Yoast Launches AI Visibility Tool: A New Era for SEO and Brand Tracking

Just when most marketers were wondering how to measure their brand’s presence in AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Yoast launched: Yoast SEO AI+, featuring the all-new Brand Insights tool.

This launch marks a major shift for Yoast. 

Known for its iconic WordPress plugin, the company has now stepped beyond CMS-based tools and created a browser-accessible platform that does not require plugin installation at all.

The focus? Helping businesses track how their brand appears inside AI-generated answers, what sentiment surrounds it and how they compare to competitors.

So, what exactly does this mean for businesses, SEO professionals, and digital marketers? 

What Is Yoast’s AI Brand Insights Tool?

At the core of the new Yoast SEO AI+ suite is the Brand Insights tool—a platform designed to measure brand mentions, citations, sentiment and visibility in AI-generated answers.

Instead of simply helping websites rank on Google, this tool keeps an eye on large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. With AI assistants increasingly shaping the way users discover brands, the tool helps marketers answer questions like:

• Does ChatGPT mention my brand when users ask industry-related questions?
• What sources does AI rely on when referencing my company?
• Is my brand portrayed in a positive or negative light?
• How do I compare against my closest competitors?

By giving these answers in a structured way, Yoast is addressing one of the biggest blind spots in modern SEO: AI visibility.

Why Is This a New Direction for Yoast?

Traditionally, Yoast has been synonymous with WordPress SEO plugins, powering millions of websites with on-page optimization, schema, and technical SEO guidance. 

With AI+, the company is stepping into a broader arena: tracking search visibility outside the boundaries of search engines.

The move signals Yoast’s acknowledgment that AI platforms are no longer optional and they are the new starting point of customer journeys.

As Niko Körner, Senior Director of Product at Yoast, explained:

“With Yoast AI Brand Insights, our customers can not only track their brand’s visibility, sentiment, and credibility in AI platforms like ChatGPT, but also see how they compare against the competition. As AI answers become a new starting point for customer journeys, this competitive perspective is crucial to staying ahead.”

This is a bold statement and one that shows Yoast’s commitment to staying relevant as SEO itself gets redefined.

What Features Does Yoast SEO AI+ Offer?

The package is built around three pillars: brand monitoring, competitor benchmarking and actionable optimization.

Instead of drowning users in data, Yoast has introduced a simplified KPI called the AI Visibility Index—a score out of 100 that combines multiple factors:

• Mentions in AI answers
• Citation frequency
• Sentiment analysis
• Competitor comparison

This index provides an at-a-glance view of how strong a brand appears in AI-powered ecosystems. But beyond the index, users get detailed insights.

Sentiment Tracking

Yoast’s sentiment analysis breaks down brand mentions into positive and negative associations, mapping them to keywords. A graph shows whether sentiment is improving or declining, giving marketers an early-warning system if their brand perception is slipping.

Citation Analysis

Every time AI references a brand, it usually cites a source. Yoast now tracks these citations, including domain details, categories and frequency. If competitors are cited but your brand is not, this reveals a content gap to fill.

Competitor Benchmarking

Brands can add their competitors to track how often they appear in AI answers, what sentiment surrounds them and how they rank compared to their own brand. This turns the tool into a competitive intelligence platform, not just a self-analysis system.

Custom Question Tracking

Businesses can also create specific brand-related queries for example, “best accounting software for startups” or “most trusted skincare brands” and see whether their company is mentioned in AI answers.

How Does This Help With AI Search Visibility?

One of the toughest challenges in 2025 is knowing how your brand performs in AI-driven results. Unlike Google’s Search Console, which shows impressions and clicks, AI platforms don’t provide transparent analytics.

Yoast is attempting to bridge that gap by:

• Monitoring mentions in ChatGPT-like platforms
• Identifying which sources AI trusts most
• Mapping sentiment shifts over time

This makes it possible for businesses to understand whether their brand narrative aligns with AI-driven discovery and where improvements are needed.

How Much Does Yoast SEO AI+ Cost?

Yoast has priced the tool at $29.90/month (billed annually at $358.80). Compared to enterprise-level AI monitoring solutions, this is modest—signaling Yoast’s intent to make AI visibility tools accessible to SMBs, solo marketers, and entrepreneurs.

Each subscription includes:

• One brand profile
• Weekly analysis reports
• Access to the AI Visibility Index dashboard
• Email alerts for tracking changes

Businesses with multiple brands can add subscriptions accordingly.

What About E-Commerce and Traditional SEO?

Interestingly, Yoast hasn’t abandoned its roots. The AI+ package also bundles WooCommerce SEO features and Yoast SEO Premium.

That means users still get:

• Smart XML sitemaps focused on valuable products
• Automated product schema for Google rich results (price, reviews, availability)
• AI-generated SEO titles and descriptions for product pages
• Internal linking suggestions and content optimization tools

This dual offering—classic SEO + AI visibility monitoring—makes Yoast SEO AI+ a hybrid solution for modern search.

Why Does This Matter for Businesses in 2025?

The reality is simple: AI assistants are becoming the new search engines.

When users ask ChatGPT, “What’s the best project management tool?” or “Which accounting software should small businesses use?”, the answers may shape purchase decisions long before they ever reach a Google results page.

If your brand is not visible in these AI answers or worse, if it is cited with negative sentiment then you are already at a disadvantage.

Yoast’s AI+ package gives businesses:

• A way to measure their AI presence
• A clear KPI (AI Visibility Index) to track improvements
• Actionable insights into competitor strategies
• Tools to optimize their WooCommerce stores and content for both Google and AI

 Is This the Future of SEO?

In many ways, Yoast is signaling the future of SEO: SEO will no longer be about Google alone.

As AI platforms evolve into “answer engines,” businesses must optimize for both traditional search and AI-driven discovery. 

Yoast is among the first mainstream SEO companies to create a tool that directly tackles this shift.

And this is just the beginning. Niko Körner hinted that the team is already working on recommendations to actively improve AI visibility, not just monitor it. That could mean new optimization checklists, integrations with LLMs or deeper insights into how AI answers are formed.

Dileep Thekkethil

Author

Dileep Thekkethil is the Director of Marketing at Stan Ventures, where he applies over 15 years of SEO and digital marketing expertise to drive growth and authority. A former journalist with six years of experience, he combines strategic storytelling with technical know-how to help brands navigate the shift toward AI-driven search and generative engines. Dileep is a strong advocate for Google’s EEAT standards, regularly sharing real-world use cases and scenarios to demystify complex marketing trends. He is an avid gardener of tropical fruits, a motor enthusiast, and a dedicated caretaker of his pair of cockatiels.