🔍 Overview
OTTO is Search Atlas's AI-powered SEO automation engine. It applies on-page optimizations to your site automatically once activated. If you want to stop OTTO from making further changes — without undoing the work it has already completed — this article explains what to expect and how to proceed safely.
💡 What Happens When You Disable OTTO?
Before making any changes, it's important to understand the difference between pausing OTTO and rolling back changes:
- Disabling or deactivating OTTO stops the OTTO pixel from serving OTTO's changes to your site. Changes written directly into your site's CMS are not served by the pixel, but your project's settings, recommendations, and history are preserved for later reactivation.
- Rolling back changes is a separate action that reverses specific optimizations. This article does NOT cover rollbacks — only how to stop future automation.
In short: turning off OTTO preserves your project's settings, recommendations, and history for later reactivation, though the OTTO pixel will stop serving OTTO's changes while disengaged.
🛠️ How to Disable OTTO Automated Changes
- Log in to your Search Atlas account.
- Navigate to the OTTO SEO section of the platform.
- Locate the OTTO session connected to the site you want to manage.
- Click into the OTTO session to open its settings.
- Find the option to disable or deactivate automation for that session.
- Turn off automation for the session.
- Confirm the action if a confirmation prompt appears.
Once automation is turned off, OTTO will stop processing new changes, and the OTTO pixel will stop serving OTTO's changes to your site. Changes written directly into your site's CMS are not served by the pixel.
✅ Confirming OTTO Is No Longer Active
After disabling automation, verify the status by checking the session settings to confirm that automation has been turned off. If you still see new changes being applied after disabling automation, wait a few minutes for any in-progress tasks to complete, then refresh the page to confirm the updated status.
🔄 Re-Enabling OTTO in the Future
You can turn OTTO back on at any time by returning to your OTTO session and switching automation back on. OTTO will resume analyzing and deploying optimizations, and the pixel will resume serving OTTO's changes. Your project's settings, recommendations, and history are preserved during the pause period.
⚠️ Important Considerations
- Deactivating does not remove your OTTO project. Settings, recommendations, and history remain visible and accessible for later reactivation.
- The OTTO pixel stops serving OTTO's changes while the project is disengaged. Changes written directly into your site's CMS are not served by the pixel.
- You remain in full control. You can re-enable automation whenever you are ready to continue.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.