Loyalty, advocacy and referrals
Asked as “customer loyalty and referral platform”, and as “customer advocacy and referral program tool”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 46 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing · first-choice share
26%
Contested · Influitive AdvocateHub 20%
26Smile.io20Influitive AdvocateHub13Referral Rock41others
26% of first choices, contested.
Since September 2026↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Influitive AdvocateHub (23%) replaces Smile.io (24% then, 23% now), 0 points clear, inside the 12-point floor.Influitive AdvocateHub leads at 23%, replacing Smile.io, which led at 24% and stands at 23% now: 0 points clear, inside the floor, so the swap reads as unsettled.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
01
Smile.io26%24%38accepted challenger▼−1Since September 2026: 24% → 23%, −1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.24% → 23%
Smile.io26%24%38accepted challenger▼−1Since September 2026: 24% → 23%, −1 point. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.24% → 23%02
Influitive AdvocateHub20%12%33accepted challenger▲+11Since September 2026: 12% → 23%, +11 points. Past the 12-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.12% → 23%
Influitive AdvocateHub20%12%33accepted challenger▲+11Since September 2026: 12% → 23%, +11 points. Past the 12-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.12% → 23%03
Referral Rock13%0%26accepted challenger▼−9Since September 2026: 22% → 13%, −9 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.22% → 13%
Referral Rock13%0%26accepted challenger▼−9Since September 2026: 22% → 13%, −9 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.22% → 13%04
SlapFive4%0%12accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%
SlapFive4%0%12accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%05
Ambassador4%13%15accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 5% → 3%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 3%
Ambassador4%13%15accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 5% → 3%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 3%06
Referral Factory4%15%13accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 5% → 5%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 5%
Referral Factory4%15%13accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 5% → 5%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 5%07
LoyaltyLion2%23%22accepted challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 0% → 3%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 3%
LoyaltyLion2%23%22accepted challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 0% → 3%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 3%08
Friendbuy2%30%23criticized challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 0% → 3%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 3%
Friendbuy2%30%23criticized challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 0% → 3%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 3%Show the six products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
13
Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals0%35%34criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals0%35%34criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%11
ReferralCandy0%27%26criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
ReferralCandy0%27%26criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%14
Annex Cloud0%21%14accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
Annex Cloud0%21%14accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%12
Extole0%13%15accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
Extole0%13%15accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%10
GrowSurf0%0%12accepted challenger▼−5Since September 2026: 5% → 0%, −5 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 0%
GrowSurf0%0%12accepted challenger▼−5Since September 2026: 5% → 0%, −5 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.5% → 0%09
Open Loyalty0%0%12accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%
Open Loyalty0%0%12accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to head
All ten head-to-head pages: the top five products, each against each
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
0102030405060708091011121314Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative40%
Key
01Smile.io26%
Smile.io26%02Influitive AdvocateHub20%
Influitive AdvocateHub20%03Referral Rock13%
Referral Rock13%04SlapFive4%
SlapFive4%05Ambassador4%
Ambassador4%06Referral Factory4%
Referral Factory4%07LoyaltyLion2%
LoyaltyLion2%08Friendbuy2%
Friendbuy2%09Open Loyalty0%
Open Loyalty0%10GrowSurf0%
GrowSurf0%11ReferralCandy0%
ReferralCandy0%12Extole0%
Extole0%13Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals0%
Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals0%14Annex Cloud0%
Annex Cloud0%What they warned about
A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals35%
12 of 34 labels negative · 9 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Noted for vendor instability, product sun-setting history, and high costs, making it a risky choice” Mistral Small, negative prompt
Smile.io24%
9 of 38 labels negative · 8 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Platforms to Avoid or Use Extreme Caution With: ... Smile.io: Criticized for billing complaints (charges after cancellation), outdated customer service” Mistral Small, negative prompt
Friendbuy30%
7 of 23 labels negative · 7 of 6 models · 3 hard negative
“High-Friction Enterprise Platforms with Opaque Pricing & Long Contracts (e.g., Friendbuy, SaaSquatch, Annex Cloud) ... generally ill-suited for growing businesses” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
ReferralCandy27%
7 of 26 labels negative · 7 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Multiple AI models recommend avoiding this platform due to negative feedback and high risk of issues for enterprises.” Mistral Small, negative prompt
What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: fourteen of the six in this edition.
Sites the answers cite
77 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 1130 links across 287 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
vendor site · Open Loyalty48 answers · 81 citations · 11 models
vendor site · checkthat.ai28 answers · 34 citations · 11 models
27 answers · 42 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Voucherify26 answers · 30 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Guideflow21 answers · 23 citations · 11 models
vendor site · GetApp20 answers · 23 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Rivo17 answers · 20 citations · 9 models
16 answers · 26 citations · 9 models
vendor site · HubSpot16 answers · 19 citations · 10 models
vendor site · GrowSurf16 answers · 18 citations · 8 models
16 answers · 17 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Tremendous15 answers · 15 citations · 9 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
27 answers · 10 models
25 answers · 11 models
19 answers · 12 models
16 answers · 10 models
16 answers · 8 models
15 answers · 9 models
15 answers · 9 models
15 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 7 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best customer loyalty and referral platform”, “customer loyalty and referral platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smile.io smile.io | 26% | 119 | 260 | 26 | 8,962 | $1,468 | 12 | |
| Influitive AdvocateHub influitive.com | 20% | 86 | 10 | 0 | 4,094 | |||
| Referral Rock referralrock.com | 13% | 191 | 720 | 10 | 18,599 | 1 | ||
| SlapFive slapfive.com | 4% | 20 | 170 | 0 | 76 | |||
| Ambassador getambassador.com | 4% | 98 | 74,000 | 40,688 | 572 | 0 | ||
| Referral Factory referral-factory.com | 4% | 137 | 480 | 2 | 5,115 | 3 | 7 | |
| Enable3 enable3.io | 4% | 2 | ||||||
| BON Loyalty bonloyalty.com | 2% | 13 | ||||||
| LoyaltyLion loyaltylion.com | 2% | 65 | 590 | 13 | 17,713 | $3,445 | 3 | 7 |
| Base base.ai | 2% | 7 |
Google's top ten for the two searches hold 16 sites; 4 of them are among the sites the models cited here (getapp.com, growsurf.com, rivo.io, tremendous.com). The first result for “best customer loyalty and referral platform” is influencermarketinghub.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best customer loyalty and referral platform for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which customer advocacy and referral program tool would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top loyalty, advocacy and referral platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best customer loyalty and referral platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating a customer loyalty and referral platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which loyalty, advocacy and referral platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Claude Opus 4.8no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-6 Astrano first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-5.6 Solno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Gemini 3.1 Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Perplexity Sonar Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Zero rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Comarch Loyalty read as Comarch Loyalty Management
Influitive read as Influitive AdvocateHub
Influitive (AdvocateHub) read as Influitive AdvocateHub
Loyverse read as Loyverse POS
Salesforce read as Salesforce Loyalty Management
Yotpo read as Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Yotpo (Loyalty & Referrals module) read as Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Yotpo Loyalty read as Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Unresolved, counted raw
AdvantageClub.ai
Badgeville
Bloop Referrals & Affiliates
Bundle & Go
CWILL Loyalty & Referrals
Delta SkyMiles
Duel
Fetch Rewards
HighAdvocacy
HighAdvocacy / LoyaltySurf
HubSpot Customer Advocacy
Openreferral.us
Points.com
Quorum Grassroots
ReferralFactory
Referrals Trade
SaaSquatch by impact.com
Salesforce ReferenceEdge
Tnt1
WPLoyalty
We Love Customers
Yogiyo
Zinrel0
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.