AirOps has built one of the strongest case study libraries in the AI search space. Webflow grew AI-attributed signups from 2% to over 10% in under a year. Chime tripled AI search citations in under 4 weeks, and Ramp achieved a 10x ROI on its Reddit strategy—all without adding headcount.
Power Agents (with a Deep Research step powered by GPT-5), Grids for bulk content production, the Opportunities module for gap identification, and Brand Knowledge Bases make it a genuinely compelling platform for content-driven teams.
The friction is pricing and complexity. AirOps doesn’t publish prices for its Solo, Pro, or Enterprise plans—upgrading requires a sales call before you can evaluate cost. Power Agents have a steep learning curve, and the platform is desktop-only.
This guide covers the 5 best AirOps alternatives for 2026—each with transparent pricing, content generation or opportunity-finding capabilities, and accessible entry points for teams that need action, not just analytics.
What are the best AirOps alternatives?
The top 5 AirOps alternatives are Airefs, AthenaHQ, Profound, Promptwatch, and Writesonic GEO.
Airefs starts at $24/mo with on-site citation gap analysis and community discussion monitoring across Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, and Medium—plus a done-for-you tier that replaces AirOps’ human-in-the-loop content workflows at a fraction of the cost.
AthenaHQ ($295/mo) is YC-backed with a Deep Research content optimization AI agent on Enterprise and some of the strongest documented case studies in the category.
Profound is the G2 Winter 2026 Leader with an Agents module for AI-optimized content generation starting at $399/mo.
Promptwatch covers 10 AI platforms with built-in content generation and transparent $99–$579/mo pricing.
Writesonic GEO ($249/mo) is the most direct AirOps competitor: a full Content Engine producing 100+ source-backed articles with auto fact-checking, plus an AI Visibility Action Center for opportunity identification.
Top AirOps alternatives — Comparison table
| Platform | Starting Price | Content Generation | Opportunity Finding | Key Differentiator | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airefs | $24/mo | Done-for-you content (from $249/mo) | Discussion monitoring + on-site citation gap analysis | Community citations + content gap discovery | Yes (7-day) |
| AthenaHQ | $295/mo | Deep Research AI agent (Enterprise) | Citation gap & blindspot detection | 10x citation growth case studies | No (67% first-month discount) |
| Profound | $99/mo | AI Agents content module (Growth+) | Prompt volume data for content gaps | G2 Winter 2026 Leader + $58.5M funding | Free AEO Report |
| Promptwatch | $99/mo | Content generation (built-in) | Answer gap analysis | 10 platforms + 1.11B data points | Yes (7-day) |
| Writesonic GEO | $249/mo | Full Content Engine (100+ articles) | AI Visibility Action Center | 120M+ proprietary AI conversation data | Yes |
1. Airefs: Best AirOps alternative for content opportunity discovery
AirOps’ Opportunities module finds gaps in your existing content program—prompts you’re not ranking for, pages close to citation threshold, mentions you’re missing. Airefs finds opportunities from two directions: on-site through citation gap analysis and competitor source analysis, and upstream through community discussion monitoring.
The on-site layer shows which of your pages are earning citations and which aren’t. It reveals which competitors are outranking you in AI responses, and which prompts you’re absent from entirely.
The community layer shows what AI will cite next. It surfaces which Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts, Quora answers, and Medium articles are already being pulled into AI responses—and keyword tracking (up to 30 keywords) identifies which new conversations are emerging before they become established citation sources.
The done-for-you tier ($249/mo+) provides content creation and community participation—the closest direct replacement for AirOps’ human-in-the-loop content production workflow, at a fraction of enterprise content engineering costs.
Key features
- On-site citation gap analysis: Which of your pages are earning citations, which aren’t, and where competitors are appearing instead
- Competitor source analysis: The specific URLs competitors are cited from that you’re missing—shows exactly what content is working in your category
- Community discussion monitoring: Highlights cited discussions across Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, Medium, and other platforms; surfaces which conversations AI is already drawing from
- Keyword tracking: Up to 30 keywords surface new conversations before they become established AI citation sources
- AI Search Analytics: Real traffic attribution from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other platforms
- Daily prompt tracking: Monitored on ChatGPT by default; other LLMs on request
- Done-for-you content: Content creation and discussion participation on behalf of your brand
Pricing
- Lite: $24/mo — 1 domain, 3 competitors, 25 prompts, 3 Reddit keywords
- Pro: $49/mo — 3 domains, 60 prompts, 10 Reddit keywords, 7-day free trial
- Expert: $83/mo — Unlimited domains, 150 prompts, 30 Reddit keywords, AEO strategist
- Done-for-you: $249/mo+ — Content creation, discussion participation
Pros & cons
Pros:
- On-site citation gap analysis shows which pages are earning citations and which aren’t; community monitoring across Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, and Medium surfaces what AI is drawing from upstream—no AirOps equivalent for either layer at a published price
- Done-for-you tier replaces content production workflows at a fraction of custom enterprise pricing
- Transparent, published pricing — no sales call required to understand cost
- 7-day free trial with no credit card
Cons:
- No native CMS publishing integration — AirOps connects directly to your CMS
- No Brand Knowledge Base equivalent — AirOps stores brand guidelines for consistent AI-generated content
- Less suited to teams producing dozens of articles per month at scale
Customers
Airefs serves 100+ teams across startups, agencies, and B2B SaaS. 5.0/5 customer rating.
While every other AI search visibility tool showed me whether I was being cited, Airefs showed me all 571 URLs that were being cited.
— Lillian P, Fractional CMO
2. AthenaHQ: Best AirOps alternative for teams that need documented ROI
AirOps publishes exceptional case studies. AthenaHQ matches them. Rootly achieved ~10x citation rate growth and $126K in incremental media value, Lago increased demos by 50% alongside 11x AI Overview impressions, and Gruns grew share of voice from 2.0% to 12.6% in 60 days.
Where AirOps focuses on content production workflows, AthenaHQ focuses on content decisions. The Deep Research AI agent analyzes your AEO landscape and surfaces specific optimization opportunities. If AirOps is a content factory, AthenaHQ is a content strategist.
Key features
- 8-platform AI visibility: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok
- Citation intelligence: AI blindspot detection and impersonation detection
- Deep Research content optimization AI agent (Enterprise): Analyzes your positioning and generates actionable content recommendations
- ACE citation engine (Enterprise): Identifies what content changes will improve citation frequency
- GA4, GSC, Shopify, Webflow integrations (Self-Serve)
- Unlimited seats with RBAC on all plans
Pricing
- Self-Serve: $295/mo (3,600 credits/mo; first month 67% off = $95)
- Enterprise: Custom (Deep Research AI agent, ACE citation engine, BI tools, dedicated GEO specialist)
Pros & cons
Pros:
- Strongest case studies of any AEO platform — documented 10x citation growth, $126K media value
- GA4, GSC, Shopify, Webflow on Self-Serve — comparable to AirOps’ CMS and data integrations
- Deep Research AI agent on Enterprise provides strategy-level content recommendations
- YC-backed with advisors from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind
Cons:
- $295/mo minimum with no free trial — significantly higher than AirOps’ free plan
- Content optimization guidance (not content production) — requires your team to act on recommendations
- Credit system adds complexity to monthly budget planning
Customers
AthenaHQ serves ZoomInfo, SoFi, Coinbase, OneSignal, Nextiva, Rootly, Lago, and Gruns.
GEO has become our number one growth pillar. The citation rate growth changed how we think about marketing investment entirely.
— Rootly customer
3. Profound: Best AirOps alternative for AI content generation + G2 validation
AirOps generates content optimized for AI search. Profound does the same at the enterprise level through its Agents module—producing AEO-optimized listicles, how-tos, and comparisons at scale with human-in-the-loop review. It’s the closest feature-level match to AirOps’ Power Agents workflow.
The prompt volume data is a capability neither AirOps nor any other tool in this guide offers. Profound shows actual AI search demand for specific queries. This lets you prioritize content investment based on what people are actually asking AI—not keyword estimates.
Combined with G2 Winter 2026 Leader recognition, it’s the most externally validated platform here.
Key features
- AI Agents (Growth+): AEO-optimized content generation at scale — listicles, how-tos, comparisons with human-in-the-loop review
- Prompt volumes: Actual AI search demand data; changes how content priorities are set
- 10+ AI platforms: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, AI Overviews, AI Mode
- ChatGPT Shopping: Product visibility tracking for e-commerce brands
- G2 Winter 2026 Leader in the AEO category
Pricing
- Starter: $99/mo — ChatGPT only, 50 prompts
- Growth: $399/mo — ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, 100 prompts, AI content generation (Agents)
- Enterprise: Custom — all 10+ platforms, API access
Pros & cons
Pros:
- Agents module directly replaces AirOps’ content generation workflows at the Growth tier ($399/mo)
- Prompt volume data is unique — no other tool shows actual AI search demand for content prioritization
- G2 Winter 2026 Leader is the strongest independent category validation in AEO
- $58.5M funding from Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, NVIDIA guarantees long-term roadmap
Cons:
- Content generation requires Growth plan ($399/mo) — starter is monitoring-only
- Less focus on content distribution and publishing pipelines vs AirOps
- No Reddit or community signal tracking for opportunity finding
Customers
Profound serves MongoDB, Ramp, Figma, Zapier, Indeed, Mercury, Docusign, G2, US Bank, Walmart, and Chime.
Ramp boosted AI visibility 7x and became the 5th most visible fintech brand globally within weeks.
— Profound case study
4. Promptwatch: Best AirOps alternative for multi-platform tracking with content generation
AirOps covers ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google. Promptwatch covers 10 platforms—adding Gemini, Grok, Copilot, DeepSeek, Mistral, and Meta. It includes built-in content generation and 1.11 billion collected data points across citations, clicks, and prompts.
Answer gap analysis identifies which AI questions your brand is missing from. The content generation feature then helps you close those gaps. This mirrors AirOps’ opportunity-surfacing-to-content-production loop—at a published price, without a sales call.
Key features
- 10 AI platforms: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot, DeepSeek, AI Overviews, Mistral, Meta
- Content generation: Built-in content creation to close AI visibility gaps
- Answer gap analysis: Identifies which AI questions you’re missing from
- Citation and crawler monitoring: Real-time AI bot tracking + source attribution
- Prompt volume tracking: AI search demand data
- Reddit and YouTube tracking: Community signal monitoring
Pricing
- Starter: $99/mo — 7-day free trial
- Growth: $249/mo
- Business: $579/mo
- Enterprise: Custom
Pros & cons
Pros:
- 10 AI platforms vs AirOps’ 4 — broader visibility coverage across the AI search landscape
- Built-in content generation at $99/mo — AirOps’ content workflows require custom pricing
- 1.11 billion data points; answer gap analysis to content creation in one platform
- Transparent published pricing; 7-day free trial
Cons:
- Less powerful content production workflow than AirOps — designed for individual pieces, not large-scale content programs
- No CMS publishing integration — AirOps connects to your content stack directly
- No Brand Knowledge Base for brand governance at scale
Customers
Promptwatch serves 6,900+ brands and agencies including Booking.com, Center Parcs, and Wortell.
A tool built for real business needs in the growing AI Search space.
— Pim Broekstra, SEO Manager, Center Parcs
5. Writesonic GEO: Best AirOps alternative for teams that need a full content engine
AirOps’ core proposition is content at scale optimized for AI search. Writesonic GEO’s Content Engine produces 100+ source-backed articles with auto fact-checking, internal linking, and EEAT signals. It’s the most feature-level comparable alternative to AirOps’ end-to-end workflow.
The AI Search Volume Explorer is powered by 120M+ proprietary AI chatbot conversations. It shows actual query patterns from real AI users—closer to Profound’s prompt volume data than anything else in the market. The principle is the same: prioritize content based on what people actually ask, not synthetic keyword proxies.
Key features
- Content Engine: 100+ source-backed articles per month with auto fact-checking, internal linking, EEAT signals
- AI Visibility Action Center: Citation gap identification, outreach templates, content refresh alerts, technical barrier detection, Reddit/Quora/forum discovery
- AI Search Volume Explorer: Powered by 120M+ proprietary AI chatbot conversations
- 10+ AI platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and 10+ platforms
- SEO Suite: Ahrefs + Google Keyword Planner integration, AI-powered topic clusters
- Compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA
Pricing
- Professional: $249/mo (annual: $199/mo) — ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews; 100 prompts; 1 region
- Advanced: $499/mo (annual: $399/mo) — + Gemini; 200 prompts; sentiment analysis
- Enterprise: Custom — all 10+ platforms, full Action Center, dedicated GEO strategist
Pros & cons
Pros:
- Full content engine with auto fact-checking — most direct AirOps feature equivalent
- AI Visibility Action Center maps directly to AirOps’ opportunity surfacing workflow
- 120M+ conversation data for AI search volume — unique data advantage for content prioritization
- 20,000+ teams using the platform; Y Combinator backed; SOC 2 Type II
Cons:
- GEO features start at $249/mo; Standard ($99/mo) and Lite ($49/mo) plans have no AI visibility tracking
- Professional plan limited to 1 region and 1 language — AirOps has no such restriction
- No CMS publishing integration — AirOps connects directly to your content stack
Customers
Writesonic serves 20,000+ teams. Published results include 25% AI traffic growth (Viscaweb), $200K in revenue from ChatGPT visibility (BlitzMetrics client), and 60% cost reduction (Bookmundi).
We landed two $100,000 clients who found us through ChatGPT. That’s $200,000 in revenue directly from AI visibility.
— Dennis Yu, Co-founder, BlitzMetrics
Frequently asked questions
Why look for an AirOps alternative?
AirOps doesn’t publish pricing for its Solo or Pro plans—you can’t evaluate cost without a sales conversation. The free Insights plan (1 user, 1,000 tasks/mo) is too limited for active programs. Teams that need transparent pricing or purpose-built AEO platforms without a full content production suite often look elsewhere.
Which alternative best replaces AirOps’ content generation?
Writesonic GEO is the most direct replacement: a Content Engine producing 100+ source-backed articles with auto fact-checking alongside an AI Visibility Action Center. Profound’s Agents module (Growth+, $399/mo) also generates AEO-optimized content at scale. Promptwatch includes content generation at $99/mo for teams with lighter content needs.
Which alternative has the best opportunity-finding features?
Airefs works on two layers: on-site citation gap analysis and community discussion monitoring across Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, and Medium. Both surface what’s being cited in AI responses and where you’re absent. AirOps’ own Opportunities module does similar work—but requires a sales conversation to access.
Writesonic’s AI Visibility Action Center identifies citation gaps and content refresh needs. Profound’s prompt volume data shows AI search demand for specific queries. AthenaHQ’s AI blindspot detection finds where your brand is absent from AI responses.
Can I get an AirOps alternative with transparent pricing?
All five alternatives in this guide publish their base pricing. Airefs: $24–$83/mo. Promptwatch: $99–$579/mo. Profound: $99–$399/mo. AthenaHQ: $295/mo self-serve. Writesonic GEO: $249–$499/mo.
Which alternative is best for small teams or startups?
Airefs at $24/mo is the lowest published price point in this guide, with a free 7-day trial. Promptwatch’s Starter at $99/mo adds 10-platform tracking and built-in content generation. Both have no sales-call requirement to get started.
Does any alternative match AirOps’ 30+ AI model access?
AirOps’ free Insights plan includes 30+ AI model access for content production. No pure AEO monitoring tool matches this—it’s a content engineering capability, not a tracking one. For AI visibility monitoring specifically, Profound (10+ platforms) and Promptwatch (10 platforms) have the broadest coverage.
Conclusion: Choosing your AirOps alternative
AirOps is a content engineering platform first, AI search monitoring tool second. Its case studies (Webflow, Chime, Carta, Ramp) demonstrate what’s possible when content production, brand governance, and AI visibility tracking are unified. But opaque paid pricing and a platform built for high-volume content programs make it a poor fit for teams that primarily need monitoring.
For teams starting their AEO program who need content opportunities without a content factory, Airefs at $24/mo surfaces cited discussions and citation gaps across Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, and Medium before they become established. The done-for-you tier provides human content execution if needed, at a published price.
For teams that need AI search citation tracking with built-in content generation at a known price, Promptwatch at $99/mo covers 10 AI platforms with answer gap analysis and built-in content generation. No sales call required.
For teams that need the full content-generation-to-publishing pipeline that AirOps provides, Writesonic GEO at $249/mo is the most direct feature equivalent: a Content Engine producing 100+ source-backed articles with the AI Visibility Action Center for opportunity identification. Profound’s Agents module at $399/mo is the alternative with the strongest external validation (G2 Leader) for teams where credibility matters as much as capability.
For teams where documented ROI from AI content decisions is the primary requirement, AthenaHQ’s case studies ($126K incremental media value, 10x citation growth at Rootly) and Deep Research content optimization AI agent are unmatched—at $295/mo self-serve.
Ready to track AI visibility with transparent pricing and content opportunity discovery? Try Airefs free for 7 days — community discussion monitoring, daily tracking, and done-for-you content options from $24/mo.