Key takeaways
- AEO Engine is a managed service (they do the work for you), while Authoritas is a self-serve SaaS platform. This is the most important difference -- it shapes everything from pricing to how fast you see results.
- AEO Engine starts at $797/mo and goes up to $2,997/mo. Authoritas starts at £99/mo (~$125). The price gap is enormous, and it reflects the service model difference.
- Authoritas combines AI search monitoring with a full traditional SEO suite (rank tracking, site audits, keyword research). AEO Engine is AI/AEO-only.
- AEO Engine claims 920% average AI traffic growth across campaigns -- a bold number, but it comes from a managed service context where their team is actively running optimization work.
- Authoritas tracks more AI models publicly (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews, Bing AI). AEO Engine focuses primarily on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity.
- If you want someone to handle AI visibility for you, AEO Engine. If you want a platform your team controls, Authoritas.
Overview
AEO Engine
AEO Engine positions itself as a results-oriented AI visibility service for eCommerce and B2B brands. The pitch is simple: they do the work. You don't get a dashboard to log into and figure out yourself -- you get a team that runs your AEO strategy, creates content, and optimizes your presence across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. They claim 920% average AI traffic growth across their client campaigns and list 50+ eCommerce and B2B brands as clients. The pricing reflects the managed service model: $797/mo is the floor, and serious campaigns run $1,597-$2,997/mo.
Authoritas AI Tracker
Authoritas has been around as a traditional SEO platform for years, and its AI Tracker is a newer addition that sits alongside its existing rank tracking, site audit, and keyword tools. It tracks brand visibility and sentiment across seven AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews, Bing AI) and is built for eCommerce brands, publishers, and agencies. The pricing is much more accessible -- starting at £99/mo -- and the self-serve model means your team runs it. It's a platform, not a service.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | AEO Engine | Authoritas AI Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Model type | Managed service | Self-serve SaaS platform |
| Starting price | $797/mo | £99/mo (~$125/mo) |
| Free tier | No (free audit/strategy call) | No (free demo) |
| AI models tracked | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity (primary) | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Google AI Overviews, Bing AI |
| Traditional SEO tools | No | Yes (rank tracking, site audit, keyword tools) |
| Content creation | Yes (done-for-you) | No |
| Brand sentiment tracking | Not specified | Yes |
| Competitor monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Agency/multi-client support | Yes | Yes |
| eCommerce focus | Yes | Yes |
| Publisher support | No | Yes |
| Reporting/dashboards | Managed reports | Self-serve dashboards |
| Contract type | Monthly retainer | Monthly subscription |
Head-to-head feature deep-dive
Service model and who does the work
This is the core fork in the road. AEO Engine is not software you buy access to -- it's a team you hire. When you sign up, their people audit your brand's AI visibility, build a strategy, create content, and run the optimization. You're paying for outcomes, not a tool.
Authoritas is the opposite. You get a platform, you set up your brand and competitors, you run queries, and you interpret the data. Your team does the analysis and decides what to do next.
Neither model is inherently better -- it depends entirely on your situation. A small eCommerce brand with no in-house SEO expertise might get more value from AEO Engine's managed approach. A marketing team at a mid-size company that already has SEO analysts will likely prefer Authoritas because they can move faster and stay in control.
Verdict: Depends on your team. Managed service vs. self-serve is a fundamental choice, not a feature gap.
AI model coverage
| AI Platform | AEO Engine | Authoritas |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT / OpenAI | Yes | Yes |
| Google AI Overviews | Yes | Yes |
| Perplexity | Yes | Yes |
| Claude | Not specified | Yes |
| Gemini | Not specified | Yes |
| DeepSeek | Not specified | Yes |
| Bing AI / Copilot | Not specified | Yes |
Authoritas publicly documents tracking across seven AI platforms. AEO Engine's website emphasizes ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity -- the three highest-traffic AI search surfaces -- but doesn't clearly state whether Claude, Gemini, or DeepSeek are included in their monitoring.
For brands that care about visibility across the full AI search ecosystem (not just the top three), Authoritas has a clearer answer here.
Verdict: Authoritas, on documented breadth.
Content and optimization capabilities
AEO Engine's managed service includes content creation as part of the package. Their team writes and publishes content optimized for AI citation -- this is a meaningful differentiator because most monitoring tools leave you to figure out the "what do I do now?" question yourself.
Authoritas doesn't include content creation. It shows you where you stand and how competitors compare, but the optimization work is on you. That's not a flaw -- it's just the self-serve model. You'd use the data to brief your content team or agency.
Worth noting: if you want a self-serve platform that also helps you create content optimized for AI citation, Promptwatch covers that gap with built-in AI writing tools grounded in citation data.
Verdict: AEO Engine wins here, but only because it's a managed service. The comparison isn't really apples-to-apples.
Traditional SEO integration
Authoritas has been a traditional SEO platform for years. Alongside the AI Tracker, you get rank tracking, site audits, keyword research, and backlink tools. For teams that want one platform covering both traditional search and AI search, this is a real advantage.
AEO Engine is AI/AEO-only. There's no rank tracking or site audit functionality. If you're running AEO Engine, you'd still need a separate SEO tool for traditional search.
Verdict: Authoritas, clearly.
Reporting and visibility metrics
Authoritas gives you self-serve dashboards with share of voice trends, brand sentiment, competitor comparisons, and prompt-level breakdowns. You can see how your visibility changes over time across each AI platform.
AEO Engine delivers managed reports as part of the service. You're not logging into a dashboard daily -- you're getting reports from their team. For some clients this is fine; for teams that want live data access, it's a limitation.
Verdict: Authoritas for teams that want direct data access. AEO Engine if you trust the agency relationship.
Publisher support
Authoritas explicitly supports publishers -- tracking how AI platforms use your content, with tools aimed at licensing revenue and IP protection. This is a distinct use case that AEO Engine doesn't address.
Verdict: Authoritas, for publishers specifically.
Pricing comparison
| Plan | AEO Engine | Authoritas |
|---|---|---|
| Entry/Essential | $797/mo (Local) | £99/mo (~$125/mo) |
| Mid-tier | $1,597/mo (Growth) | £299/mo (~$375/mo) |
| Upper tier | $2,997/mo (Aggressive) | £799/mo (~$1,000/mo) |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
The price gap at the entry level is roughly 6x. At the upper tier, AEO Engine is about 3x more expensive than Authoritas's Expert plan.
The key context: AEO Engine's price includes a team doing the work. Authoritas's price is software access only. So the comparison isn't purely about features -- it's about whether you're buying a tool or a service.
Pros and cons
AEO Engine
Pros:
- Done-for-you model means no internal expertise required
- Content creation included -- they don't just identify gaps, they fill them
- Strong focus on the three highest-traffic AI platforms (ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity)
- Claims strong client results (920% average traffic growth)
- Good fit for brands that want to outsource AI visibility entirely
Cons:
- Expensive -- $797/mo is the floor, and meaningful campaigns cost $1,597-$2,997/mo
- No self-serve dashboard for live data access
- AI model coverage beyond the top three is unclear
- No traditional SEO tools
- Less transparency into methodology and what you're actually getting
Authoritas AI Tracker
Pros:
- Much more affordable, starting at £99/mo
- Tracks seven AI platforms with clear documentation
- Combines AI monitoring with a full traditional SEO suite
- Self-serve dashboards with live data
- Supports publishers as well as brands and agencies
- Brand sentiment tracking included
Cons:
- No content creation -- optimization work is on your team
- Self-serve means you need internal expertise to act on the data
- Less focused on AI/AEO than pure-play AI visibility tools
- The AI Tracker is a newer addition to an older SEO platform, so depth may vary
Who should pick which tool
Pick AEO Engine if:
- You don't have an in-house SEO or content team and want to outsource AI visibility entirely
- You're an eCommerce or B2B brand willing to spend $800-$3,000/mo for a managed service
- You want someone accountable for results, not just data
- Your primary focus is ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity
Pick Authoritas if:
- You have an in-house marketing or SEO team that can act on data
- You want to track AI visibility alongside traditional SEO in one platform
- Budget is a real constraint -- £99/mo is a much lower barrier
- You need Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, or Bing AI coverage
- You're a publisher tracking how AI platforms use your content
- You're an agency managing multiple clients across both AI and traditional search
Final verdict
AEO Engine and Authoritas are solving the same underlying problem -- brands being invisible in AI search -- but they're doing it in fundamentally different ways. AEO Engine is an agency you hire; Authoritas is a platform you use. The right choice depends almost entirely on whether you want to own the work or outsource it.
For most teams with any in-house SEO or content capability, Authoritas is the more practical starting point: lower cost, broader AI model coverage, and traditional SEO tools included. AEO Engine makes sense for brands that genuinely want to hand off AI visibility to a specialist team and have the budget to do it.