Subcategory · AI Citation Index

Who AI is citing in Prototyping

Figma leads AI citations in prototyping with a 78 score; no brand appears on shortlists across 18 discovery prompts.

Brands tracked

25

Avg AEO score

62/100

Citation coverage

0%

of brands cited at least once

Dominant brands

0

cited > 50% of queries

Discovery stage

The shortlist

When buyers ask AI for the best Prototyping software

No discovery-stage prompts have been scored against this category yet — once the shortlist cron runs, this section will surface which brands AI cites most.

Evaluation stage

The battleground

How brands fare on comparison queries · category median 45/100

Figma scores 75 in head-to-head comparisons, 67% above the median of 45. Sketch, Maze, Lucidchart, and Whimsical all tie at 45. InVision registers 0 across 5 comparison queries. The 30-point spread between Figma and the median suggests strong preference clarity in evaluation contexts.

Each brand's evaluation score averages how AI responds to head-to-head comparison queries that mention them. Above-median brands win their comparisons more often than they lose.

Trends

Over the last 12 months

Too few audits to establish a trend. Two months of data show category average rising from 59 to 63. Sketch gained 9 points month-over-month; Maze fell 5.

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Editorial picks

Brands worth watching

FAQ

Prototyping questions, answered

What is the best prototyping software for design teams?+
Figma scores 78 in AI citations, the highest in the category. Sketch follows at 72, with recent momentum adding 9 points month-over-month. No tool appears consistently on shortlists for broad discovery queries.
How does Figma compare to Sketch for prototyping?+
Figma scores 75 in head-to-head evaluations versus Sketch's 45, a 67% margin. Figma outperforms the category median by 30 points in comparison contexts, while Sketch ties with Lucidchart and Whimsical.
Is InVision still cited by AI for prototyping?+
InVision registers 0 in evaluation queries and 38 overall, the lowest score among brands with data. Five comparison queries returned zero citations, indicating near-complete AI exclusion in this category.
Which prototyping tools are gaining traction with AI models?+
Sketch gained 9 points in the most recent month, the largest single-brand rise. Maze fell 5 points in the same period. Category average climbed from 59 to 63, though only two months of data exist.
Why do no prototyping tools appear on AI shortlists?+
Zero brands achieved shortlist presence across 18 discovery prompts, a 0% coverage rate. AI models avoid naming specific tools for broad prototyping queries, the most fragmented shortlist in the Design category.
What prototyping tools perform best in AI comparisons?+
Figma leads at 75 in evaluation queries. Sketch, Maze, Lucidchart, and Whimsical all tie at the median of 45. The 30-point gap between Figma and the median reflects strong citation preference in head-to-head contexts.

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