What AI assistants actually recommend when buyers ask about payroll software — measured on a rolling 4-week window across 4 engines, published as open data.
Updated 2026-09-17 · 28 sampled answers · rolling 4-week window · methodology
Rankings are measured from sampled AI answers — never editorial, never paid. Orbator builds AI-visibility tooling; when Orbator itself appears in any category, it is measured by the same rules as everyone else.
Measured by Orbatormethodology owner Henrik Tellewindow ends Sep 17, 2026
Sample: 28 AI answers · Window: Aug 20, 2026 – Sep 17, 2026 (4-week rolling) · trend vs prior 4 weeks (35 answers)
Samples by engine: GEMINI 7 (last run Aug 22, 2026) · CHATGPT 7 (last run Aug 22, 2026) · CLAUDE 7 (last run Aug 23, 2026) · PERPLEXITY 7 (last run Aug 22, 2026) · GROK 0 (last run Jul 31, 2026 — stalest)
How these numbers are made: sampling design · prompt provenance · what counts as a mention · what we cannot see
On the record: This ranking is frozen as a dated snapshot every day. View this category's history to see what entered and left the ranking and when, or read what the engines actually said on a given day.
Across 28 sampled AI answers from 4 engines, Gusto is recommended most often — appearing in 46.4% of recommendations, followed by QuickBooks (35.7%) and OnPay (35.7%).
This is a measurement of share of voice across 4 AI engines — not an editorial pick. See the full ranking below.
Orbator asked Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity buyer questions about payroll software and sampled 28 answers between Aug 20, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026. Recommendation share counts the answers that recommended or listed a product, so a passing mention or a warning adds nothing to it. A category publishes once it holds at least 20 independently sampled answers in the window. Read the full methodology or download this ranking as CSV.
| # | Product | Share | Trend | Engines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gusto.com | 46.4% 95% CI 29.5–64.2% 13 mentions · avg pos 1.9 first pick 46.2% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 2 | quickbooks.intuit.com | 35.7% 95% CI 20.7–54.2% 10 mentions · avg pos 2.6 first pick 20% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 3 | onpay.com | 35.7% 95% CI 20.7–54.2% 10 mentions · avg pos 3.2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 4 | rippling.com | 35.7% 95% CI 20.7–54.2% 10 mentions · avg pos 4.1 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 5 | adp.com | 35.7% 95% CI 20.7–54.2% 10 mentions · avg pos 4.8 first pick 10% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 6 | patriotsoftware.com | 28.6% 95% CI 15.3–47.1% 8 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 25% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 7 | deel.com | 28.6% 95% CI 15.3–47.1% 8 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 37.5% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 8 | remote.com | 21.4% 95% CI 10.2–39.5% 6 mentions · avg pos 4.2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 9 | joinhomebase.com | 17.9% 95% CI 7.9–35.6% 5 mentions · avg pos 4.8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 10 | wise.com | 14.3% 95% CI 5.7–31.5% 4 mentions · avg pos 10.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 11 | paychex.com | 10.7% 95% CI 3.7–27.2% 3 mentions · avg pos 5.3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 12 | payoneer.com | 10.7% 95% CI 3.7–27.2% 3 mentions · avg pos 13 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 13 | zoho.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 2.5 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 14 | forbes.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 3.5 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 28.6% | Claim |
| 15 | papayaglobal.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 16 | xero.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 50% | — | CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 17 | paylocity.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 4.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 18 | square.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6% | Claim |
| 19 | Square Payroll | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6% | Claim |
| 20 | justworks.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6% | Claim |
| 21 | oysterhr.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 22 | paypal.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 23 | freshbooks.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 24 | irs.gov | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 25 | warp.co | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 26 | Safeguard Global | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 27 | G-P | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 28 | globallyp.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 29 | Inova Payroll | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 30 | netchex.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 31 | Payroll4Free | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 32 | payroll4free.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 33 | Multiplier | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 6 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 34 | Paychex Flex | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 6 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 35 | surepayroll.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 36 | MasterTax | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 37 | remotepass.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 38 | Thera | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 14 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 39 | meliopayments.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 40 | intuit.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 41 | remofirst.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
Reading the numbers: Share is a point estimate on 28 sampled answers, so each row also shows its 95% CI — the Wilson score interval around that share. When two products' intervals overlap, the gap between them isn't statistically meaningful at this sample size. First pick is the share of a product's recommending answers where it was named first, which separates “always mentioned” from “usually the top recommendation”. Full methodology.
Independence: Orbator customers are badged for disclosure. Customer status does not affect prompts, sampling, extraction, or ranking — see the methodology. Your product on this list? Claim it to see the prompts behind your rank and track it weekly.
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Head-to-head pages for products ranked in Payroll software. Each one sets out sourced facts side by side, plus which product AI assistants recommend more, engine by engine.
Every number on this page is measured from sampled answers, and those answers are kept. The archive holds dated excerpts of what each engine answered, never full answers. Read the answer archive for payroll software to see the excerpts by date and engine, or view the ranking history to see what entered and left this ranking and when.
Across 28 sampled AI answers from 4 engines (Aug 20, 2026 to Sep 17, 2026), Gusto is recommended most often for payroll software, appearing in 46.4% of recommendations, followed by QuickBooks (35.7%). This is a measurement of what AI assistants recommend, not an editorial verdict.
ChatGPT recommends Gusto most often for payroll software. It appears as a recommendation in 42.9% of ChatGPT's sampled answers in this window (Aug 20, 2026 to Sep 17, 2026). Other engines answer differently. The per-engine breakdown in the ranking shows each one.
Orbator samples AI answers to buyer questions across 4 engines and counts how often each product is recommended. No product pays for placement. The payroll software ranking is based on 28 answers in the current 4-week window (Aug 20, 2026 to Sep 17, 2026). Full methodology is published at https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology.
Verified facts for the most-recommended products — each sourced and dated. No editorial scoring, just the data side by side.
| QuickBooksquickbooks.intuit.com | Wisewise.com | Xeroxero.com | PayPalpaypal.com | FreshBooksfreshbooks.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Simple Start: $19 a month ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | ATM withdrawals: $1.95 a month (free tier available) ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Established: $9 a month ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | Premium: $7 a month, $70 a year ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
| Features | Automated bookkeeping ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Wise Assets ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Use multiple currencies ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Pay Monthly in 3, 6, 12, or 24 payments ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Invoicing ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
| Platforms | Mobile app ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Web ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | — | API ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
| Integrations | Square ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | Gusto ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Mastercard ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Afterpay ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
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