AI Index / AI tools for SEO professionals / History

AI tools for SEO professionals — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for ai tools for seo professionals, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 5-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲ INGoogle Search Console entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTMake left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▼Clearscope moved #6 → #8
▲Semrush One moved #3 → #2
▼Ahrefs moved #2 → #3
▲SE Ranking moved #7 → #6
▲Search Console moved #8 → #7
▲Google Search Console moved #11 → #10
▼Make moved #10 → #11
▼Ahrefs -9.3pp (48.6% → 39.3%)
▼Clearscope -6.4pp (31.4% → 25%)
▲Search Console +5pp (20% → 25%)
▼Surfer -4.3pp (54.3% → 50%)
▼Surfer SEO -4.3pp (40% → 35.7%)
▲Google Search Console +2.9pp (11.4% → 14.3%)
▼Semrush One -2.8pp (45.7% → 42.9%)
▲Frase +1.4pp (34.3% → 35.7%)

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

▲ INMake entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTRankability left the top 10 (#9 → #12)
▼Rankability moved #9 → #12
▲Ahrefs moved #4 → #2
▼Semrush One moved #2 → #3
▼Surfer SEO moved #3 → #4
▲Frase moved #6 → #5
▼Clearscope moved #5 → #6
▲Jasper moved #10 → #9
▲Make moved #11 → #10
▼Surfer SEO -10.8pp (50.8% → 40%)
▼Rankability -10.8pp (22.2% → 11.4%)
▼Clearscope -9.9pp (41.3% → 31.4%)
▼Surfer -9.2pp (63.5% → 54.3%)
▼Search Console -7pp (27% → 20%)
▼Semrush One -6.7pp (52.4% → 45.7%)
▼SE Ranking -6pp (31.7% → 25.7%)
▼Jasper -5.1pp (22.2% → 17.1%)
▼Frase -2.2pp (36.5% → 34.3%)
▼Make -1.6pp (15.9% → 14.3%)

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 5-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲Rankability moved #10 → #9
▼Jasper moved #9 → #10
▲Search Console +2.7pp (24.3% → 27%)
▲Rankability +2.2pp (20% → 22.2%)
▼Frase -2.1pp (38.6% → 36.5%)
▼Semrush One -1.9pp (54.3% → 52.4%)
▲Clearscope +1.3pp (40% → 41.3%)

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

▲Semrush One moved #3 → #2
▼Surfer SEO moved #2 → #3
▼Surfer SEO -7.1pp (57.1% → 50%)
▼Search Console -6.7pp (31% → 24.3%)
▼Frase -5.4pp (44% → 38.6%)
▼Clearscope -5.2pp (45.2% → 40%)
▼Ahrefs -4.8pp (54.8% → 50%)
▼Jasper -4.5pp (27.4% → 22.9%)
▼Semrush One -1.7pp (56% → 54.3%)
▲Surfer +1pp (61.9% → 62.9%)

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-5 → 4-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲Search Console moved #9 → #8
▼Jasper moved #8 → #9
▼Clearscope -5.6pp (50.8% → 45.2%)
▼Surfer SEO -4.8pp (61.9% → 57.1%)
▼Semrush One -4.3pp (60.3% → 56%)
▼Ahrefs -3.9pp (58.7% → 54.8%)
▼SE Ranking -3.9pp (34.9% → 31%)
▼Rankability -3.6pp (23.8% → 20.2%)
▼Jasper -2.8pp (30.2% → 27.4%)
▼Frase -2pp (46% → 44%)

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

▲Surfer moved #3 → #1
▲Surfer SEO moved #4 → #2
▼Semrush One moved #1 → #3
▼Ahrefs moved #2 → #4
▲Clearscope moved #6 → #5
▼Frase moved #5 → #6
▲Surfer +11.3pp (50.6% → 61.9%)
▲Surfer SEO +11.3pp (50.6% → 61.9%)
▲Search Console +4.2pp (26% → 30.2%)
▲Clearscope +4pp (46.8% → 50.8%)
▼Frase -2.1pp (48.1% → 46%)
▼Semrush One -2pp (62.3% → 60.3%)
▲Ahrefs +1.6pp (57.1% → 58.7%)
▼SE Ranking -1.5pp (36.4% → 34.9%)
▼Jasper -1pp (31.2% → 30.2%)

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

▲Surfer moved #5 → #3
▲Surfer SEO moved #6 → #4
▼Frase moved #3 → #5
▼Clearscope moved #4 → #6
▲Surfer +4.2pp (46.4% → 50.6%)
▲Surfer SEO +4.2pp (46.4% → 50.6%)
▲Rankability +2pp (21.4% → 23.4%)
▲Semrush One +1.6pp (60.7% → 62.3%)
▲Jasper +1.4pp (29.8% → 31.2%)
▲Ahrefs +1.1pp (56% → 57.1%)
▲Search Console +1pp (25% → 26%)

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

▲Surfer +6.6pp (39.8% → 46.4%)
▲Surfer SEO +6.6pp (39.8% → 46.4%)
▼SE Ranking -3.1pp (38.8% → 35.7%)
▼Frase -2.4pp (50% → 47.6%)
▼Rankability -2.1pp (23.5% → 21.4%)
▲Ahrefs +1.9pp (54.1% → 56%)
▲Jasper +1.2pp (28.6% → 29.8%)

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202628 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1Surfer50%
#2Semrush One42.9%
#3Ahrefs39.3%
#4Surfer SEO35.7%
#5Frase35.7%
#6SE Ranking25%
#7Search Console25%
#8Clearscope25%
#9Jasper17.9%
#10Google Search Console14.3%

Sep 7, 202635 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer54.3%
#2Ahrefs48.6%
#3Semrush One45.7%
#4Surfer SEO40%
#5Frase34.3%
#6Clearscope31.4%
#7SE Ranking25.7%
#8Search Console20%
#9Jasper17.1%
#10Make14.3%

Sep 6, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Sep 5, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Sep 4, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Sep 3, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Sep 2, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Sep 1, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Aug 31, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v5-7

#1Surfer63.5%
#2Semrush One52.4%
#3Surfer SEO50.8%
#4Ahrefs49.2%
#5Clearscope41.3%
#6Frase36.5%
#7SE Ranking31.7%
#8Search Console27%
#9Rankability22.2%
#10Jasper22.2%

Aug 30, 202670 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v4-7

#1Surfer62.9%
#2Semrush One54.3%
#3Surfer SEO50%
#4Ahrefs50%
#5Clearscope40%
#6Frase38.6%
#7SE Ranking31.4%
#8Search Console24.3%
#9Jasper22.9%
#10Rankability20%

Aug 29, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v4-7

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO57.1%
#3Semrush One56%
#4Ahrefs54.8%
#5Clearscope45.2%
#6Frase44%
#7SE Ranking31%
#8Search Console31%
#9Jasper27.4%
#10Rankability20.2%

Aug 28, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v4-5

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO61.9%
#3Semrush One60.3%
#4Ahrefs58.7%
#5Clearscope50.8%
#6Frase46%
#7SE Ranking34.9%
#8Jasper30.2%
#9Search Console30.2%
#10Rankability23.8%

Aug 27, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v4-5

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO61.9%
#3Semrush One60.3%
#4Ahrefs58.7%
#5Clearscope50.8%
#6Frase46%
#7SE Ranking34.9%
#8Jasper30.2%
#9Search Console30.2%
#10Rankability23.8%

Aug 26, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4-5

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO61.9%
#3Semrush One60.3%
#4Ahrefs58.7%
#5Clearscope50.8%
#6Frase46%
#7SE Ranking34.9%
#8Jasper30.2%
#9Search Console30.2%
#10Rankability23.8%

Aug 25, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4-5

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO61.9%
#3Semrush One60.3%
#4Ahrefs58.7%
#5Clearscope50.8%
#6Frase46%
#7SE Ranking34.9%
#8Jasper30.2%
#9Search Console30.2%
#10Rankability23.8%

Aug 24, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4-5

#1Surfer61.9%
#2Surfer SEO61.9%
#3Semrush One60.3%
#4Ahrefs58.7%
#5Clearscope50.8%
#6Frase46%
#7SE Ranking34.9%
#8Jasper30.2%
#9Search Console30.2%
#10Rankability23.8%

Aug 23, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One62.3%
#2Ahrefs57.1%
#3Surfer50.6%
#4Surfer SEO50.6%
#5Frase48.1%
#6Clearscope46.8%
#7SE Ranking36.4%
#8Jasper31.2%
#9Search Console26%
#10Rankability23.4%

Aug 22, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One62.3%
#2Ahrefs57.1%
#3Surfer50.6%
#4Surfer SEO50.6%
#5Frase48.1%
#6Clearscope46.8%
#7SE Ranking36.4%
#8Jasper31.2%
#9Search Console26%
#10Rankability23.4%

Aug 21, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One60.7%
#2Ahrefs56%
#3Frase47.6%
#4Clearscope47.6%
#5Surfer46.4%
#6Surfer SEO46.4%
#7SE Ranking35.7%
#8Jasper29.8%
#9Search Console25%
#10Rankability21.4%

Aug 20, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One60.7%
#2Ahrefs56%
#3Frase47.6%
#4Clearscope47.6%
#5Surfer46.4%
#6Surfer SEO46.4%
#7SE Ranking35.7%
#8Jasper29.8%
#9Search Console25%
#10Rankability21.4%

Aug 19, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Aug 18, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Aug 17, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Aug 16, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Aug 15, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Aug 14, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4-5

#1Semrush One61.2%
#2Ahrefs54.1%
#3Frase50%
#4Clearscope46.9%
#5Surfer39.8%
#6Surfer SEO39.8%
#7SE Ranking38.8%
#8Jasper28.6%
#9Search Console24.5%
#10Rankability23.5%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/ai-tools-for-seo-professionals/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]