Searchly vs Copy.ai
Searchly tracks how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity answer your buyers' questions, with the citations behind every answer and AI crawler logs, GA4 AI visits and Search Console beside them from its $99 Starter plan. Copy.ai automates go-to-market and content workflows; its product and pricing pages describe no AI-answer tracking.
Compared from Copy.ai's own pricing and documentation, checked Oct 21, 2026. How we compare
Our verdict
Our pick: Searchly
Searchly is the better choice for any team that wants its brand and content to show up in AI answers. Its $99 Starter plan tracks your buyer prompts on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity with the dated answer and citations behind every score; Copy.ai documents no AI-answer tracking. Starter also includes AI crawler logs, GA4 AI visits, AI shopping and the Agent; Pro adds Content Studio for full articles or writer briefs from verified sources.
| Searchly | Copy.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $99 a month (Starter) | $29 a month (Chat, for writing) |
| 50 prompts, 3 engines, daily | $99 a month | Not offered |
| Engines on the entry plan | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity | None listed for AI-answer tracking |
| Site data on the entry plan | AI crawler logs once you connect a source, GA4 AI visits and Search Console | A Search Console workflow action; crawler logs and AI referrals not documented |
| Free trial | 14 days on Pro | None stated |
strengths
Where Searchly comes out ahead.
From each company's own pricing pages and documentation, checked Oct 21, 2026. Each point links to its source.
Where Searchly is stronger
- Searchly Starter, at $99 a month, keeps the dated answer and citations behind every score for your buyer prompts on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, with sentiment and competitor benchmarks beside them. Copy.ai documents no AI-answer tracking, and its own visibility guide tells readers to check AI engines by querying them. Source
- AI crawler logs, GA4 AI visits and Search Console beside the answers for each page on the $99 Starter plan, with crawler logs starting once you connect a source. Copy.ai documents neither crawler logs nor AI referral visits; its Search Console support is a "Query Google Search Console" workflow action. Source
- The REST API, MCP server and Agent on the $99 Starter plan, all working on your visibility data: the Agent takes questions about your AI visibility in plain language, opens the right page and proposes new prompts or competitors that you confirm. Copy.ai keeps its Workflows API for Enterprise, which is priced after a demo; it documents no visibility data in that API and no MCP server. Source
- AI shopping on every plan, Starter included: the products ChatGPT shows for your prompts, whose they are, their price, rating and retailer and where they rank. Copy.ai does not document product visibility tracking. Source
capabilities
Feature by feature, with sources.
The same capabilities, in the same words, for both tools. A tag beside the status names the plan or the limit, and each note links to the page it came from. Not documented means we could not find it in Copy.ai's public pages.
| Capability |  Searchly |  Copy.aiNo AI-answer tracking listed |
|---|---|---|
| TrackingWhat is tracked, how often and for how many brands. | ||
| AI enginesIncluded means five or more named engines on a published plan, counting paid add-ons. | Included3 included, 2 add-ons ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity on every plan; Gemini and Claude as paid add-ons (Starter +$50 and +$100 a month, Pro +$150 and +$300, Business +$250 and +$500, Custom included); Copilot, DeepSeek, Google AI Mode and Grok coming soon. Source | Not documented Not in Copy.ai's product material; its own guide says to check AI engines by querying them. Source |
| Tracking cadenceIncluded means a daily run is available on a published plan. | Included Each tracked prompt runs once a day on every engine in the plan. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Prompt suggestions and researchSuggested prompts or a prompt database; the note says whether volume data is shown. | IncludedNo volume data Buyer prompts suggested from your site and topics, tracked only after you accept them, or typed, pasted or uploaded as CSV and tracked at once; no search volume or difficulty. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Competitor benchmarkingCompetitors measured on the same answers. | Included Benchmark the competitors you choose on visibility, share of voice, position and citations. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Several projects or brandsTwo or more projects, brands or workspaces on one published plan. | Included2 on Pro, 3 on Business 1 project on Starter, up to 2 on Pro and up to 3 on Business, sharing one prompt budget; more on Custom. Source | Not documented No visibility projects in Copy.ai's pages (Chat projects are writing workspaces). Source |
| Answer evidenceWhat you can open and take away from each answer. | ||
| Full answer textThe full answer behind each result, exportable or available through an API. | IncludedAPI fallbacks labelled Open the answer behind every score with its date and citations; API fallback answers are labelled and kept out of headline metrics, and Claude is collected through Anthropic's API; answers export as CSV. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Citations and sourcesCited pages and domains for each answer, with source analysis. | Included Cited domains and pages per answer, the sources that cite competitors but not you and content types including Reddit threads and YouTube videos. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| SentimentHow answers describe the brand, per answer or per brand. | Included How AI answers describe you, positive, neutral or negative, and why. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Data exportsCSV or spreadsheet exports of answers, prompts or citations. | IncludedCSV CSV exports of answers, prompts, page evidence and crawler logs on every plan; articles export as Markdown, HTML or text on Pro and up. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Site evidenceWhat your own site data adds. | ||
| AI crawler logsAI crawler requests read from server, CDN or edge logs. | Included Requests from AI crawlers, verified or declared, after you connect Cloudflare (Logpush or Worker), Vercel, Next.js, Netlify, WordPress or the HTTP API; 90-day retention; CSV export. Source | Not documented Not stated. Source |
| AI referral visitsHuman visits from AI assistants, from GA4 or the vendor's own script. | IncludedVia GA4 Visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and other AI assistants, read from Google Analytics 4 through a read-only connection, with no extra script. Source | Not documented Not stated. Source |
| Google Search ConsoleSearch Console data inside the product. | Included Search Console clicks, impressions, CTR and position by query, page, country and device beside the AI evidence for each page; no indexing data. Source | LimitedWorkflow action A 'Query Google Search Console' workflow action in Copy.ai's help center. Source |
| Site auditIncluded means a multi-page technical or AI-readiness audit. | LimitedHomepage only Site Health checks your homepage and selected root files, including AI crawler access in robots.txt, llms.txt and structured data, with a fix for each; not a whole-site crawl. Source | Not documented Not stated. Source |
| Taking actionWhat happens after a finding. | ||
| Recommendations or action queueA ranked list of next steps or tasks. | Included Opportunities: a ranked list of next steps tied to the evidence, from setup and on-page fixes to sites worth pitching; outreach is drafted, nothing is sent. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| Content generationIncluded means article generation that is generally available. | IncludedPro and up Content Studio on Pro, Business and the Pro trial: full articles or writer briefs in 8 formats from verified sources, readiness checks and accept or reject revisions; English only, hourly generation caps, no monthly article quota. Source | IncludedChat, $29 Chat ($29) and up; workflows and Content Agent Studio. Source |
| CMS publishingIncluded means content sent to two or more CMSs, as drafts or live. | LimitedWebflow drafts, Pro and up Approved articles go to your Webflow CMS as drafts on Pro and up; WordPress, Framer and Shopify publishing are not built. Source | Not documented '2,000+ integrations' claimed; no CMS named. Source |
| AI agent or assistantAn in-app agent that works on the product's own data. | Included Agent on every paid plan and the Pro trial: ask about your AI visibility in plain language; it reads your Searchly data, opens the right page and proposes changes such as new prompts or competitors that you confirm; it does not write or publish articles. Source | Not documented GTM agents are documented; none is described as working on AI-visibility data. Source |
| Access and teamsHow data leaves the tool and who can sign in. | ||
| REST APIA documented API for the visibility data. | Included REST API with an OpenAPI spec and scoped, expiring keys on every plan; operations that generate content need an active subscription or the Pro trial. Source | Not documented Enterprise: Workflows API; no visibility data. Source |
| MCP serverA documented MCP server for the visibility data. | Included MCP server on every plan for AI tools that support Streamable HTTP and a custom Authorization header (bearer key, no OAuth). Source | Not documented Not stated. Source |
| Agency plans and client reportingAn agency plan, client workspaces or branded or shareable client reports. | Not offered No agency plan, white label, scheduled or PDF reports or share links; client data leaves as CSV or through the API. Source | Not documented Not stated. Source |
| SSO (SAML or OIDC)Company identity-provider sign-in; Google sign-in does not count. | Not offered No SSO, SAML, SCIM or audit log; customers sign in with email and password or Google. Source | Sales plan onlyEnterprise Enterprise: SSO, audit logs, SOC 2. Source |
| Shopping and adsProducts and ads inside AI answers. | ||
| AI shopping visibilityIncluded means the products AI answers show are captured and tracked; the tag names the engines. | IncludedChatGPT AI shopping on every plan: the products ChatGPT shows for your prompts, whose they are, their price, rating and retailer and where they rank. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| AI ads trackingIncluded means ads inside AI answers captured on two or more surfaces. | Not offered AI ads tracking is not built. Source | Not documented Copy.ai's GEO guide describes content workflows, not AI-answer tracking. Source |
| BuyingPublic prices and free trials. | ||
| Published priceA public price for a paid plan that tracks AI answers, listed on the vendor's pricing page. | Included Starter $99, Pro $239 and Business $499 a month; yearly billing is 10 times monthly; Custom is quoted. Source | Not offeredNo tracking plan Chat $29 is published; the pricing page lists no AI-answer tracking plan. Source |
| Free trial or free tierA documented free trial or free tier that includes AI-answer tracking. | IncludedOn Pro, 14 days 14-day trial on Pro ('Start for free'); Starter and Business have no trial; the free AI visibility report is a one-off sample, not a trial. Source | Not offered No AI-answer tracking listed; the help center says the free plan was retired. Source |
pricing
The same workload, priced on both.
One brand, 50 buyer prompts on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, checked once a day in one country: a common base for AI visibility tracking. Every Searchly plan includes all three engines; where Copy.ai counts or includes engines differently, the note says so.
| Item | Searchly | Copy.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Covers the workload | Covers it | Not offered |
| Plan | Starter | None (no AI-answer tracking listed) |
| Monthly price | $99 | Not offered; Chat is $29 a month for writing |
| Billed yearly | $990 a year ($82.50 a month) | Chat: $24 a month billed yearly |
| The three engines | All three included | Not tracked |
| Extra cost | None | Not applicable |
| Free trial | None on Starter; a 14-day trial of Pro ($239 a month after) | None stated |
| What the plan counts | 50 prompts on 3 engines once a day: up to 4,500 runs in 30 days, the whole Starter allowance | Not applicable |
Copy.ai's Chat plan uses OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini models to write; its pages describe no record of their answers about your brand.
Prices before tax, in each company's own currency, as published on Oct 21, 2026. est. marks our arithmetic from published units. Units differ: Searchly counts runs, up to 4,500 in 30 days on 50 prompts.
Sources: Searchly: Searchly pricing; Copy.ai: Copy.ai pricing
fit
Which one to choose.
Choose Searchly if…
you want to know whether AI answers mention and cite your brand and content, with the answer behind every score, AI crawler logs, GA4 AI visits and AI shopping on the $99 Starter plan, plus an Agent that proposes changes you confirm.
Copy.ai may suit you if…
you need GTM workflow automation for prospecting, inbound leads and account-based marketing more than a record of how AI answers describe your brand.
sources
Sources and scope.
How we compare. We read each company's own pricing page, documentation and changelog, noting the day we checked each one. A capability we could not find is marked Not documented; Not offered means the company's own pages say it is not part of the product. Both columns follow the same rules. We do not compare visibility scores between tools: engines, collection methods and formulas differ.
Copy.ai sources
- Copy.ai pricing
- Copy.ai home
- Enterprise
- Generative engine optimization guide
- Brand visibility in AI search guide
- Help center: additional pricing questions
- Help center: Query Google Search Console action
Searchly sources
Spotted an out-of-date detail about Copy.ai? Email piotr@trysearchly.com and we will check it against Copy.ai's pages.
The positioning map and its methodrelated
Also on your shortlist?
get started
Make the comparison with your own brand.
Start a 14-day free trial of Pro. Track your own buyer prompts, open the answers and sources behind them and decide with evidence.