For a business that wants the work done and wants to be named in AI answers, RunOctopus is the better choice than OTTO SEO. OTTO, the autopilot inside Search Atlas, is a capable platform: it fixes technical problems through a pixel, now writes articles and landing pages, builds links, and from the $199 Growth plan tracks how ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode mention you. But it is still software that someone has to set up, steer and watch. RunOctopus does the job itself, builds every page from what you actually sell, and has client results to show for it.
If you searched "OTTO SEO" to sign in or buy, you want searchatlas.com. Search Atlas and RunOctopus are unrelated companies. The rest of this page is a straight comparison for people deciding between the two.
Why RunOctopus is the better choice
1. We do the work and publish on our own
Ollie (our AI) and our team research, write, publish and link the pages on your site. Nothing waits on you: there is no tool to install, no autopilot setting to choose, no credits to spend and no approval queue. You can read anything that went live and ask for changes. OTTO is the opposite model. Someone, usually an agency, adds the pixel, picks between autopilot and approval mode, points the content credits at the right topics and catches it when something goes sideways. Our page on what an AI SEO agency does explains the done-for-you side in full.
2. We know your catalog and services
OTTO plans topics from keywords and its topical maps. We plan from your real products, collections or services: what a buyer compares, what they ask before they check out or call, and which of your pages should catch that question. Every new page links into the specific products, collections or services it covers, the pages that actually sell. A guide that ends on the right product page turns a reader into a customer. A guide that ends on another guide does not.
3. Fully automated, and built on real inputs
Ollie does the work automatically from start to finish, and our team keeps watch. Every page is built from real inputs, not generic AI text: your own catalog or services, your own search data, the real questions buyers ask AI assistants, and facts checked before anything publishes. OTTO's article credits turn a keyword or a topical map into a draft. That is fast, but a draft from a keyword knows only what the keyword says.
4. Proven on real clients
We publish our client results, misses included, and every number here comes from those studies. All Angles Creatures, a reptile-feeder store, earned 5,447 Google clicks in the 28 days to October 10, 2026, up from 3,645 in the 28 days before, and on two locked sets of buyer questions it was the most-cited site in every AI answer set (61 citations in the first, 80 in the second). Sterman Multifamily, a Los Angeles apartment broker, went from 12 to 57 Google clicks a month to 283 in August 2026, and ChatGPT named the firm on four of eight questions we checked. Both studies also say what did not move. The rest are on our case studies page.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | OTTO SEO (Search Atlas) | RunOctopus (Ollie) |
|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | Software platform you or your agency operate | Done-for-you service: Ollie plus our team |
| Technical and on-page fixes | Yes: schema, meta tags, broken links, canonicals, internal links, deployed by pixel or DNS | Not the main job |
| New articles and landing pages | Yes: topical maps, articles and landing pages from plan credits | Yes: planned from your catalog or services, written and published for you |
| Who decides what goes live | Autopilot by default, with an optional approval mode | Goes live on its own. You can read any page and ask for changes |
| Links into product, collection or service pages | Internal-link fixes across the site | Every new page is linked into the specific products, collections or services it covers |
| Interactive tools | Not offered | Calculators, quizzes and finders built for the site |
| AI-answer tracking | Growth ($199): ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode. Pro ($399) adds Copilot, Perplexity, Claude | Pages are written to be cited. Not sold as a tracking dashboard |
| Link building, PR, local listings | Yes, inside the platform | Not part of the service described here |
| Platforms | Any site by pixel or DNS. Connectors for Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, HubSpot and more | Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce and Wix |
| Price | Starter $99, Growth $199, Pro $399, Agency from $999 a month | $497/mo |
| Built for | Agencies, in-house marketers, founders and SEO teams, one site or many | Businesses that want to be found, from online stores to local service companies, with no one to run a tool |
Search Atlas prices are its monthly-billing list prices on its own pricing page on October 20, 2026. Plans and limits change, so check before you buy.
Why the names get mixed up
RunOctopus's AI used to be called OTTO. We renamed it Ollie in 2026 because Search Atlas's OTTO SEO had become a well-known product in the same field, and two unrelated companies sharing a name confuses everyone searching. On this page, OTTO always means the Search Atlas product, and Ollie always means ours.
What OTTO does today
An older version of this page said OTTO only fixes pages that already exist and RunOctopus builds new ones. That stopped being true. Here is what Search Atlas lists for OTTO now:
- Technical and on-page fixes on autopilot. You add the OTTO Pixel to your site header, or install through Cloudflare DNS with no code. OTTO finds and deploys fixes to schema, meta tags, broken links, canonicals and internal links. It runs on autopilot by default, and you can switch on an approval mode to review each change.
- New content. OTTO builds topical maps and turns them into publish-ready articles and landing pages. Plans come with AI article credits, and Search Atlas says every plan connects and publishes to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and other systems.
- Links and PR. Automated link building (which Search Atlas calls WILDFIRE), press release distribution and digital PR.
- Local listings. Google Business Profile posts, Q&A and review replies.
- AI-answer tracking. LLM Visibility is included from the Growth plan ($199): ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode. Pro ($399) adds Copilot, Perplexity and Claude. Starter ($99) has none.
That is a lot of capability for the money. If you compared OTTO to most of the AI SEO tools on the market, it would sit near the top for breadth.
Other differences worth knowing
Here is what the picture looks like step by step, and where OTTO genuinely does more.
Set it up and choose the settings: OTTO SEO, You or your agency. RunOctopus, Our team. Find technical and on-page fixes: OTTO SEO, Pixel, on autopilot. RunOctopus, Not the main job. Plan new pages and write them: OTTO SEO, Tool, from credits. RunOctopus, Ollie and our team. Decide what goes live: OTTO SEO, Autopilot or your approval. RunOctopus, Goes live on its own. Link new pages to products or services: OTTO SEO, Internal link fixes. RunOctopus, Built into every page. Interactive tools (calculators, quizzes): OTTO SEO, Not offered. RunOctopus, Built for the site. Track answers in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude: OTTO SEO, Growth plan and up. RunOctopus, Not a dashboard product.
Interactive tools
OTTO produces text pages. RunOctopus also builds working tools for the site, such as a calculator, a quiz or a product finder, because a tool answers a question that a paragraph can't. They tend to earn links and repeat visits that an article on the same topic would not.
Breadth versus depth
This one cuts in OTTO's favor. If you want technical fixes, link building, PR, local listings and an AI-answer dashboard under one login, OTTO does all of that and RunOctopus does not. If what you are missing is a body of pages that actually explain your products or services well enough for Google and AI assistants to pick you, a narrower service that only does that may get you further. Our guide to GEO versus SEO covers why the same pages now have to work for both.
Who should pick OTTO instead
OTTO is the better fit if you are an agency or an in-house SEO running many sites, if your main problem is technical (schema, canonicals, broken links), if you want link building, press releases and local listings in the same login, if you want an AI-answer dashboard you check yourself, or if your budget is under $200 a month. In those cases, it gives you more tools for less money.
Can you use both?
Yes, but less cleanly than before. Both now write new pages and both add internal links, so running OTTO's content features next to RunOctopus means two systems choosing topics for the same site. That is how you end up with two pages competing for the same search. If you want both, a sensible split is OTTO for technical fixes, link building and tracking, with its content features left off, and RunOctopus for the pages themselves. For most single sites, pick one to own the content.
OTTO is a broad, capable SEO platform for people who want to run one. RunOctopus is the better choice for a business that wants the work done and wants to be named in AI answers: we write, publish and link the pages ourselves, we build them from your own products and services, and our client results are public.
Frequently asked questions
Is RunOctopus the same company as Search Atlas's OTTO SEO?
No. Search Atlas and RunOctopus are unrelated companies. OTTO SEO is a product inside the Search Atlas platform. RunOctopus is a done-for-you service where Ollie, our AI, and our team plan, write, publish and link pages on a client's own site. The names get confused because our AI was called OTTO before we renamed it Ollie in 2026.
Does OTTO SEO write content now?
Yes. Search Atlas says OTTO builds topical maps and turns them into publish-ready articles and landing pages, alongside its technical fixes, link building and press release tools. Plans include AI article credits, and Search Atlas says every plan can publish to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and other systems.
How much does OTTO SEO cost?
On October 20, 2026, Search Atlas listed Starter at $99, Growth at $199, Pro at $399 and Agency from $999 a month, billed monthly. AI-answer tracking (LLM Visibility) starts on Growth, which covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode. Pro adds Copilot, Perplexity and Claude. RunOctopus is $497 a month.
What is the main difference between OTTO SEO and RunOctopus?
Who does the work. OTTO is software that you or your agency set up and steer, and it covers a lot of ground: technical fixes, content, links, PR and AI-answer tracking. RunOctopus is a service. Ollie and our team plan pages around your products or services, link them into those pages, build interactive tools, and publish on Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce or Wix without you running a tool or approving each page.
Who should choose OTTO SEO over RunOctopus?
Agencies and in-house SEO teams managing one or many sites, anyone with technical SEO problems to fix, anyone who wants a dashboard to track AI answers themselves, and anyone with a budget under $200 a month. OTTO's Starter and Growth plans cost less than RunOctopus and include far more tools.
Can I use OTTO SEO and RunOctopus together?
You can, but both now write new pages and add internal links, so running both content engines on one site risks two pages chasing the same search. A cleaner split is OTTO for technical fixes, links and tracking, and RunOctopus for the content itself.