Self-host Elmo
v0.7.6Open-source AI visibility tracker for AEO and GEO
- Stars
- 517
- Port
- 1515 (Web dashboard and REST API)
- Requires
- PostgreSQL
What is Elmo?
Elmo is an open-source platform for monitoring brand visibility in AI-generated answers. It tracks how often systems like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, and others reference or cite a brand, then evaluates sentiment, share of voice, and citation sources. The software runs on Docker Compose with PostgreSQL, provides a REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs, and includes an MCP server for AI assistants. Self-hosting is free under the MIT license, while a managed cloud version starts at $29 per month.
Should you self-host Elmo?
Elmo scores 52/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works). It has 517 GitHub stars.
It shipped 10 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v0.7.6, came out on 27 October 2026. New versions land roughly every 1 days.
Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in Typescript.
Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Limelit Open (45/100, 223 stars). Elmo scores higher overall. See Elmo vs Limelit Open side by side.
Features
- AI Visibility tracking
- Brand mention tracking
- Citation analysis
- Competitor benchmarking
- MCP Server
- Multi-brand tracking
- Opportunities engine
- Prompt Management
- Python SDK
- Query fan-out analysis
- REST API
- Sentiment Analysis
- Shareable Reports
- TypeScript SDK
- White-label deploymentAvailable in white-label tier
Elmo README
FAQ
Is Elmo free?
Elmo is free and open source to self-host with no license fee and no per-seat pricing. You only pay for your own infrastructure and AI provider API keys. Managed Elmo Cloud starts at $29/mo.
How much does Elmo cost compared to Profound?
Elmo is much cheaper and simpler to buy. Profound's pricing page lists a free trial and an Enterprise plan quoted by sales, while Elmo Cloud is self-serve with public prices starting at $29/mo.
How do I track my brand in ChatGPT?
Add your website to Elmo and its Prompt Wizard generates the questions your buyers are likely to ask ChatGPT. Elmo then runs those prompts in ChatGPT on a schedule and records every answer.
How is AI visibility measured?
Elmo runs a fixed set of prompts across AI engines on a schedule and scores each prompt by how often your brand appears in the answers, from 0 to 100%. It also calculates share of voice, sentiment, and position.
Which AI models does Elmo track?
Elmo tracks ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and Claude, plus models like Grok, Mistral, DeepSeek, and Qwen.
What is the difference between AEO, GEO, and SEO?
SEO is about ranking pages in traditional search results, while AEO and GEO are two names for the same discipline: getting mentioned and cited inside AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
AEO is the practice of measuring and improving how often AI answer engines mention and cite your brand, aiming to be the source an AI quotes in its answer rather than ranking in traditional search results.
What is Elmo?
Elmo is an open-source AI visibility platform for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) that tracks how AI answer engines mention and describe your brand, which competitors appear alongside you, and which sources each model cites.
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