## **🔍 What This Article Covers**

Some customers sign up for an annual Search Atlas plan expecting the platform to handle SEO tasks — including link building — fully on autopilot. This article clarifies what the platform does, what requires your input, and what to do if you feel your plan does not match your needs.

## **⚙️ What Search Atlas Does and Does Not Do Automatically**

Search Atlas is a powerful SEO toolset that gives you the data, workflows, and AI-assisted features you need to grow organic traffic. However, it is important to understand the distinction between **automated tools** and **fully hands-off execution**.

- **OTTO SEO** assists with on-page and technical SEO on connected sites — but it still requires your involvement to connect your site and act on recommendations.
- **Link building** is supported through tools and workflows within the platform — but the platform does **not** build links on your behalf without your active involvement.
- **Content creation** tools assist your writing process; they do not publish or distribute content automatically.

In short: Search Atlas accelerates your SEO work significantly, but it is a **self-serve platform**, not a managed service. Your results depend on how actively you use the tools available to you.

## **📋 How Annual Plans Work**

When you subscribe to an annual plan, you are committing to a 12-month billing cycle. If you signed up believing the platform would operate as a fully managed or automated service and that expectation was not met, you may have grounds to discuss your situation with our support team.

## **🛠️ What to Do If You Believe Your Annual Plan Was Misunderstood**

If you signed up with expectations that do not match how the platform actually works, follow these steps:

1. **Gather your account details.** Before reaching out, have the following ready: your account email address, the date you subscribed, and a brief description of what you expected the platform to do versus what you experienced.
2. **Contact our support team promptly.** Refund or plan-adjustment requests related to a misunderstood annual plan must be reviewed by our billing team. The sooner you reach out after identifying the issue, the better positioned our team will be to help you.
3. **Explain the specific mismatch.** Clearly describe what you believed was included — for example, fully automated link building or a managed SEO service — and how you came to that understanding. This context helps our team assess your request accurately.
4. **Ask about your options.** Our team can review your account, explain what is actually available on your plan, and discuss whether any accommodation is possible given the circumstances.

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.