The short answer
For a business that wants the work done and wants to be named in AI answers, RunOctopus is the better choice than Semrush. Semrush is excellent software, but it measures and suggests. Someone still has to write, publish and link every page, and with RunOctopus that someone is us.
Four reasons RunOctopus is the better choice:
- 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, on Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce or Wix. Nothing waits on you: there is no approval queue, and you can read anything that went live and ask for changes. Semrush gives you the instruments and leaves the building to you.
- We know your catalog and services. Pages are built from your real products and services and linked into the pages that sell them, so a reader who is ready to buy is one click from buying.
- Proven on real clients. A Los Angeles apartment broker went from 12 to 57 Google clicks a month to 283 in August 2026 (Sterman case study). On October 12, 2026, ChatGPT named a Florida recruiting site on 7 of 8 test questions (Florida careers case study). We publish the misses too.
- 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. An AI writer handed a keyword produces generic text about that keyword.
Two different jobs
Semrush and RunOctopus show up in the same search because both promise to help a business get found. Past that, they solve different problems. Semrush is a set of instruments: keyword data, rank tracking, audits, and now tracking of what AI assistants say about you. RunOctopus is the crew that builds the pages. One tells you what to do. The other does it.
Semrush is one of the biggest SEO platforms in the world. Since April 28, 2026 it has been part of Adobe, which completed its acquisition that day. Semrush now sells its plans as "SEO + AI Search": keyword research, rank tracking, site audits and backlink data, plus tracking of how your brand shows up in AI answers. Its Content Toolkit adds topic ideas, briefs and AI-assisted drafts on top.
RunOctopus is done for you. Ollie (our AI) and our team research, write, publish and link pages on your own site, from online stores to local service companies, on Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce or Wix. It publishes on its own: you don't approve each page first, though you can read anything that went live and ask for changes.
Semrush gives you the data and the tools to research, track and draft content yourself, and it now measures AI answers too. RunOctopus doesn't give you a dashboard to run. Your account shows what went live and where AI assistants name you. It builds the pages and puts them live.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Semrush | RunOctopus |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | SEO and AI search software you operate | A done-for-you service: Ollie plus our team |
| Owner | Adobe (acquisition completed April 28, 2026) | RunOctopus |
| Keyword research and rank tracking | Very deep keyword database, daily Position Tracking, competitor gap reports | Used behind the scenes to pick topics. No keyword dashboard for you |
| AI search visibility | Tracks prompts in AI answers (50 a day on Starter, 100 on Pro+) | Builds the pages AI answers draw on. Not a tracking dashboard |
| Writing | Content Toolkit: topic ideas, briefs, AI drafts you edit | Written for you, research included |
| Publishing | You move drafts into your CMS | Publishes on your site on its own |
| Internal links | You add them | Linked into your product, collection or service pages |
| Interactive tools | Not offered | Calculators, quizzes and product finders built for you |
| Site audits and backlink data | Technical crawl reports, backlink gap tool, traffic estimates | Not offered |
| Platforms | Works with any site (you publish) | Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Wix |
| Price | Free plan, then SEO $139, Starter $199 and Pro+ $299 a month, Advanced on request. Content Toolkit $60 a month billed yearly | $497/mo, content build included |
Who does each step
The clearest way to see the difference is to follow one page from idea to live and ask who does the work at each step.
What Semrush does well
Semrush has earned its place. Give credit where it's due:
- Keyword research depth. The Keyword Magic Tool draws on one of the largest keyword databases in the industry, with volume, difficulty and intent data across many markets. If you want a free starting point first, our keyword idea generator covers the basics, but Semrush goes much deeper.
- Rank tracking. Position Tracking checks rankings daily across desktop, mobile and local results. This is Semrush's strongest ground, and RunOctopus doesn't try to replace it.
- AI visibility tracking. Every paid plan now tracks prompts in AI answers, with 50 a day on Starter and 100 on Pro+. If your question is "how often does ChatGPT name us, and who does it name instead," Semrush answers it with a dashboard. Our AI visibility tools guide compares it with the other trackers.
- Site audits. The Site Audit tool flags crawl errors, broken links, duplicate content and Core Web Vitals problems you would otherwise catch late.
- Competitor and backlink data. Domain Overview and the backlink gap tool show where rivals get their links and traffic, which is useful no matter who writes your pages.
What RunOctopus does differently
RunOctopus isn't trying to beat Semrush at data. It does the part Semrush leaves to you: building and shipping the pages.
- Nothing to operate. With Semrush you still read the reports, pick targets, write or edit drafts, publish them and add links. With RunOctopus, Ollie and our team do those steps, and pages go live without waiting on you.
- It knows your catalog and services. Pages are built around what you actually sell, so buyer guides point at your real products, collections or service pages instead of generic topics.
- A library, not a single draft. Pillar guides, buyer paths, comparisons and tools linked together for topical authority, not one keyword at a time. The launch build goes live in week one, then it keeps publishing every month.
- Interactive tools. Calculators, product finders and quizzes take code, not just text, and the Content Toolkit doesn't build them.
- Written for AI answers too. The same pages are built to be the source an AI assistant can quote. Our GEO vs SEO explainer covers what changes and what doesn't.
Can you use both?
Yes, and for businesses already serious about search, it's a sensible pairing. Semrush's rank tracking, AI prompt tracking and Site Audit are worth running alongside anything you publish. They show what is happening in Google and in AI answers no matter who wrote the pages.
Use Semrush to measure. Use RunOctopus to build the pages those reports say you need. If you're weighing other options in the same breath, our Surfer SEO comparison covers a writing tool, and our AI SEO agency guide covers hiring people to do it.
When the other choice is right
Pick Semrush instead if you or someone on your team will do the work and wants the best data to do it with, if you need daily rank tracking and an AI prompt dashboard across many sites, or if your budget is under $200 a month and you have the hours to spend. In those cases Semrush is the right tool and RunOctopus would be paying for work you plan to do yourself.
Semrush is research and measurement software, now owned by Adobe and now tracking AI answers too. RunOctopus is a done-for-you service that builds, publishes and links the pages. If you want the work done and your business named where buyers ask, choose RunOctopus, and keep Semrush if you like its reports.