Best AI Tool Directories for Backlinks

The top 25, ranked by domain rating

All of these accept AI tools, give a dofollow link to your site, and are free to submit to. AI-specific directories put you in front of people looking for AI tools. Launch platforms bring a burst of attention on launch day. General software sites often have the highest DR, and they're worth a listing too.

DR from Ahrefs, synced automatically. Dofollow confirmed on a live listing, not copied from another list. If a directory fails its next check, it drops off this table.

How we pick these

One rule, applied by the database, the same for every directory. We don't hand-pick, and no directory can pay to be on this page.

1. Live. The site loads and its submit page works, checked in the last 30 days.
2. Dofollow, confirmed. We looked at a live listing and checked the link to the tool's own website. Plenty of older lists still mark sites as dofollow years after they switched.
3. Free to submit. Including the few that ask for their badge on your site, which we mark. Paid-only directories are in the full list, with the price.
4. Sorted by domain rating. Highest first. Ties go to the most recently checked.

We leave out our own sites, AI Tool Seekers and Local Citation Services, so we can't rank ourselves.

What's not on this list, and why

What to prepare before you submit

Every directory asks for the same things in a different order. Get these ready once and each form takes minutes.

How to use this list

1. Work down from the top

Submit to the highest-DR directories first, carefully, with your best assets. These are the ones where a rejection costs the most.

2. Reword your description for each directory

Identical copy across dozens of sites adds little, and some directories reject text they find elsewhere. Keep the facts the same and change the wording.

3. Decide on badges before you start

Some directories give the free listing only if you add their badge or a link to their site. That's a fair trade for a strong directory and a poor one for a weak one. Decide your rule once, so you're not deciding on every form.

4. Keep a record

Note where you submitted, when, and the status. Past 20 directories you'll lose track, and submitting twice to the same site reads as spam on their side. Check back after a few weeks: some listings go live without telling you, and some never do.

Do directory listings help you show up in ChatGPT and AI search?

Probably a little, and nobody can honestly promise more. AI assistants that search the web draw on pages that describe tools, and directory listings are some of those pages. A consistent description of your tool across many live listings gives them more to find and repeat.

What we don't know is how much weight any single directory carries, and anyone claiming a precise effect is guessing. Treat AI search as a side benefit of good listings, not the reason to buy them.

Should you do this yourself or pay a service?

If you have a day or two and the list, do it yourself. Start with this top 25. Pay a service when your time is worth more than the fee, or when you want 80 or more directories done properly with proof of each one.

If you do pay, check three things: that they show the list before you buy, that they submit by hand, and that they send proof of each listing. We compared ten services, including ours, in our directory submission services guide.

Related

Frequently asked questions