# Account-based marketing platforms: what twelve AI models recommend, and why, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/account-based-marketing-platforms/guide/

Twelve AI models were asked for account-based marketing platform six ways each, on behalf of a small, a mid-market and an enterprise B2B company: 216 answers, in which a judge labeled 76 products. Nine of them carry at least 10 labels and a first choice, and are ranked. This guide walks the top eight in the order the mid-market standing puts them, with what the models said for and against each, in their words. AdRoll ABM leads at 56% of first choices, a clear leader.

## At a glance

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AdRoll ABM | 56% | 6% | 67 |
| 2 | HubSpot ABM | 5% | 0% | 28 |
| 3 | Terminus | 5% | 21% | 34 |
| 4 | ZenABM | 5% | 0% | 11 |
| 5 | Apollo.io | 4% | 13% | 15 |
| 6 | Demandbase | 4% | 42% | 60 |
| 7 | 6sense | 4% | 45% | 51 |
| 8 | Factors.ai | 2% | 0% | 11 |

## 1. AdRoll ABM

AdRoll ABM is #1 of 9 at 56% of first choices, 67 labels, negative rate 6%. By buyer: small business #2 of 6 at 20%; mid-market #1 of 9 at 56%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "The best account-based marketing platform for a company with a limited budget is RollWorks, which is an approachable and budget-friendly ABM tool" (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt)
- For: "I'd generally recommend RollWorks / AdRoll ABM if your priority is fast setup, practical ABM, and a more approachable mid-market fit" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase prompt)
- Against: "Enterprise tools (RollWorks ~$12K/yr, Demandbase) are overkill/too costly." (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt)
- Against: "Renamed to AdRoll ABM (Aug 2025) | Same product, different name — reviews may be split" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt)

## 2. HubSpot ABM

HubSpot ABM is #2 of 9 at 5% of first choices, 28 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #1 of 6 at 21%; mid-market #2 of 9 at 5%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "HubSpot if you want to integrate ABM into your existing CRM workflow with minimal additional complexity. Both offer the best balance of cost, ease of use, and mid-market suitability." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt)
- For: "or HubSpot if you already use its CRM and want the lowest-friction option" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt)

## 3. Terminus

Terminus is #3 of 9 at 5% of first choices, 34 labels, negative rate 21%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #3 of 9 at 5%; enterprise #3 of 4 at 4%.

- For: "the strongest contenders are RollWorks (AdRoll ABM) and Terminus (DemandScience ABX)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt)
- For: "Platforms like RollWorks or Terminus are built for your scale" (Kimi K2, scale prompt)
- Against: "some ABM platforms to avoid or be cautious about include:

1. Terminus - Merged with DemandScience in November 2024" (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt)
- Against: "Terminus (now DemandScience): Post-merger uncertainty, reporting limits, rules-based (not AI-predictive)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)

## 4. ZenABM

ZenABM is #4 of 9 at 5% of first choices, 11 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #4 of 6 at 13%; mid-market #4 of 9 at 5%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "start with RollWorks or ZenABM ... ZenABM if you're LinkedIn-focused and want to start as low as $59/month" (Kimi K2, budget prompt)
- For: "Cheapest full-featured ABM entry point; all core features included" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt)

## 5. Apollo.io

Apollo.io is #5 of 9 at 4% of first choices, 15 labels, negative rate 13%. By buyer: small business #3 of 6 at 16%; mid-market #5 of 9 at 4%; enterprise unranked.


## 6. Demandbase

Demandbase is #6 of 9 at 4% of first choices, 60 labels, negative rate 42%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #6 of 9 at 4%; enterprise #1 of 4 at 47%.

- For: "the most suitable ABM platforms are likely to be Demandbase, 6sense, or RollWorks, which are designed for mid-market to enterprise companies" (Llama 4 Maverick, scale prompt)
- For: "Demandbase One | Balanced GTM orchestration, sales-marketing alignment | $50K–$200K/yr | Unified workflows; strong for complex cycles" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, scale prompt)
- Against: "What to Avoid for Mid-Sized Companies: Demandbase & 6sense - Enterprise pricing ($60K-$300K/year) typically too high" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt)
- Against: "### Demandbase
- Pricing Opacity: Complex, non-transparent pricing structure ... Technical Debt" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## 7. 6sense

6sense is #7 of 9 at 4% of first choices, 51 labels, negative rate 45%. By buyer: small business unranked; mid-market #7 of 9 at 4%; enterprise #2 of 4 at 30%.

- For: "the best ABM platform is usually 6sense if your priority is intent data, predictive account selection, and revenue orchestration at scale" (GPT-5.4 mini, direct prompt)
- For: "Deepest predictive intelligence in the category... Best for: Sales-led revenue teams, $100M+ revenue enterprises" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, comparative prompt)
- Against: "### 6Sense
- Opaque Intent Scores ... Black Box Approach ... Long Implementation: 6+ month implementations common" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Against: "avoid Demanbase, 6sense, or Terminus before you have a defined ICP... The most criticized "leader."  Opaque, high pricing" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)

## 8. Factors.ai

Factors.ai is #8 of 9 at 2% of first choices, 11 labels, negative rate 0%. By buyer: small business #6 of 6 at 2%; mid-market #8 of 9 at 2%; enterprise unranked.

- For: "Best for: A 500-person company wanting a balance of power and operational simplicity." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt)
- For: "Startups and small teams should start with affordable, focused tools like Factors.ai, RollWorks, or HubSpot." (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt)

## Questions the record answers

**Which account-based marketing platform do AI models name first most often?** AdRoll ABM, in 56% of first choices for a mid-market B2B company in the September 2026 Edition, from 67 labels. The index calls that a clear leader.

**Does the answer change with the size of the company?** Small business: HubSpot ABM at 21%. Mid-market: AdRoll ABM at 56%. Enterprise: Demandbase at 47%. Each standing is computed within its segment and never pooled.

**Which framing changes the answer?** The direct, paraphrase, budget and scale framings count toward share. The product named first differs by framing: direct AdRoll ABM; paraphrase AdRoll ABM; comparative 6sense; budget-constrained AdRoll ABM; scale-constrained AdRoll ABM; negative 6pack. The table above has the counts.

**How stable is one answer?** Asked again with nothing changed, the models moved their own first choice 66% of the time across the repeat sample; Across the categories asked twice, a leader's share moved 4 points at the median and the index calls a change only above 10 points.

**Where do the answers come from?** Four of the twelve models return sources. Their 22 answers here cite 186 pages; the sites cited most are gartner.com, demandbase.com, pipeline.zoominfo.com. The category page lists them all.

**Can a vendor pay to be on this list?** No. A product is on the record because a model named it. A vendor can claim its page, propose corrections to the vendor table and be told when its standing moves; it cannot change a label, a share or a rank, and the publisher's conflicts are disclosed on the method page.

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.