biases. A brand might rank well in ChatGPT but get ignored by Claude. Tracking more models gives you a fuller picture.

Verdict: Authoritas has broader coverage. If you only care about the mainstream three, Gumshoe is fine. If you want comprehensive visibility, Authoritas wins.

Feature depth: AI-only vs full SEO platform

Gumshoe is laser-focused on AI search. You get:

• Brand visibility scores across AI models
• Competitive ranking (how you stack up vs competitors)
• Persona-based tracking (different buyer types)
• Topic visibility (performance across subject areas)
• Cited sources (which URLs AI models reference)
• AI-assisted content generation (recommendations on what to write)
• Scheduled reports and trend tracking

That's it. No keyword rankings in Google. No backlink analysis. No technical SEO audits. If you want those, you need separate tools.

Authoritas bundles AI tracking with traditional SEO:

• All the AI visibility features (brand mentions, sentiment, competitive analysis)
• Keyword rank tracking across search engines
• Site audits (technical SEO issues)
• Backlink monitoring
• Content gap analysis
• Publisher-specific features (licensing insights, IP tracking)
• Custom integrations and API access (Enterprise)

The publisher features are unique. Authoritas helps media companies track how AI platforms use their content and identify licensing opportunities. Gumshoe has nothing comparable.

Verdict: Gumshoe is a point solution. Authoritas is a platform. Choose based on whether you need the extra SEO tools or just want AI monitoring.

Persona tracking and competitive analysis

Both tools let you track how AI models respond to different personas. You can test "budget-conscious shopper" vs "premium buyer" or "enterprise decision-maker" vs "small business owner" and see if your brand shows up differently.

Gumshoe's persona tracking is straightforward. You define personas, run reports, and see visibility scores for each. The interface shows which personas see your brand most often and which competitors dominate specific segments.

Authoritas adds journey-based tracking. You can map personas to different stages (awareness, consideration, decision) and see how AI recommendations shift. This matters for eCommerce brands where the same person might get different suggestions when browsing vs ready to buy.

Both tools offer competitive benchmarking. You pick competitors, run the same prompts, and see who gets mentioned more often. Gumshoe shows share of voice across topics. Authoritas adds sentiment analysis -- not just how often you're mentioned but whether the mentions are positive, neutral, or negative.

Verdict: Tie on basic persona tracking. Authoritas edges ahead with journey mapping and sentiment analysis.

Content strategy and optimization

Gumshoe includes "AI-assisted content generation" -- recommendations on what to write based on gaps in your AI visibility. If competitors get cited for a topic but you don't, Gumshoe flags it and suggests content angles.

The cited sources feature shows which URLs AI models reference most often. This tells you what type of content works -- long-form guides, product comparisons, case studies, etc. You can reverse-engineer what AI models want to cite.

Authoritas doesn't emphasize content generation. The focus is on tracking and analysis. You see where you're visible, where competitors beat you, and which sources get cited, but the tool doesn't write content briefs or suggest topics.

For publishers, Authoritas offers licensing insights -- tracking how AI platforms use your content and identifying monetization opportunities. This is about protecting IP and generating revenue, not creating new content.

If you're looking for a tool that helps you create content optimized for AI search, Promptwatch takes a different approach -- it combines citation data with an AI writing agent that generates articles engineered to get cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Worth considering if content creation is a priority.

Verdict: Gumshoe is more actionable for content teams. Authoritas is better for publishers tracking content usage.

User interface and reporting

Gumshoe's interface is clean and minimal. You create a report by entering your brand, competitors, topics, and personas. The tool runs the prompts across AI models and returns visibility scores, competitive rankings, and cited sources. Reports are shareable with your team.

The pay-per-report model means you're deliberate about what you track. You don't have a dashboard that auto-updates daily. You run a report when you need data.

Authoritas has a more complex interface because it's a full SEO platform. The AI Tracker is one module among many. You navigate between keyword rankings, site audits, backlink reports, and AI visibility data. This is powerful if you use all the features, overwhelming if you only care about AI.

Scheduled reports work differently. Gumshoe lets you schedule reports on the pay-as-you-go tier -- you set a cadence and get charged per report. Authoritas includes scheduled reports in the subscription -- no extra cost, but you're already paying monthly.

Verdict: Gumshoe is simpler and faster for AI-only monitoring. Authoritas is more robust but has a steeper learning curve.

Integration and API access

Gumshoe mentions "storage integrations" but doesn't specify which platforms. The focus is on running reports and sharing results within the tool. No mention of API access or custom integrations.

Authoritas offers custom integrations and API access at the Enterprise tier. This matters for agencies managing multiple clients or brands with complex workflows. You can pull AI visibility data into your own dashboards or automate reporting.

The lack of API access in Gumshoe limits automation. You can't build custom workflows or integrate AI visibility data with other tools. For most small teams, this isn't a dealbreaker. For agencies or enterprises, it's a gap.

Verdict: Authoritas wins on integrations and API access. Gumshoe is a standalone tool.

Pricing comparison

If you run fewer than 990 reports per month, Gumshoe is cheaper. If you run more, Authoritas becomes cost-effective. The subscription also includes traditional SEO tools, which adds value if you use them.

Pros and cons

Gumshoe AI pros

• Pay-per-report pricing is flexible and budget-friendly for small teams
• 3 free reports let you test without commitment
• Simple interface focused solely on AI visibility
• AI-assisted content generation helps you act on insights
• Cited sources analysis shows what content works
• No long-term contracts or subscriptions

Gumshoe AI cons

• Only tracks 3 AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity)
• No traditional SEO features (keywords, backlinks, audits)
• Costs add up quickly if you need continuous monitoring
• No API access or custom integrations
• Limited publisher-specific features

Authoritas AI Tracker pros

• Tracks 7 AI models including Claude, DeepSeek, Bing AI
• Bundles AI tracking with full SEO platform (keywords, backlinks, audits)
• Publisher-specific features for licensing and IP tracking
• Sentiment analysis on brand mentions
• Journey-based persona tracking
• API access and custom integrations (Enterprise)
• Unlimited reports at subscription price

Authoritas AI Tracker cons

• No free tier or trial -- upfront commitment required
• Higher monthly cost (£99-£799) may be overkill for AI-only monitoring
• More complex interface with steeper learning curve
• Paying for bundled SEO features you might not need
• Subscription model less flexible than pay-per-report

Who should pick Gumshoe AI

Pick Gumshoe if you're a startup, small marketing team, or solo consultant testing AI visibility for the first time. The pay-per-report model makes sense when you're running occasional checks -- maybe weekly or after publishing new content.

It's also the right choice if you only care about the big three AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) and don't need traditional SEO data. The 3 free reports let you experiment without risk.

Gumshoe works well for brands that want actionable insights quickly. The AI-assisted content generation and cited sources analysis help you figure out what to write next, not just what's broken.

Avoid Gumshoe if you need continuous monitoring (daily or hourly reports), comprehensive LLM coverage, or API access for custom workflows.

Who should pick Authoritas AI Tracker

Pick Authoritas if you're an eCommerce brand, publisher, or agency managing competitive niches and you need AI tracking alongside traditional SEO tools. The subscription makes sense when you're running hundreds of reports monthly and want unlimited access.

Publishers should lean toward Authoritas for the licensing insights and IP tracking features. These help you monetize how AI platforms use your content -- something Gumshoe doesn't address.

Agencies managing multiple clients benefit from the API access and custom integrations at the Enterprise tier. You can automate reporting and pull data into your own dashboards.

Authoritas also wins if you need comprehensive LLM coverage (7 models vs 3) or sentiment analysis on brand mentions.

Avoid Authoritas if you're a small team on a tight budget, only need AI visibility data, or don't want to commit to a monthly subscription.

Final verdict

Gumshoe AI and Authoritas AI Tracker solve the same problem -- tracking brand visibility in AI search -- but they're built for different buyers.

Gumshoe is the lean, flexible option. Pay $0.10 per report, test with 3 free reports, and scale as needed. It's perfect for startups and small teams dipping their toes into AI visibility without committing to a subscription. The trade-off is limited LLM coverage (3 models) and no traditional SEO features.

Authoritas is the full-stack platform. You get 7 AI models, traditional SEO tools, publisher-specific features, and API access at higher tiers. The subscription (£99-£799/mo) makes sense if you're running continuous monitoring or need the bundled features. The trade-off is higher upfront cost and a more complex interface.

If you're testing AI visibility for the first time or running fewer than 990 reports per month, start with Gumshoe. If you're managing multiple brands, need comprehensive LLM coverage, or want AI tracking integrated with traditional SEO, go with Authoritas.