--- title: "Hootsuite vs Later: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Hootsuite or Later more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI social media tools set worldwide. 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-social-media-tools/compare/hootsuite-vs-later" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Hootsuite vs Later: Which is searched more? Is Hootsuite or Later more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI social media tools set worldwide. 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 - **Compared**: Hootsuite and Later - **Competitive set**: AI social media tools - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Hootsuite Share of Search**: 12.9% - **Later Share of Search**: 1.1% ## Is Hootsuite or Later more popular in search? - In September 2026, Hootsuite had more branded searches than Later among AI social media tools worldwide. Hootsuite had about 113,000 branded searches, while Later had 9,280. Hootsuite made up 12.9% of all AI social media tool searches we track, and Later accounted for 1.1%. - Hootsuite was ahead of Later in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Hootsuite’s share of searches among AI social media tools worldwide moved from 28.7% to 12.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 207K to 113K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Later’s share of searches among AI social media tools worldwide moved from 1.8% to 1.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 13.2K to 9.3K. ## Top AI social media tools in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Hootsuite was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Later was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Later was listed before Hootsuite in three out of five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Buffer | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Later | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Hootsuite | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Predis.ai | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Metricool | 5th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Sprout Social | 6th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Ocoya | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Postwise | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about AI social media tools - Asked ChatGPT "Which AI social media tool should I use?": 1. Buffer, 2. Later, 3. Predis.ai, 4. Metricool - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best AI social media tools?": 1. Buffer, 2. Hootsuite, 3. Predis.ai, 4. Later, 5. Sprout Social - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best AI social media tool for scheduling social posts?": 1. Buffer, 2. Later, 3. Metricool, 4. Hootsuite - Searched Google, AI Overview "social media scheduler": 1. Buffer, 2. Later, 3. Hootsuite, 4. Sprout Social, 5. Metricool - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai social media tools": 1. Buffer, 2. Hootsuite, 3. Predis.ai, 4. Sprout Social Not named in any answer: Ocoya and Postwise. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for AI social media tools worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Buffer overtook Hootsuite to rank 2nd among AI social media tools worldwide, with 21.4% of the searches. - In September 2026, Hootsuite lost share of searches among AI social media tools worldwide, from 16% to 12.9%. - Later’s share of searches among AI social media tools worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 1.7% to 1.1% in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Hootsuite estimated searches | Hootsuite Share of Search | Hootsuite rank | Later estimated searches | Later Share of Search | Later rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 207K | 28.7% | 2 | 13.2K | 1.8% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 207K | 30% | 2 | 11.9K | 1.7% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 170K | 27.1% | 2 | 10K | 1.6% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 251K | 33.4% | 2 | 13.1K | 1.7% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 207K | 29.5% | 2 | 11.7K | 1.7% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 207K | 26% | 2 | 13.7K | 1.7% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 171K | 22.7% | 2 | 12.3K | 1.6% | 6 | | May 2026 | 147K | 20.4% | 2 | 11.2K | 1.6% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 156K | 21.7% | 2 | 12.4K | 1.7% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 113K | 15.2% | 3 | 10.9K | 1.5% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 113K | 16% | 2 | 9.5K | 1.4% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 113K | 12.9% | 3 | 9.3K | 1.1% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Hootsuite’s and Later’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Hootsuite**: Measured on the search terms “hootsuite”, “hootsuite ads”, “hootsuite analytics”, “hootsuite app”, “hootsuite application”, “hootsuite enterprise”, “hootsuite for nonprofits”, “hootsuite insights”, “hootsuite media”, “hootsuite reports”, “hootsuite sentiment analysis”, “hootsuite social”, “hootsuite social listening”, “hootsuite social marketing”, “hootsuite social media”, “hootsuite social media listening”, “hootsuite social media marketing”, “hootsuite social media monitoring”, “hootsuite social monitoring” and “social listening on hootsuite”, summed into one figure. - **Later**: Measured on the search terms “later app”, “later influencer marketing”, “later instagram planning”, “later instagram scheduler”, “later instagram scheduling”, “later scheduling app”, “later social media”, “later social scheduling”, “linkinbio by later” and “linkinbio later”, summed into one figure. - [Hootsuite profile](/demand/global-en/brands/hootsuite) - [Later profile](/demand/global-en/brands/later) - [All AI social media tools worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-social-media-tools): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Hootsuite or Later more popular in search? In September 2026, Hootsuite had more branded searches than Later among AI social media tools worldwide. Hootsuite had about 113,000 branded searches, while Later had 9,280. Hootsuite made up 12.9% of all AI social media tool searches we track, and Later accounted for 1.1%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Hootsuite vs Later: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-social-media-tools/compare/hootsuite-vs-later This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-social-media-tools/compare/hootsuite-vs-later. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.