Skillaeo and HubSpot AI Search Grader are both free tools that help you understand your brand's visibility in AI search, but they differ significantly in depth, output, and what you can do with the results. Skillaeo provides a comprehensive multi-engine audit with a 0–100 visibility score, prioritized fix lists, and automated generation of structured data files (Skills Pack) — with paid upgrades for ongoing monitoring and team features. HubSpot AI Search Grader offers a quick, simple visibility grade as part of HubSpot's broader marketing toolkit — completely free, no paid tier, and designed to give you a fast directional signal rather than a detailed implementation roadmap. If you need depth, actionable recommendations, and structured data generation, Skillaeo is the more capable audit tool. If you want a trusted brand's quick check that plugs into the HubSpot ecosystem, the AI Search Grader gets you a baseline in seconds. For many teams, running both provides a useful cross-reference — and neither requires a credit card.
Transparency note: This article is published on Skillaeo's blog. We've aimed for an objective comparison, including areas where HubSpot's approach may better suit your needs. We encourage you to try both tools with your own data.
Product Overview
Skillaeo
Skillaeo is a purpose-built AEO platform focused on auditing, scoring, and improving your brand's visibility across AI search engines. The workflow begins with a free audit: enter any URL, and Skillaeo queries ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot to assess how each engine perceives and cites your brand. The output is a composite visibility score from 0 to 100, broken down by citation frequency, sentiment accuracy, and coverage breadth across engines — along with a prioritized list of specific actions to improve your standing.
Skillaeo's distinguishing capability is Skills Pack generation — the automated creation of llms.txt and agent.json files tailored to your product. These structured data files sit on your domain root and give AI systems machine-readable context about your brand, features, and positioning. For most websites, deploying these files represents the single highest-impact step in the AEO audit checklist.
The free tier provides unlimited audits with no signup or credit card required. Paid plans (starting ~$29/month) add ongoing monitoring, team collaboration, Skills Pack management, and expanded reporting. For context on how Skillaeo compares to other tools in the category, see our complete AEO tools review.
HubSpot AI Search Grader
HubSpot AI Search Grader is a free tool from HubSpot's marketing suite that provides a quick assessment of how your brand appears in AI-powered search engines. It sits alongside HubSpot's other free grading tools — Website Grader, Email Signature Generator, and Make My Persona — as a lightweight diagnostic utility designed to surface basic visibility signals without requiring deep technical knowledge.
The tool checks whether AI engines mention your brand when asked relevant queries and returns a simple grade reflecting your current AI search presence. The interface is intentionally minimal: enter your brand or URL, receive a grade, and get high-level suggestions for improvement. There are no paid tiers, no upsell within the tool itself, and no account requirement beyond basic information.
HubSpot AI Search Grader's value proposition is accessibility and trust. As a product from one of the most recognized names in marketing software, it carries inherent credibility — particularly for marketing teams already using HubSpot's CRM, CMS, or marketing automation tools. The grader serves as a gateway to AI search awareness: it helps teams that haven't considered AEO understand that AI visibility is a dimension worth paying attention to, even if the tool itself doesn't provide the depth needed for a full optimization program.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
The following table compares the two tools across the dimensions that matter most for teams evaluating free AEO options. Both tools are free at their core, but they differ substantially in what that free experience includes.
| Feature | Skillaeo | HubSpot AI Search Grader |
|---|---|---|
| Audit Depth | Comprehensive — multi-engine analysis with citation, sentiment, and accuracy breakdown | Basic — directional grade with high-level signals |
| AI Engines Checked | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot (5 engines) | AI engines checked (specific coverage varies) |
| Visibility Scoring | 0–100 composite score with per-engine breakdown | Simple letter/number grade |
| Recommendations Detail | Prioritized, specific action items ordered by impact | High-level suggestions, not implementation-specific |
| Skills Pack Generation | Yes — auto-generates llms.txt and agent.json | No |
| Cost | Free tier (unlimited audits) + paid plans from ~$29/mo | Completely free, no paid tier |
| Integration with Other Tools | Standalone AEO platform; API available on paid plans | Part of HubSpot ecosystem; natural complement to HubSpot CRM/CMS |
| Upgrade Path | Paid plans add monitoring, team features, Skills Pack management | No upgrade path within the tool; HubSpot's broader paid products are separate |
| Report Format | Detailed audit report with score breakdown, fix list, and Skills Pack download | Simple grade with summary insights |
| Signup Required | No — run audits without creating an account | Basic information required |
| Competitor Comparison | Available — side-by-side brand comparison in audits | Not available |
| Ongoing Monitoring | Available on paid plans | Not available |
| Best For | Teams wanting a deep audit with actionable output | Teams wanting a quick, trusted signal on AI visibility |
Audit Depth
This is the most significant difference between the two tools. Skillaeo's audit is multi-dimensional: it queries five AI engines independently, analyzes citation context (whether your brand is mentioned as a recommendation, comparison, or passing reference), evaluates sentiment accuracy (whether the descriptions match your actual positioning), and produces a composite score that reflects all of these factors. The audit report surfaces specific gaps — missing structured data files, weak FAQ coverage, content that doesn't match how AI engines frame your category — and ranks fixes by expected impact.
HubSpot AI Search Grader provides a directional signal: a grade that tells you broadly where you stand in AI search. The grade is useful as a conversation starter ("our AI visibility grade is X — should we invest in this?") but doesn't provide the granularity needed to build an implementation plan. It answers "should I care about AI visibility?" rather than "what exactly should I do to improve it?"
Both levels of depth serve legitimate purposes. Not every team needs a comprehensive audit on day one — sometimes a quick grade from a trusted brand is enough to justify further investigation.
Recommendations and Actionability
Skillaeo's audit produces a prioritized list of specific, implementable actions. Each recommendation includes what to change, why it matters, and where it falls in the priority order. The recommendations span content optimization, structured data deployment, technical accessibility for AI crawlers, and FAQ coverage expansion. Teams can work through the list systematically, tackling highest-impact items first. This is particularly valuable for teams following an AEO audit checklist workflow.
HubSpot AI Search Grader offers high-level improvement suggestions — directional guidance rather than step-by-step instructions. The suggestions point you toward general best practices but don't map to specific changes on your site. This is consistent with the tool's design as a quick check rather than a comprehensive diagnostic: it identifies the problem space, not the precise fixes within it.
Structured Data Generation
Skillaeo generates a Skills Pack — a deployment-ready bundle of llms.txt and agent.json files customized to your brand. These files provide AI systems with structured, machine-readable information that significantly increases the probability of accurate citation. For teams that don't have the technical expertise or time to create these files manually, this feature alone can determine which tool delivers more value. Our guides on llms.txt and agent.json explain the file formats and their impact.
HubSpot AI Search Grader does not generate structured data files. It's a grading tool, not an implementation tool. If the grader reveals that your AI visibility needs work, you'll need a separate tool or manual process for the implementation steps — which is where Skillaeo or the broader AEO tools ecosystem comes in.
Integration and Ecosystem
HubSpot AI Search Grader benefits from belonging to the HubSpot ecosystem. If your team already uses HubSpot CRM, CMS Hub, Marketing Hub, or any of HubSpot's free tools, the AI Search Grader fits naturally into your existing workflow. There's no context-switching, the brand is familiar, and the tool may surface insights that connect conceptually to other HubSpot marketing data. For HubSpot-native teams, this integration convenience is a real advantage.
Skillaeo is a standalone AEO platform. It doesn't integrate with HubSpot or other marketing suites natively (API access is available on paid plans for custom integrations). The standalone nature means Skillaeo can focus exclusively on AEO depth rather than breadth across marketing functions, but it does require teams to manage another tool in their stack.
Where Skillaeo Excels
Deeper Audit with Per-Engine Breakdown
Skillaeo's multi-engine approach — checking five AI engines independently and reporting results for each — gives you a granular picture that a single aggregate grade cannot provide. You might discover that ChatGPT cites your brand accurately, Perplexity mentions you inconsistently, and Claude doesn't mention you at all. Each gap suggests different remediation strategies. A composite grade, while useful as a summary metric, hides these engine-specific variations that drive actual optimization decisions.
Actionable Implementation Checklist
The gap between "you have low AI visibility" and "here's exactly what to fix, in what order" is where Skillaeo creates the most value relative to simpler grading tools. Each audit recommendation is specific enough to act on: deploy a structured data file, add FAQ content covering these specific queries, restructure this page for better AI citability. Teams can hand the audit report to a content strategist or developer and have work begin immediately, without an intermediate analysis step.
Skills Pack Generation
For the majority of websites that haven't yet deployed structured AI data files, the Skills Pack feature converts audit insights into deployment-ready assets. Creating well-structured llms.txt and agent.json files manually requires understanding the file formats, your competitive positioning, and how AI systems parse structured data. Skillaeo automates this based on your actual site content. HubSpot AI Search Grader has no equivalent capability — improving the grade it gives you requires separate tools and manual work.
Paid Upgrade Path for Growth
As your AEO program matures, Skillaeo's paid plans provide a natural expansion: ongoing monitoring, team collaboration, Skills Pack management, and expanded reporting. You don't need to switch tools when you outgrow the free tier. HubSpot AI Search Grader is free and stays free — which is great for cost, but means the tool's capabilities don't grow with your needs. When you need more depth, you leave the tool entirely.
Where HubSpot AI Search Grader Excels
Trusted Brand and Credibility
HubSpot is one of the most recognized brands in marketing software. When you share an AI Search Grader result with a stakeholder, the HubSpot name carries weight — particularly in organizations where HubSpot is already a trusted vendor. This brand credibility can be the difference between a dismissed data point and an approved budget allocation. For internal advocacy ("we need to invest in AI visibility"), a grade from HubSpot may carry more persuasive force than a score from a newer, less recognized platform.
Integration with HubSpot Ecosystem
For teams running HubSpot CRM, CMS, or Marketing Hub, the AI Search Grader fits seamlessly into existing workflows. There's no additional vendor to evaluate, no new login to manage, and the insights sit alongside other HubSpot marketing data. This convenience reduces adoption friction and makes it more likely that AI visibility becomes a regular checkpoint in your marketing process rather than an isolated, one-time exercise.
Completely Free, No Upsell
HubSpot AI Search Grader has no paid tier. There is no feature gating, no trial period, and no premium upgrade prompt within the tool. For teams with strict budget constraints or those who need a quick check without any commercial commitment, this simplicity is valuable. You get the full tool at zero cost, permanently. Skillaeo's free tier is generous, but the existence of paid plans means you'll encounter upgrade prompts — even if they're not aggressive.
Simple Interface for Non-Specialists
The grader's simplicity is a feature, not a limitation, for its target audience. A marketing manager who has never heard of AEO can enter a brand name, receive a grade, and understand the result without any specialized knowledge. The tool doesn't require you to understand what llms.txt is, how AI engines differ, or what structured data means. It provides a single, interpretable signal: your AI visibility is good, mediocre, or poor. This accessibility makes it an effective awareness tool — the first step in a journey that might eventually lead to deeper platforms.
Use Case Scenarios
"I've Never Heard of AEO and Want to Understand If It Matters"
Start with: HubSpot AI Search Grader, then Skillaeo
HubSpot's grader gives you a quick, credible signal that AI visibility is a real dimension worth considering. If the grade reveals gaps, follow up with a Skillaeo audit for the specific diagnosis and action plan. The HubSpot grade builds internal awareness; the Skillaeo audit builds the implementation roadmap.
"I Need to Improve My AI Visibility and Want to Know What to Do"
Recommended: Skillaeo
If you've already decided to invest in AEO and need a clear path to action, Skillaeo's audit depth, prioritized recommendations, and Skills Pack generation provide the complete workflow. The free audit gives you the diagnosis, the fix list gives you the plan, and the Skills Pack gives you the most impactful deployment asset. HubSpot's grader won't provide the implementation detail you need at this stage.
"I Want to Justify AEO Investment to My Team"
Recommended: Both
Run HubSpot AI Search Grader for the quick, credible grade from a recognized brand name — this is your conversation starter. Then run a Skillaeo audit for the detailed breakdown: per-engine scores, specific gaps, estimated impact of fixes. The combination gives you both the executive summary (HubSpot grade) and the detailed business case (Skillaeo audit report). For competitive context, the Skillaeo audit also supports side-by-side comparison with a competitor, which strengthens the case.
"I'm an Agency Evaluating AEO Tools for Clients"
Recommended: Skillaeo
Agencies need depth: per-client audit reports, Skills Pack generation for each domain, competitor comparisons, and the ability to show clients a clear before-and-after path. Skillaeo's free audits work for client pitches (60 seconds, no setup), and the paid plans provide the ongoing management layer agencies need. HubSpot's grader is too lightweight for agency use cases — the grade alone doesn't justify a client engagement or demonstrate enough value to support a retainer. For how Skillaeo compares to other agency-relevant tools, see our comparisons with Profound and Otterly.AI.
"I'm a HubSpot Power User and Want to Add AEO to My Workflow"
Recommended: HubSpot AI Search Grader + Skillaeo
Start with the grader as your regular AI visibility checkpoint — it fits your existing HubSpot workflow. When the grade indicates issues or when you want to take implementation action, run a Skillaeo audit for the detailed diagnosis and Skills Pack. This gives you the convenience of staying in the HubSpot ecosystem for quick checks while accessing deeper AEO capabilities when you need them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HubSpot AI Search Grader accurate?
HubSpot AI Search Grader provides a directional signal — it gives you a general sense of your AI visibility status. The grade is useful for awareness and initial assessment, but it's not a substitute for a comprehensive multi-engine audit. Because the grader produces a simplified output, it may not capture engine-specific variations or nuanced issues that a more detailed audit would surface. Think of it as a screening test rather than a full diagnostic.
Does Skillaeo integrate with HubSpot?
Skillaeo is a standalone platform and does not offer native HubSpot integration. Paid plans include API access, which allows custom integrations if your team has the technical resources to build them. For most teams, running Skillaeo alongside HubSpot tools (including the AI Search Grader) as separate workflows is the practical approach.
Can HubSpot AI Search Grader generate llms.txt or agent.json files?
No. HubSpot AI Search Grader is a grading tool that provides a visibility assessment. It does not generate structured data files, provide implementation code, or produce deployment-ready assets. If your grade indicates that your AI visibility needs improvement, you'll need a tool like Skillaeo — or manual implementation following our llms.txt guide and agent.json guide — to create the structured data layer.
Which tool should I use if I have zero budget?
Both tools are free at their core level. If budget is zero and will remain zero, use both: HubSpot AI Search Grader for a quick grade, and Skillaeo's free tier for the comprehensive audit, prioritized recommendations, and Skills Pack generation. Skillaeo's free tier is notably generous — unlimited audits with no signup — so the combination of both free tools gives you directional awareness (HubSpot) plus implementation-grade depth (Skillaeo) at no cost.
Will HubSpot expand the AI Search Grader into a full AEO platform?
HubSpot has not publicly announced plans to expand the AI Search Grader into a comprehensive AEO platform. Given HubSpot's track record of starting with free tools and expanding into full products (as they did with CRM, CMS, and marketing automation), it's possible — but as of now, the grader remains a lightweight diagnostic tool. If HubSpot does expand into deeper AEO capabilities, we'll update this comparison. For the current landscape of dedicated AEO platforms, see our best AEO tools review.
The Bottom Line
Skillaeo and HubSpot AI Search Grader both offer free entry points into AI visibility assessment, but they serve different purposes at different depths. Skillaeo is the comprehensive audit-and-implementation platform — it tells you exactly where you stand across five AI engines, what to fix, in what order, and generates the structured data files you need to deploy. HubSpot AI Search Grader is the quick, trusted signal — it tells you whether AI visibility is a problem worth solving, backed by a brand name that carries weight in marketing organizations.
For most teams, the practical approach is to use both: HubSpot's grader for quick checks and internal advocacy, Skillaeo's audit for the detailed diagnosis and implementation path. They're complementary rather than competitive — different lenses on the same challenge of making your brand visible in AI-powered search.
Ready to see how your site performs in AI search? Start with a free Skillaeo audit — no signup required.