Updated March 2026
Found by AI vs Profound
Profound serves enterprises with $5K+ budgets. We serve everyone else -- from EUR 29/mo.
Profound is the market leader in enterprise AI visibility -- a $1B platform backed by $155M from Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed, and Kleiner Perkins, trusted by 700+ enterprise customers including 10% of the Fortune 500. Their analytics depth (Conversation Explorer, Prompt Volumes, Agent Analytics) is unmatched. However, meaningful Profound access starts at $399/mo with an application process. Found by AI starts at EUR 29/mo with self-serve instant signup, verified monitoring across 2-7+ AI platforms, and optional managed content creation from EUR 129/mo.
The Core Difference
Enterprise intelligence vs. accessible execution.
Profound is the most sophisticated AI visibility analytics platform on the market. With 700+ enterprise customers, a G2 Leader badge (4.6/5, 312 reviews), and features like Conversation Explorer, Prompt Volumes, and Agent Analytics, it gives enterprise marketing teams deep insight into how AI models represent their brand. Profound's Growth tier ($399/mo) tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews with 100 prompts and 6 AI-generated articles per month. Their Enterprise tier extends to 10+ AI platforms with SOC 2 Type II compliance, SSO, and dedicated customer success managers.
Found by AI is a monitoring and improvement service built for businesses that need results without an enterprise budget or a marketing team. A freelance writer costs EUR 500-2,000/mo. An AEO agency charges EUR 1,000-3,000/mo. A monitoring tool adds another EUR 29-399/mo on top. Found by AI's Growth tier (EUR 179/mo) combines verified monitoring across 4 AI platforms -- each prompt checked 5x for statistical reliability, producing 1,000 verified data points per scan cycle -- with a monthly optimization playbook of prioritized actions. No application process. Self-serve signup. 14-day free trial on Growth. And when you are ready to accelerate, managed content creation is available separately from EUR 129/mo.
Where each excels
Where Profound excels
- Analytics depth that no competitor matches: Conversation Explorer, Prompt Volumes (unique AI search demand data), and Agent Analytics tracking how AI bots crawl your site -- backed by $155M in funding and a 120-person team
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure: SOC 2 Type II, SSO/SAML, 10+ AI platforms on Enterprise tier, 24-hour SLA Slack support, and API access -- trusted by Walmart, MongoDB, DocuSign, and Zapier
- G2 Leader (4.6/5, 312 reviews) with $1B valuation and 700+ enterprise customers including 10% of the Fortune 500 -- the strongest credibility signal in the category
Where Found by AI excels
- 5x verification per prompt on Growth -- 1,000 verified data points per scan cycle -- while Profound's verification methodology is not publicly documented
- Self-serve instant signup with a free AI Visibility Check and 14-day free trial on Growth -- Profound requires an application/demo process with no free trial on any tier
- Managed content creation available separately from EUR 129/mo: editorial directory listings as third-party citation sources plus expert articles published on your domain -- Profound generates AI drafts but does not manage publishing
Feature comparison
| Found by AI | Profound | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | EUR 29/mo (The Minimum: 2 platforms, 15 prompts) | $99/mo (Starter: ChatGPT only, 50 prompts) |
| AI platforms tracked | 2 (The Minimum), 4 (Growth), 7+ (Enterprise) | 1 (Starter), 3 (Growth), 10+ (Enterprise) |
| Verification methodology | Each prompt verified 2x (The Minimum) or 5x (Growth) for statistical reliability | Millions of daily prompts via front-end monitoring -- methodology not publicly documented |
| Monthly optimization playbook | Prioritized actions based on your data (Growth, EUR 179/mo) | Data-rich dashboards and content recommendations via Agents -- reviewers note a steep learning curve |
| Self-serve signup / free trial | Instant self-serve signup + free AI Visibility Check + 14-day Growth trial | Application/demo required -- no free trial on any tier |
| Managed content service (done-for-you) | Available separately from EUR 129/mo -- not required for monitoring | AI-generated drafts via Agents (6 articles/mo on Growth, $399/mo) -- not managed publishing |
| Agentic commerce readiness | Preparing -- learn about AEO | No dedicated features |
| Enterprise compliance (SOC 2, SSO) | Not available | Yes -- SOC 2 Type II, SSO/SAML, SLA (Enterprise tier) |
Key Differences
Choose Profound if...
- You have a marketing team that can act independently on deep analytics data -- Conversation Explorer, Prompt Volumes, and Agent Analytics are genuinely unmatched
- SOC 2 compliance, SSO/SAML, or enterprise SLAs are procurement requirements -- Found by AI does not offer these
- You need 10+ AI platform coverage including DeepSeek and Meta AI, or ChatGPT Shopping tracking for e-commerce
Choose Found by AI if...
- You want verified monitoring data you can trust -- each prompt checked up to 5x, producing 1,000 data points per cycle on Growth
- You want to start today without an application process -- self-serve signup, free AI Visibility Check, and 14-day Growth trial
- You want the option to add done-for-you content creation when ready -- managed publishing and editorial directory listings from EUR 129/mo
- You want a provider actively building toward the agentic AI future
Frequently asked questions
How does Found by AI compare to Profound on pricing?
Profound publishes three tiers: Starter at $99/mo (ChatGPT only, 50 prompts), Growth at $399/mo (3 platforms, 100 prompts, 6 AI-generated articles/mo), and Enterprise at custom pricing (10+ platforms, SOC 2, SSO). Found by AI starts at EUR 29/mo for The Minimum tier (2 platforms, 15 prompts) and EUR 179/mo for Growth (4 platforms, 50 prompts, 5x verification, monthly playbook). At the Growth tier, Found by AI costs roughly 55% less than Profound while covering one additional platform, though Profound offers more prompts and deeper analytics. Content creation is available separately from Found by AI starting at EUR 129/mo.
Does Profound create content for AI visibility?
Profound's Growth tier ($399/mo) includes AI-generated articles via Profound Agents -- up to 6 articles per month plus content briefs based on citation analysis. However, Profound does not manage the publishing process on your domain. Found by AI offers a separate managed content service (from EUR 129/mo) that handles research, writing, schema markup, and publishing on your domain, plus editorial directory listings as third-party citation sources. The key distinction is AI-generated drafts versus done-for-you published content.
Which AI platforms does each tool track?
Found by AI tracks 2 platforms on The Minimum tier (Google AI Overview, ChatGPT), 4 on Growth (adding Copilot and Perplexity), and 7+ on Enterprise (adding Claude, Gemini, Grok). Profound's Starter ($99/mo) tracks ChatGPT only. Profound's Growth ($399/mo) adds Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. Profound's Enterprise tier monitors 10+ platforms including Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI, DeepSeek, and Copilot -- the broadest coverage in the market.
Is Found by AI a replacement for Profound?
For different buyers, yes and no. If you need enterprise-grade analytics like Conversation Explorer, Prompt Volumes, Agent Analytics, and SOC 2 compliance, Profound is in a different league -- no competitor matches that depth. If you are an SMB that needs verified AI visibility monitoring with actionable playbooks and the option to add managed content creation, Found by AI delivers that from EUR 29/mo with self-serve signup and a 14-day free trial on Growth. Profound serves enterprises with $5K+ marketing analytics budgets. Found by AI serves everyone else.
Bottom line
Profound is the $1B market leader in enterprise AI visibility analytics, trusted by 700+ enterprises and backed by $155M in funding, with unmatched features like Conversation Explorer and Prompt Volumes starting at $99/mo for Starter and $399/mo for Growth. Found by AI is an accessible AI visibility monitoring and improvement service starting at EUR 29/mo, with 5x verification per prompt on Growth (EUR 179/mo), a monthly optimization playbook, self-serve signup, and a 14-day free trial. Choose Profound if you have a marketing team, an enterprise budget, and need the deepest analytics available. Choose Found by AI if you want verified monitoring with actionable guidance, instant access, and the option to add managed content creation. The simplest test: if you need someone to create and publish the content that improves your AI visibility, Found by AI is the only option in this comparison that does that.
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