ACAS Tools / SURFACE / Compare
SURFACE vs Otterly.AI and Peec AI
SURFACE is a desktop app you buy once. It runs on your own computer, asks Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your buyers ask, using your own API keys, and puts the answers next to your Search Console, PageSpeed, Google Trends and community-mention data in one Monday digest.
Otterly.AI and Peec AI are hosted AI-search monitoring services on monthly subscriptions. They cover engines SURFACE doesn't, such as Google AI Mode, and you don't run anything yourself. If you want a managed service for a marketing team, they are the better fit.
SURFACE: $49 launch price until Sunday, November 15, 2026 $79
One-time purchase · Up to 3 computers you own or control · Updates included
Side by side
SURFACE, Otterly.AI and Peec AI at a glance
SURFACE is software you own and run. Otterly.AI and Peec AI are services you subscribe to.
| SURFACE | Otterly.AI | Peec AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A desktop visibility tracker for indie brands | An “AI Search monitoring and optimization platform” | A tool that “helps marketing teams analyze brand performance across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini” |
| Where it runs | On your Windows or Mac computer, with a local database. No account, no SURFACE server | Web app (sign-in at app.otterly.ai), with a public API | Web app (sign-in at app.peec.ai) |
| AI engines | Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity | Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Claude and Perplexity | ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, plus an AI Mode tracker |
| What it records | Whether you're named, your rank in list answers, which listed competitors appear, the pages Perplexity cited, and every full answer | Brand presence and cited links, with optimisation recommendations | Visibility, position, sentiment and key sources; your own prompts; tracking across countries |
| Beyond AI answers | Search Console clicks, impressions, CTR and position; PageSpeed and Core Web Vitals; Google Trends; Hacker News, RSS and optional Reddit mentions | Focused on AI search; see otterly.ai for the full list | Focused on AI search; see peec.ai for the full list |
| Who pays for the AI calls | You, directly: AI calls are billed to your own API keys | Run for you by the service | Run for you by the service |
| Price model | One-time purchase: $49 launch price until November 15, 2026, then $79 | Monthly subscription, with a free trial | Monthly plans (Enterprise annual, custom), with a free trial |
| Trial | Every page on built-in sample brands; connecting your own site needs a license | Free trial for new users | Free trial offered on its site |
Otterly.AI and Peec AI details are from otterly.ai and peec.ai, checked on 2026-10-20. Both may have changed them since; check their sites for current plans.
Which to choose
Own the tool, or rent the service
Choose SURFACE if
- You'd rather pay once than pay every month
- You want your data and API keys on your own computer (keys in Windows Credential Manager or macOS Keychain)
- You want search, site speed, trends and community mentions in the same weekly digest as AI visibility
- You track several brands or clients and want one workspace each, exportable to JSON
- You're fine with a one-time setup of Google and AI keys
Choose Otterly.AI or Peec AI if
- You need Google AI Overviews, AI Mode or Microsoft Copilot (Otterly.AI lists all three)
- A team needs to share a dashboard in the browser
- You don't want to create or manage API keys
- You want sentiment or country-level tracking (Peec AI lists both)
- You're on an Intel Mac or Linux, which SURFACE doesn't support
Honest limits
SURFACE measures the gap. The content work closes it.
Setup takes a little while. Connecting Google is one-time work: Search Console, a Cloud project, an OAuth client and a PageSpeed key. The user guide walks through each step.
Zero is a starting point. Assistants rarely mention a product nobody has written about yet, and a brand name shows zero in Google Trends until people search for it.
No promises about rankings. SURFACE doesn't change what assistants say and makes no ranking or traffic promises. Neither should any tracker.
Mac support. Apple Silicon (M1 or later) with macOS 15 or later. Intel Macs are not supported.
FAQ
Common questions
Is SURFACE an alternative to Otterly.AI and Peec AI?
For AI visibility on Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, yes, and it adds Search Console, PageSpeed, Google Trends and community mentions. It's a desktop app you buy once rather than a hosted subscription. If you need Google AI Overviews, AI Mode or Copilot, Otterly.AI covers them.
Which AI assistants does SURFACE check?
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. It sends only the buyer question, with no system prompt, and stores every answer. Engines without an API key are skipped.
Do I need my own API keys?
Yes. SURFACE talks only to the services you connect, with your own credentials, and AI calls are billed to your own keys by each provider.
Is SURFACE a subscription?
No. SURFACE is $49 launch price until Sunday, November 15, 2026, then $79, one-time, for up to 3 computers you own or control, with updates included. The trial shows every page on built-in sample brands.
Will SURFACE get my brand recommended by AI assistants?
No tool can promise that. SURFACE shows where you stand every week: whether you're named, your rank, and who is named instead. The content work is what changes the answers.
Free trial
See where your brand stands this week.
The trial shows every page on built-in sample brands, so you can see the whole app before you connect anything. Buy once and it's yours, with updates.
Full SURFACE details · Questions: [email protected] · License terms · Otterly.AI and Peec AI belong to their owners; SURFACE is not affiliated with them, or with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Reddit or Hacker News.