What SpyFu does
SpyFu is a competitive keyword intelligence tool. It shows you which keywords competitors rank for organically, which keywords they bid on in Google Ads, and how those positions and bids have changed over time. It's built for understanding competitor SEO and PPC strategies in traditional search.
What SpyFu cannot show you: whether your competitor appears in AI responses, how they're described when they do appear, or whether they're the first recommendation in ChatGPT for your category. That's a significant blind spot.
The gap SpyFu leaves
Your competitor ranks #8 in Google but appears first in every ChatGPT response for your category
Why it matters: Google rank tracking shows them behind you. AI tracking shows them ahead of you. The buyer making decisions based on ChatGPT recommendations sees only the AI result.
Your competitor is spending on Google Ads but investing in third-party editorial coverage
Why it matters: SpyFu shows their ad spend. ArtificialPulse shows that their investment in editorial placements and review volume is building AI visibility that compounds over time - a signal no keyword tool captures.
A new competitor enters your category and isn't yet spending on Google Ads
Why it matters: SpyFu shows minimal footprint. ArtificialPulse can detect early AI mention rate before the competitor shows significant Google investment. AI visibility often leads traditional SEO signals.
SpyFu vs. ArtificialPulse - side by side
| Capability | SpyFu | ArtificialPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Google organic keyword positions | ✓ | — |
| Google Ads keyword intelligence | ✓ | — |
| Historical Google keyword data | ✓ | — |
| ChatGPT brand mention tracking | — | ✓ |
| Perplexity mention rate and position | — | ✓ |
| Google AI Overview monitoring | — | ✓ |
| AI response sentiment / framing analysis | — | ✓ |
| AI competitor comparison in same response | — | ✓ |
| White-label AI visibility reports | — | ✓ |
| AI Visibility Score (0–100) | — | ✓ |
Why most teams use both
SpyFu and ArtificialPulse answer different questions. SpyFu answers "what keywords are my competitors targeting in Google?" ArtificialPulse answers "how are my competitors represented when buyers ask AI chatbots for recommendations?" Both questions matter for a complete competitive picture.
The brands that are pulling ahead in AI search aren't abandoning Google strategy - they're adding an AI intelligence layer. The competitive signals that build AI visibility (third-party editorial coverage, review platform presence, entity data quality) are different from the signals that drive Google keyword rankings, and they require separate tracking.
What ArtificialPulse tracks
AI Visibility Score
A 0–100 score measuring how often and how prominently your brand appears in AI responses for your tracked query set.
Competitor comparison
Side-by-side AI visibility scores and mention rates vs. named competitors - in the same AI responses, not different data sets.
Framing analysis
Not just mention rate - whether your brand is recommended, hedged, or described negatively when it appears.
Platform breakdown
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews tracked separately. Performance often differs significantly across platforms.
Query-level detail
Which queries drive strong framing, which produce weak mentions, which queries your competitors dominate.
Trend over time
Weekly data showing whether your AI visibility is improving, stable, or declining - and whether competitors are moving.
See how your brand compares in AI search
Free audit runs your brand against competitors across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. No signup required.