A Clear Guide to How Credits Work Across AI Content, Hyperdrive, and OTTO SEO
If you've ever wondered why your credits ran out, what Hyperdrive actually consumes, or how many OTTO sites your plan supports, you're not alone. Search Atlas uses a structured credit and quota system to power advanced SEO and content automation at scale. This guide breaks down each type of credit, how they work, and how to track or expand them.
🧭 1. What's the Difference Between a "Quota" and a "Credit"?
In Search Atlas:
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A quota is your overall monthly limit for a resource (e.g., "500 AI Gen Points per site/month").
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A credit is the unit used to act (e.g., generating one AI-written article in Content Genius consumes a set number of AI Gen Points from your monthly quota).
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Search Atlas uses several distinct quota types, each tied to different platform functions:
- AI Gen Points – for content generation
- Hyperdrive Credits – for off-page automation
- OTTO Activations – the number of live domains you can actively optimize with OTTO SEO at any given time
- OTTO Projects – the project slots/containers in your account; each project consumes one slot and bundles its own AI Gen Points and Hyperdrive Credits
- Custom Queries – a separately allocated quota used by AI Agent features
- Site Auditor Projects – a distinct project quota for the Site Auditor; not interchangeable with OTTO Projects or OTTO Activations
- LPS Credits – for Landing Page Service usage
- Instant Indexing credits – for instant indexing submissions
- Universal Credits – a model-aware, cross-feature credit system available on applicable plans
Each tool on the platform draws from its corresponding quota type — these are not interchangeable.
✅ All quotas reset monthly, and their limits vary by plan tier.
OTTO Projects vs. OTTO Activations: An OTTO Project is the container/slot in your account, while an OTTO Activation is the act of turning OTTO SEO on for a live domain inside one of those project slots. For example, if your plan includes 5 OTTO Projects but 2 OTTO Activations, you can have 5 project containers in your account but only 2 domains running OTTO SEO simultaneously. Each OTTO Project equals one quota slot. Deleted projects release the slot immediately, while de-frozen projects release the slot after 14 days. Each project includes 7.5 Hyperdrive credits and 500 AI Generation Points bundled in.
🧠 2. AI Gen Points
Each OTTO Add-On you purchase includes:
- 500 AI Gen Points per month – used for content generation in Content Genius and OTTO on-page automations
- 7.5 Hyperdrive Credits – used for off-page automation like link building
You can purchase an additional 500-point AI Gen blocks for $19.
📊 Where to track usage:
Go to Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing), then review the Total Quota figures and Quota model details.
AI Generation Points are consumed at the suggestion stage, not deployment. They are used across OTTO SEO fixes, GBP posts, and AI image generation.
Custom Queries (AI Agent)
If you use AI Agent features, Custom Queries are tracked as their own separately allocated quota dimension — they are not drawn from your AI Gen Points balance. Your Custom Queries allowance is visible alongside your other quotas via Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing) (see Quota model details and Total Quota figures), so you can monitor consumption at a glance. Like other quotas, Custom Queries reset monthly based on your billing cycle.
🚀 3. Hyperdrive Credits
Hyperdrive Credits power off-page SEO automations, such as:
- Cloud Stacks (13 backlinks across trusted cloud platforms)
- Press Releases
- Citations
Usage examples:
- Cloud Stack = 15 credits
- Hyperdrive add-on = $1 for one credit
- Each OTTO site includes 7.5 credits/month
Credits can be expanded anytime via Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Top Up / Add-on buttons).
Hyperdrive Credits can be used for a wide range of automated SEO deliverables, such as citations, press releases, or cloud stacks. Deliverables are guaranteed for 3–12 months, ensuring stable visibility and link equity over time.
🌐 4. OTTO SEO: Activations
OTTO Activations determine how many live domains you can actively optimize with OTTO SEO at any given time.
- Starter: 1 site
- Growth: 2 sites
- Pro: 4 sites
- Agency: 10 sites
🔁 When OTTO is deactivated on one site, that activation becomes available and can be applied to a different site. This allows flexible usage across your domains within your activation limit.
Each OTTO activation includes:
- 500 AI Gen Points
- 7.5 Hyperdrive Credits
You can manage your active sites and monitor usage from Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing) in your account.
Important notes❗
- Deactivating or freezing a site frees the activation slot (after 14 days if using Deep Freeze), but does not refund any AI or Hyperdrive credits already used on that site.
- To preserve your work without consuming additional credits, you can export the changes created by OTTO before making further edits.
Freeze states: Standard Freeze vs. Deep Freeze
- Standard Freeze – the project is paused but the activation slot is still held by that site. Use this when you want to temporarily pause work without losing the slot.
- Deep Freeze – the project is dormant and the activation slot is released after 14 days, freeing it to be reassigned to another site.
You can identify which state a project is in from the status label shown next to it on the OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation) dashboard.
🔁 5. When Do Quotas Reset?
All credits reset monthly, based on your billing cycle.
- Starter: tracked per account
- Growth & Pro: tracked per seat
- Credits do not carry over if unused
Check your reset date by clicking the Avatar (top-right) → Billing.
Credits reset monthly according to your billing cycle.
- Starter plans: credits tracked per account
- Growth & Pro plans: credits tracked per seat
- Unused credits do not carry over
You can check your reset date by clicking the Avatar (top-right) → Billing.
When your subscription payment is processed, quotas reset automatically for the new billing cycle. You don't need to do anything.
To verify your reset:
- Go to Avatar → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing)
- Check that your AI Gen Points, Hyperdrive Credits, and OTTO Activations have refreshed.
If quotas haven't updated, first confirm your payment has cleared in the Billing section. Logging out and back in can also resolve temporary display delays. If the issue persists, contact Support to have your quotas restored.
📊 6. Plan Comparison
Starter ($99/month)
– 1 OTTO SEO Project
– 10 OTTO Google Ads Campaigns
– 3 GBP Galactic Projects
– 5 GSC Site Projects
– 1 User Seat
Growth ($199/month)
– 2 OTTO SEO Projects
– 10 OTTO Google Ads Campaigns (OTTO Google Ads add-on available for $199/month to raise limits)
– OTTO Meta Ads (Coming soon)