# Apollo.io vs Cognism: which do AI models recommend for intent data, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, B2B intent data providers. Two of twelve models named Apollo.io first on the direct prompt; zero named Cognism. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/sales/b2b-intent-data/apollo-io-vs-cognism/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo.io | 25% | #2 of 14 | 7% | 27 | 11 of 12 |
| Cognism | 2% | #7 of 14 | 0% | 24 | 11 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Gemini 3.5 Flash: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io, HubSpot Breeze Intelligence) (alternatives: Bombora, G2 Buyer Intent, RB2B, Warmly)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Dealfront, G2 Buyer Intent, RB2B)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (alternatives: Cognism, Dealfront, Demandbase, Intentsify)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: MarketBetter) (alternatives: Apollo.io, Dealfront, Factors.ai)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither first, one named (first choices: Bombora, Intentsify) (alternatives: Abmatic AI, Cognism, Dealfront)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Bombora) (alternatives: 6sense, AdRoll ABM, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Bombora) (alternatives: 6sense, Dealfront, G2 Buyer Intent)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Bombora) (alternatives: AdRoll ABM, Dealfront, G2 Buyer Intent, ZoomInfo)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Bombora, G2 Buyer Intent) (alternatives: Intentsify, ZoomInfo)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Bombora) (alternatives: AdRoll ABM, Factors.ai, G2 Buyer Intent, Intentsify, Warmly)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Bombora, ZoomInfo) (alternatives: AdRoll ABM, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Bombora, G2 Buyer Intent) (alternatives: Apollo Intent, Factors.ai, Intentsify)

## What the models said about Cognism

- "Go with ZoomInfo (US-focused) or Cognism (EMEA-focused) if your SDRs need immediate contact details" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.