# Data enrichment: what AI models recommend, September 2026

Gane Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "B2B data enrichment tool" and as "lead and account enrichment service", six framings each, to six frontier models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/gtm-data/data-enrichment/2026-09-expanded

This is the permanent record of the September 2026 Edition, published September 9, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/gtm-data/data-enrichment/index.md

**Standing:** Apollo.io leads with 65% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 20 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Apollo.io](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/apollo-io/index.md) | 65% | 18% | 33 |
| 2 | [Clay](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/clay/index.md) | 25% | 26% | 23 |
| 3 | [Cognism](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/cognism/index.md) | 5% | 12% | 26 |
| 4 | [HubSpot Breeze Intelligence](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/hubspot-breeze-intelligence/index.md) | 5% | 19% | 26 |
| 5 | [Lusha](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/lusha/index.md) | 0% | 24% | 21 |
| 32 | [ZoomInfo](https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/vendors/zoominfo/index.md) | 0% | 52% | 27 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 33 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Opus 5: Apollo.io; alternatives Clay, HubSpot Breeze Intelligence
- Claude Opus 4.8: Apollo.io; alternatives Clay, Cognism, HubSpot Breeze Intelligence
- GPT-6 Astra: Clay; alternatives Apollo.io, Cognism, HubSpot Breeze Intelligence, ZoomInfo
- GPT-5.6 Sol: Apollo.io; alternatives Clay, Cognism, People Data Labs, ZoomInfo
- Gemini 3.1 Pro: HubSpot Breeze Intelligence; alternatives 6sense, Apollo.io, Cognism, HG Insights
- Perplexity Sonar Pro: Apollo.io; alternatives Clay, Cognism, HubSpot Breeze Intelligence, UpLead

## Sources the answers cite

31 of 36 answers came back with a source list, from 6 of 6 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- zapier.com: 15 answers, 15 citations
- cleanlist.ai: 14 answers, 31 citations
- salesmotion.io: 14 answers, 19 citations
- demandbase.com: 13 answers, 14 citations
- pipeline.zoominfo.com: 11 answers, 19 citations
- apollo.io: 11 answers, 12 citations
- smarte.pro: 11 answers, 12 citations
- amplemarket.com: 11 answers, 11 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://zapier.com/blog/data-enrichment-tools (15 answers)
- https://cleanlist.ai/blog/15-best-b2b-data-enrichment-providers-in-2025-ranked (14 answers)
- https://demandbase.com/blog/b2b-data-enrichment-tools (12 answers)
- https://salesgenie.com/blog/best-b2b-data-enrichment-tools (11 answers)
- https://smarte.pro/blog/b2b-data-enrichment (11 answers)
- https://amplemarket.com/blog/best-b2b-data-enrichment-tools (10 answers)
- https://snov.io/blog/data-enrichment-tools (10 answers)
- https://autobound.ai/blog/top-10-data-enrichment-platforms-for-b2b-sales-in-2025-your-guide-to-smarter-outreach (8 answers)
- https://clay.com/pricing (7 answers)
- https://crustdata.com/blog/best-b2b-data-enrichment-tools-in-2025 (7 answers)

## Warned against

- ZoomInfo: 14 of 27 labels negative. "ZoomInfo — the clearest documented pattern... often renews contracts against the wishes of its customers, threatens litigation to enforce renewals" (Claude Opus 5, negative prompt)
- Apollo.io: 6 of 33 labels negative. "This isn't a reason to avoid Apollo — it's a reason not to use it as your sole source for EMEA/APAC or for mobile numbers." (Claude Opus 5, negative prompt)
- Seamless.AI: 4 of 5 labels negative. "multiple BBB complaints and Trustpilot reviews document customers locked into additional 12-month terms after missing the cancellation deadline" (Claude Opus 5, negative prompt)
- Lusha: 5 of 21 labels negative. "Italy's data protection authority fined Lusha Systems Inc. €2 million ... The authority also ordered deletion and imposed a processing ban" (Claude Opus 5, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/gtm/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, September 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/gtm.