# Archytas AISpy — A free, downloadable desktop app that tracks brand visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews/AI Mode, bring your own API keys, no subscription.

> Source: CitedIndex — https://citedindex.com/archytas-aispy (structured, researched, re-verified)
> Facts last verified: 2026-07-24

Archytas AISpy is a free, downloadable desktop app that tracks how a brand is mentioned and cited across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. It is built by Archytas Digital, a London SEO consultancy run by freelance search consultant Michael Curtis, and it runs locally on Windows or Apple Silicon Mac (a Linux build is 'coming soon') using API keys the user supplies themselves, rather than a hosted subscription platform. Every tracked prompt, response and result is stored in a local SQLite database, so there is no per-seat cost and no vendor-imposed limit on how many brands or prompts a user tracks.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Website | https://www.archytasdigital.com |
| API | No |
| Best for | solo SEO/GEO consultants and small in-house marketing teams who want unlimited AI-visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews without a monthly subscription, and are comfortable supplying their own API keys |
| Not for | teams that want a hosted, no-setup SaaS dashboard, a proven review track record, or native MCP/agent integration today |

## Verdict

Archytas AISpy is a rare genuinely free entry in this category: a downloadable Windows/macOS app, not a subscription dashboard, that tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews/AI Mode with no seat cost and no cap on how many brands or prompts you track, the only recurring cost is the LLM and DataForSEO API usage you already control. It is built by a real, named, easily-verified operator, London SEO consultant Michael Curtis of Archytas Digital, rather than an anonymous team. The honest catch is timing and traction: it shipped on Hacker News on 2026-06-30 to a single point and zero comments, carries no third-party reviews anywhere, and has no MCP support yet. Pick it if you are a consultant or small team that wants unlimited, bring-your-own-key tracking and do not mind running early, unreviewed software; choose a paid platform like Peec AI, Profound or Otterly AI instead if you need a hosted dashboard, proven adoption, or agent/MCP integration today.

## How it works

1. Download the Windows or Apple Silicon Mac build and supply your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or Perplexity API key (Google AI Overviews and AI Mode run through Archytas's own DataForSEO integration instead).
2. Enter the prompts to monitor; running a check fires each prompt at the selected engines and logs whether the tracked brand, its competitors, and any cited source domains appear in the response.
3. A Fanout Query Mapping view shows the follow-up web searches an LLM runs behind the scenes before answering, so you can see which pages actually get pulled in.
4. Schedule checks to run on a cadence, chart results in the built-in dashboards, and export to CSV/XLSX or query the local SQLite database directly for a BI pipeline.

## Who it's for

- Solo SEO/GEO consultants and small in-house marketing teams that want unlimited AI-visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews without a monthly subscription.
- Freelancers running visibility checks for several small clients who want to avoid per-seat SaaS fees, since the only ongoing cost is each client's own API usage.
- Data teams that want to fold AI-visibility results into an existing BI pipeline by querying the local SQLite file directly, rather than exporting from a hosted dashboard.

## Strengths and weaknesses

- ✓ Completely free with no subscription, seat cost or account required, cost is limited to the LLM/DataForSEO API calls a user makes themselves.
- ✓ Runs entirely locally (Windows/macOS) with no hard cap on the number of brands, prompts or competitors tracked, the only ceiling is local disk space.
- ✓ Covers five AI surfaces in one tool: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews/AI Mode (the last two via a built-in DataForSEO integration).
- ✓ Built by a named, independently verifiable operator, Michael Curtis, a 17-year SEO consultant who has worked with 7DOTS, Gravity Global, Jaywing and Melt Digital on brands including Audible and Expedia, rather than an anonymous team.
- ✗ Zero third-party traction at verification time: the Show HN launch (2026-06-30) sits at 1 point with no comments, and no G2, Capterra, Trustpilot or Product Hunt listing exists anywhere.
- ✗ No MCP server support, the vendor confirms it is only 'on the roadmap', so it cannot be wired directly into an agent workflow the way some rivals' MCP integrations can.
- ✗ Requires the user's own paid API keys for every engine tracked (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, plus DataForSEO for AI Overviews/AI Mode), 'free' means no software fee, not zero ongoing cost.
- ✗ Linux build is listed as 'coming soon' and not yet available, desktop coverage today is Windows and Apple Silicon macOS only.
- ⚠ No out-of-the-box analytics integration beyond scheduled CSV/XLSX export or direct SQLite queries.
- ⚠ The vendor states it may use in-app 'Message of the Day' space to promote future paid offerings, though the app itself carries no subscription tiers today.

## Key features

- **Multi-engine AI visibility tracking** — Runs prompts against ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity via their native APIs, plus Google AI Overviews and AI Mode through a built-in DataForSEO integration.
- **Fanout query mapping** — Surfaces the web searches an LLM runs behind the scenes before answering a prompt, showing which pages get pulled in and who else is being cited.
- **Language & entity analysis** — Tracks brand, product and people mentions in AI answers even when no link or citation is generated, not just URL citations.
- **Local SQLite storage, unlimited tracking** — Everything runs and stores locally, so there is no per-seat pricing and no vendor-imposed cap on how many brands, prompts or competitors a user tracks.
- **Scheduled exports + BI-ready database** — Point AISpy at a cadence and it re-runs automatically, exporting to CSV/XLSX or letting a BI tool query the underlying SQLite file directly.
- **Follow-on question re-querying** — Any stored AI response can be re-queried with a second, independently chosen model, for sentiment classification, brand extraction, or a cheaper follow-up, without repeating the original prompt.

## Use cases

- **Freelance/agency AI-visibility reporting on a budget** — An SEO consultant running visibility checks for several small clients uses AISpy instead of paying per-seat SaaS fees, since the only ongoing cost is each client's own API usage.
- **Tracking a live launch or event** — A brand team schedules AISpy to run every few minutes during a product launch to catch how AI citations and sentiment shift in near-real time, accepting a higher token bill as the tradeoff.
- **Feeding an existing BI/reporting pipeline** — A data team schedules CSV/XLSX exports, or queries the SQLite file directly, to fold AI-visibility results into a reporting stack that already ingests other marketing data.

## Sources

- https://www.archytasdigital.com/
- https://www.archytasdigital.com/usecases/scheduling/
- https://www.archytasdigital.com/seoconsultancy/
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48730358
- https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17207010