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AirOps vs AthenaHQ: Which AI Search Platform is Best?

February 12, 2026
February 12, 2026
Updated:
TL;DR
  • AirOps connects AI search insight to execution through workflows that refresh hundreds of pages simultaneously, while AthenaHQ focuses on monitoring citations and drafting recommendations one page at a time.
  • Page360 unifies SEO rankings, AI citations, and engagement data in a single view that eliminates tool-toggling, whereas AthenaHQ treats traditional search and AI visibility as separate optimization challenges.
  • Choose AirOps for content engineering at scale across multiple CMS platforms, or AthenaHQ for Shopify-focused revenue attribution with unlimited team seats.

If you're leading content or SEO in 2026, you already know AI search visibility matters.

Your team tracks how often your brand appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. You monitor citations, measure share of voice, and benchmark against competitors. That baseline visibility work is no longer optional.

The real challenge is operational. Most teams hit a wall between insight and execution—87% of marketing teams report struggling with content operations at scale, understand what needs fixing, but lack the infrastructure to act at scale. You're stuck choosing between tools that monitor AI visibility but leave you drafting content manually, or building custom workflows that take months to deploy and maintain.

That's the context for comparing AthenaHQ and AirOps. Learn more about how they compare.

Both platforms address AI search visibility, but they solve fundamentally different problems. AirOps treats AI visibility as a content engineering challenge requiring closed-loop automation from insight to publication, while AthenaHQ approaches it as a monitoring problem with manual optimization workflows. The operational difference determines whether your team can refresh 200 aging articles simultaneously or draft recommendations one page at a time.

AirOps vs AthenaHQ: Quick Comparison

What matters AirOps AthenaHQ
Core use case Content engineering platform that connects AI visibility data to programmatic workflows—identify gaps, execute at scale, publish directly to CMS GEO monitoring and analytics platform focused on tracking brand mentions and citations across AI engines with guided content drafting
Ease of use Grid interface operates like a spreadsheet for bulk operations—steeper initial learning curve but enables processing hundreds of pages simultaneously Action Center provides guided workflows for one-at-a-time optimization—easier initial setup but manual execution limits scale
Customization level Fully customizable workflows with Liquid Templating, Brand Kits for multi-product governance, and Power Agents for pre-built agentic automation Relies on proprietary QVEM and ACE models, limiting customization of prediction logic or ability to bring your own models
Automation depth Multi-step workflows with conditional logic, scheduled execution, and direct CMS publishing—automates from detection through publication Automated monitoring and reporting with manual content creation—recommendations require human execution
AI capabilities Model-agnostic access to 20+ frontier models (GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro)—select optimal model per workflow step Proprietary models (QVEM for volume estimation, ACE for citation prediction)—vendor-stated 95% accuracy without independent verification
Integrations 7+ CMS platforms with write access (Webflow, WordPress, Contentful, ContentStack, Ghost, Sanity, Strapi), plus SEO tools, GA4, GSC, and project management tools Shopify-focused with GA4 and GSC—3 CMS platforms total, API access gated to Enterprise tier
Pricing model Tiered by capacity—Solo (free, 100 tracked prompts), Pro (250 prompts, multi-engine insights), Enterprise (custom limits, unlimited Brand Kits) Credit-based system—Self-Serve at $295/month (conflicting $95/month also listed) with 3,600 credits; Enterprise required for ACE and API
Best for B2B SaaS content teams managing 500+ pages across multiple CMS platforms who need unified SEO and AI data with programmatic refresh capabilities Teams prioritizing direct AI-to-revenue attribution with unlimited seat access for broad adoption

AirOps vs AthenaHQ: Platform Overview

AthenaHQ monitors brand mentions across eight AI engines and predicts citation likelihood through proprietary QVEM and ACE models. It treats AI search visibility as a measurement challenge—track performance, draft recommendations, manage technical controls.

AirOps connects AI visibility data directly to execution workflows. Page360 unifies SEO performance, AI citations, and engagement metrics, then routes that intelligence into automated processes that refresh content and publish directly to your CMS.

The core difference determines fit. AthenaHQ helps you understand where your brand appears. AirOps helps you act at scale—importing 500 underperforming pages, running refresh workflows simultaneously, and publishing updates without leaving the platform.

Page360 and Insights in AirOps

Core Capabilities: How AirOps and AthenaHQ Stack Up

AI Visibility Intelligence and Actionability

Platform Coverage and Monitoring Depth

AthenaHQ tracks brand mentions across eight AI platforms with daily updates on citation rates, sentiment, and share of voice. AirOps monitors five major AI platforms but combines that citation data with Google Search Console rankings and GA4 engagement in Page360—showing whether a ranking drop correlates with an AI citation gain.

The actionability gap is fundamental. AthenaHQ surfaces insights through dashboards. AirOps routes those insights directly into workflows that generate updates with human review and publish to your CMS.

Predictive Analytics and Data Transparency

AthenaHQ uses two proprietary models: QVEM for prompt volume and ACE for citation prediction. They claim 95% accuracy, though that's not independently verified. ACE is Enterprise-only, which puts it out of reach for many teams.

AirOps pulls real-time data from five AI platforms and connects to Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz. You see actual citations and verified metrics from tools you already trust—no black boxes.

Bottom line? AthenaHQ asks you to trust their models. AirOps shows you the data so you can verify it yourself.

Opportunity Identification and Prioritization

AthenaHQ's Action Center spots "AI Knowledge Gaps" where competitors show up but you don't. It surfaces recommendations you work through one at a time.

AirOps' Opportunities Engine finds four types of wins: Creation (gaps where competitors rank), Refresh (aging content losing traction), Outreach (high-authority domains to partner with), and Community (Reddit threads LLMs cite). It prioritizes by impact, then lets you select hundreds of pages and export directly to Grid for bulk execution.

The data backs this up: fresh content (under 90 days) gets 3.2x more AI citations. Page360 flags aging content and kicks off one-click refresh workflows. Teams running these programs see 40%+ traffic lifts.

Workflow Orchestration and Operational Scale

Execution Model and Automation Depth

AthenaHQ's Action Center provides guided workflows for drafting content and managing technical files. You work through recommendations sequentially—review a gap, draft content in the platform's editor, then manually publish to your CMS. The platform offers "self-improving content creation workflows" but execution remains largely manual.

AirOps' Grid operates like a spreadsheet for content operations. Import 500 pages from Google Search Console, map workflow inputs to columns, run refresh workflows across all rows simultaneously, review changes with side-by-side comparison, and publish directly to seven CMS platforms. The Grid handles bulk operations that would take weeks manually.

The scale difference is operational. AthenaHQ helps you draft better content one piece at a time. AirOps helps you process hundreds of content operations simultaneously while maintaining quality controls.

Workflow Flexibility and Governance

AthenaHQ processes follow a linear path, such as audit, improve, monitor and iterate. The platform guides you through each step with recommendations and templates. Customization is limited to the proprietary models and content drafting tools provided.

AirOps Workflows support multi-step automation with Liquid Templating for loops and conditionals. You build custom workflows that combine SEO research from Semrush, content generation from Claude Opus, brand governance from Brand Kits, and direct publishing to Webflow. Workflows can run on schedules (daily, weekly, monthly) or trigger based on performance changes.

Brand Kits enforce governance at scale. You centralize tone, style guides, product facts, and legal constraints once. Every AI-generated output across all workflows automatically adheres to your specifications, no. matter if you're processing five pages or five hundred.

Brand Kit in AirOps

Data Integration and Ecosystem Breadth

CMS and Publishing Capabilities

AthenaHQ integrates deeply with Shopify for e-commerce content publishing. The platform also supports Webflow and WordPress. You draft content in AthenaHQ, then push it to your CMS through these integrations.

AirOps provides native write access to seven CMS platforms: Webflow, WordPress, Contentful, ContentStack, Ghost, Sanity, and Strapi. You map Grid columns to CMS fields, control publishing status (draft, published, queued), and handle bulk operations without leaving the platform. The Grid stores CMS item IDs for future updates, enabling true closed-loop content management.

SEO Tool and Analytics Integration

AthenaHQ integrates with Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console for basic performance data. Enterprise plans add support for Tableau, Power BI, and Looker for business intelligence reporting.

AirOps provides native workflow steps for five SEO tools: Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, DataForSEO, and Google Search Console. You automate competitive backlink analysis, keyword research pipelines, and ranking monitoring directly within workflows. GA4 and GSC data auto-import to Page360, combining AI citations with traffic and conversion metrics in one view.

The integration philosophy differs fundamentally. AthenaHQ integrations support monitoring and reporting. AirOps integrations enable automated research pipelines that feed directly into content creation workflows.

API Access and Extensibility

AthenaHQ gates API access exclusively to Enterprise tier. Mid-market teams cannot programmatically access QVEM data or build custom integrations without an enterprise contract.

AirOps provides Knowledge Base REST API and supports bring-your-own API keys across all tiers. You connect custom data sources, build proprietary workflows, and integrate AirOps with internal tools. The platform also offers an MCP Server for coding assistants.

Pricing and What You Actually Get

AthenaHQ runs on credits—one credit per AI response. Their Self-Serve plan has confusing pricing (you'll see both $95 and $295/month listed), but it includes 3,600 credits and unlimited seats. Want their ACE prediction model or API access? You'll need Enterprise.

AirOps keeps it simple: tiered pricing based on tracked prompts. Solo is free (100 prompts). Pro gets you 250 prompts, multi-engine insights, and unlimited seats. Enterprise unlocks custom limits, unlimited Brand Kits, and white-glove support.

Here's the catch: AthenaHQ locks its best features behind Enterprise. AirOps puts powerful automation in your hands at the Pro level.

Real-World Applications: When to Use Each Platform

Workflow Fit

AthenaHQ works well if you optimize one page at a time such as auditing AI presence, draft improvements, monitor citations. Shopify merchants love it for GEO-ready blogs and tracking AI-to-revenue. Agencies use Pitch Workspaces to generate client reports in minutes.

AirOps is built for teams engineering content at scale. Refresh 200 articles at once, build workflows that blend SEO research with AI generation, and keep brand standards consistent across your team. Page360 shows you AI citations, GSC rankings, and GA4 engagement in one place so you know exactly what to create or refresh.

Companies like Webflow, Klaviyo, and Wiz use AirOps to grow AI-attributed signups without hurting quality. It's for teams ready to move from "create more content" to "engineer content operations."

Industry Fit

The platform helps brands understand which AI platforms drive product discovery and demonstrate ROI through clear citation-to-revenue metrics. Marketing agencies serving multiple e-commerce clients use white-label reporting capabilities to win new business.

AirOps serves B2B SaaS companies and multi-brand enterprises managing content across diverse CMS platforms. The platform fits teams with high content velocity who need to coordinate operations.

Integration Depth: How Each Platform Fits Your Tech Stack

AthenaHQ

AthenaHQ operates as a monitoring and drafting layer. It integrates with Shopify for e-commerce functionality, GA4 and GSC for performance data, and BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) on Enterprise plans.

The integration model is read-focused. AthenaHQ pulls data to surface insights and guides recommendations through the Action Center. You draft content in-platform, then manually push to your CMS.

AirOps

AirOps is your content operations hub. It writes directly to seven CMS platforms, searches your proprietary data (PDFs, BigQuery, Postgres, Snowflake), and automates competitive research through five SEO tools.

Here's what that means: AirOps doesn't just tell you what to fix...it fixes it. Push content to your CMS, sync tasks to Notion and Asana, post updates to Slack for approval, send emails through Gmail. One system instead of five browser tabs. See all the integrations in AirOps.

Integration Difference

AthenaHQ delivers intelligence through dashboards and APIs but relies on external tools for content execution and publishing. AirOps consolidates measurement, execution, and publishing in one platform. The operational difference determines whether your team can refresh 200 pages simultaneously or draft recommendations one at a time.

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Strengths and limitations

AthenaHQ

Strengths

Specialized GEO monitoring across eight AI engines. Proprietary ACE and QVEM models predict citations and prompt volume. Unlimited seats enable team-wide adoption. Deep Shopify integration tracks AI-to-revenue attribution. Agency Pitch Workspaces generate client reports in minutes.

Limitations

ACE and API access locked to Enterprise tier. Proprietary models lack independent verification. Shopify-centric—limited fit for B2B SaaS teams managing multiple CMS platforms. Action Center requires manual, one-at-a-time execution. Pricing confusion ($95 vs $295) creates friction.

AirOps

Strengths

Page360 unifies AI citations, SEO rankings, and engagement in one view—no more tab-switching. Grid lets you process hundreds of pages at once with bulk review and direct CMS publishing. Access 20+ frontier models and swap between GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, and Gemini 3 Pro per task. Seven CMS integrations with write access close the loop from insight to publication. Brand Kits keep every AI output on-brand at scale.

Limitations

Learning curve if you're new to workflow automation. You'll need to invest time setting up Brand Kits and Knowledge Bases upfront. Enterprise tier required for real-time editing and custom agents. Some features are still maturing—ask about support during your eval.

The Bottom Line: AirOps vs AthenaHQ for Content Teams in 2026

Choose AirOps when your priority is executing a high volume of content operations. The platform is built for teams managing 500+ pages who need to refresh aging content programmatically, maintain brand consistency across AI-driven workflows, and publish directly to multiple CMS platforms without manual handoffs.

The core philosophical difference determines fit. AthenaHQ treats AI search visibility as an optimization problem to monitor and manually improve. AirOps treats it as a content engineering challenge requiring programmatic workflows that continuously measure, refresh, and scale.

Choose AirOps If

  • You manage content across multiple CMS platforms (Webflow, WordPress, Contentful) and need unified operations
  • You need to refresh hundreds of pages simultaneously based on performance signals, not one at a time
  • You require unified visibility into SEO and AI search performance without toggling between tools
  • You want model flexibility to adopt new LLMs (GPT-6, Claude 5) immediately when they launch
  • You're building content systems that scale output while maintaining quality and brand governance

Choose AthenaHQ If

  • You prefer guided workflows (Action Center) over building custom automation from scratch
  • You're an agency needing quick pitch reports to demonstrate AI search performance to e-commerce clients
  • You're early in your AI search journey and want specialized GEO focus with proprietary predictive models

Why Teams Choose AirOps

AirOps connects visibility insights directly to execution. Page360 unifies AI citations, search rankings, and engagement in one view. Grid processes hundreds of pages simultaneously—refreshing content, enforcing brand standards, and publishing to your CMS without manual handoffs.

Teams managing 500+ pages choose AirOps because monitoring doesn't move the needle. You need programmatic workflows that detect gaps, generate updates with review checkpoints, and publish without leaving the platform. Companies like Webflow and Klaviyo use AirOps to grow AI-attributed signups while scaling output without adding headcount.

Ready to move from monitoring to engineering content operations that compound results? Book a demo to see how AirOps transforms insight into execution.

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions: AirOps vs AthenaHQ

Which platform executes end-to-end work versus just measuring visibility?

AirOps executes end-to-end from detecting visibility gaps to generating content, applying brand guidelines, and publishing directly to seven CMS platforms. AthenaHQ focuses on monitoring AI search performance and drafting recommendations that require manual execution. AirOps automates the full loop; AthenaHQ provides intelligence you act on elsewhere.

How do the platforms handle brand consistency across AI-generated content?

AirOps uses Brand Kits to centralize tone, style guides, product facts, and legal constraints. Every AI-generated output across all workflows automatically adheres to your specifications. AthenaHQ offers content drafting "in your brand's voice" but lacks a structured governance layer that enforces consistency programmatically across bulk operations.

Can either platform automate closed-loop remediation when visibility gaps are detected?

AirOps can automatically spin up briefs, run refresh workflows, and publish updates when Page360 detects gaps. You set triggers based on performance thresholds, and workflows execute without manual intervention. AthenaHQ's Action Center surfaces recommendations but requires human drafting and publishing for each opportunity.

What AI models does each platform support?

AirOps provides access to 20+ frontier models including GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro, and Perplexity Sonar. You select optimal models per workflow step and immediately adopt new models when they launch. AthenaHQ relies on proprietary models (QVEM, ACE) without user-selectable LLM options for content generation.

How does pricing work for scaling content operations?

AirOps prices by tracked prompts and pages with transparent tier limits (Solo free, Pro at 250 tracked prompts, Enterprise custom). AthenaHQ uses a credit system (one credit equals one AI response) with conflicting public pricing ($95 versus $295 monthly). AthenaHQ offers unlimited seats; AirOps gates API access and advanced features differently across tiers.

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