---
title: "AI lead generation tools: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the tools that find and contact leads. Share of Search among Apollo, lemlist, Smartlead, Instantly and Clay, the AI lead generation tools Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-lead-generation-tools"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# AI lead generation tools: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the tools that find and contact leads. Share of Search among Apollo, lemlist, Smartlead, Instantly and Clay, the AI lead generation tools Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: AI lead generation tools
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Apollo, 81.3%

## Which brand is most popular in search among AI lead generation tools worldwide?

- In August 2026, Apollo was the most searched among AI lead generation tools worldwide, with an estimated 518K branded searches and 81.3% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- lemlist is in 2nd place, 74.6 percentage points behind at 6.7% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Apollo’s estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide increased from 68.6% to 81.3%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, lemlist’s estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide decreased from 17.9% to 6.7%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Instantly’s estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide decreased from 6.7% to 5.4%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Smartlead’s estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide peaked at 6.3% in October 2025 and was lowest at 4.3% in April 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Instantly’s estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide peaked at 6.7% in October 2025 and was lowest at 4.5% in April 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Smartlead rose from 4th to 3rd among AI lead generation tools worldwide.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Instantly fell from 3rd to 4th among AI lead generation tools worldwide.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Clay held steady: its estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Apollo vs lemlist: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/apollo-io-vs-lemlist): 81.3% against 6.7% Share of Search.
- [Apollo vs Smartlead: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/apollo-io-vs-smartlead): 81.3% against 6.3% Share of Search.
- [Apollo vs Instantly: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/apollo-io-vs-instantly): 81.3% against 5.4% Share of Search.
- [lemlist vs Smartlead: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/lemlist-vs-smartlead): 6.7% against 6.3% Share of Search.
- [lemlist vs Instantly: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/instantly-vs-lemlist): 6.7% against 5.4% Share of Search.
- [Smartlead vs Instantly: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/instantly-vs-smartlead): 6.3% against 5.4% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for AI lead generation tools worldwide in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Apollo gained estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide, from 77.1% to 81.3%.
- In August 2026, lemlist lost estimated Share of Search among AI lead generation tools worldwide, from 11.4% to 6.7%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Smartlead worldwide rose 22.6% over 11 measured months, from 32.6K to 40K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Apollo | 81.3% | 518K | -0.1% | Apollo |
| 2 | lemlist | 6.7% | 42.6K | -44.6% | lemlist |
| 3 | Smartlead | 6.3% | 40K | -0.6% | Smartlead |
| 4 | Instantly | 5.4% | 34.4K | -1.8% | Instantly |
| 5 | Clay | 0.38% | 2.4K | +26.3% | Clay |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Apollo | 356K | 68.6% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | lemlist | 92.6K | 17.9% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Instantly | 34.9K | 6.7% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Smartlead | 32.6K | 6.3% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.46% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Apollo | 425K | 72.4% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | lemlist | 92.6K | 15.8% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Instantly | 34.7K | 5.9% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Smartlead | 32.6K | 5.6% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.41% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Apollo | 350K | 74.4% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | lemlist | 62.3K | 13.2% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Instantly | 28.6K | 6.1% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Smartlead | 27.7K | 5.9% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Clay | 1.9K | 0.4% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Apollo | 427K | 74.5% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | lemlist | 76.1K | 13.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Instantly | 34.7K | 6.1% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Smartlead | 33K | 5.8% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.42% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Apollo | 427K | 72.3% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | lemlist | 92.6K | 15.7% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Instantly | 34.8K | 5.9% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Smartlead | 34.1K | 5.8% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.41% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Apollo | 634K | 78.1% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | lemlist | 93.1K | 11.5% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Instantly | 42.3K | 5.2% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Smartlead | 40K | 4.9% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Apollo | 764K | 81.1% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | lemlist | 92.7K | 9.8% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Instantly | 42.3K | 4.5% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Smartlead | 40.3K | 4.3% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.25% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Apollo | 629K | 79.7% | 1 |
| May 2026 | lemlist | 76.2K | 9.6% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Instantly | 42.1K | 5.3% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Smartlead | 39.9K | 5.1% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Apollo | 519K | 77.1% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | lemlist | 76.9K | 11.4% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Smartlead | 40.3K | 6% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Instantly | 34.8K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Clay | 1.9K | 0.28% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Apollo | 519K | 77.1% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | lemlist | 76.8K | 11.4% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Smartlead | 40.2K | 6% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Instantly | 35K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Clay | 1.9K | 0.28% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Apollo | 518K | 81.3% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | lemlist | 42.6K | 6.7% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Smartlead | 40K | 6.3% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Instantly | 34.4K | 5.4% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Clay | 2.4K | 0.38% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Apollo | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Clay | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Instantly | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | lemlist | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Smartlead | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Apollo**: Measured on the search terms “apollo extension chrome”, “apollo io”, “apollo io app”, “apollo io chrome extension”, “apollo io cost”, “apollo io crm”, “apollo io email”, “apollo io extension”, “apollo io extension chrome”, “apollo io extension download”, “apollo io extension for chrome”, “apollo io pricing”, “apollo lead generation”, “Apollo.io”, “apollo.io b2b sales intelligence”, “apollo.io pricing”, “apollo.io sales intelligence”, “app apollo io”, “appapollo io”, “io apollo” and “www apollo io”, summed into one figure.
- **Clay**: Measured on the search term “clay sales”.
- **Instantly**: Measured on the search terms “instantly ai”, “instantly ai pricing”, “instantly cold email”, “Instantly.ai”, “instantly.ai pricing” and “instantlyai”, summed into one figure.
- **lemlist**: Measured on the search terms “lemlist”, “lemlist app”, “lemlist com”, “lemlist email”, “lemlist pricing” and “lemlist.com”, summed into one figure.
- **Smartlead**: Measured on the search terms “Smartlead”, “smartlead ai”, “smartlead ai pricing”, “smartlead pricing” and “smartlead.ai”, summed into one figure.

- [Apollo](/demand/global-en/brands/apollo-io)
- [Clay](/demand/global-en/brands/clay-sales)
- [Instantly](/demand/global-en/brands/instantly)
- [lemlist](/demand/global-en/brands/lemlist)
- [Smartlead](/demand/global-en/brands/smartlead)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among AI lead generation tools worldwide?

In August 2026, Apollo was the most searched among AI lead generation tools worldwide, with an estimated 518K branded searches and 81.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "AI lead generation tools: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-lead-generation-tools

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-lead-generation-tools. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.