What is founder pricing?
Sauron is in early access, so these are founder rates: deliberately low while we're new. Install now and your price is locked in for life as a founding store: it won't go up when we raise prices at public launch. It's how we reward the stores that back us early.
How does the free trial work?
Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial, one per store. You won't be charged until the trial ends. Cancel any time from your Shopify admin, no questions asked.
Is there a free plan?
No. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial instead, so you can see Sauron work on your own store before you pay anything.
Is billing handled through Shopify?
Yes. All payments are processed through Shopify's billing system, so you can manage your subscription directly in your Shopify admin. No separate credit card required.
What counts as an 'AI generation'?
One generation = one set of SEO meta title + meta description generated for a single product or collection. Alt text generations and blog optimisations are counted separately under their own limits.
Can I switch plans at any time?
Yes. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle. Data associated with higher-plan features is retained for 30 days in case you upgrade again.
What happens when I reach my generation limit?
Sauron will alert you when you're approaching your limit. You can upgrade your plan at any time to increase your limit. Existing published SEO content stays live: only new generations are paused.
Does Sauron work for large Shopify catalogs?
Yes. Sauron uses a background job queue so generation scales to stores with thousands of SKUs. The Scale plan offers up to 5,000 generations a month for large-catalog operators, with catalogs up to 10,000 products.
My store is brand new. Is it too early to pay for this?
The research doesn't need any history — search volumes come from Google's own keyword data, which is the same number for a store that opened yesterday as for one trading ten years. So the writing, the collection pages and the articles all work from day one. What needs history is the measuring: connect Search Console straight away (an empty, brand-new property is fine, and that's all the 90-day Build Guarantee asks for), but expect roughly six weeks before the position data says anything useful. And a new domain usually climbs slower than an established one whatever you do to it. If your catalog is still nearly empty, wait — there's nothing to optimise yet.
What is AI visibility tracking?
It measures whether AI answer engines actually mention and cite your store when shoppers ask them for recommendations, using real LLM-mention data. Growth tracks ChatGPT monthly; Scale tracks ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews weekly and benchmarks you against three competitors. Every check is stored as a trend over time, not a one-off snapshot. Starter doesn't include it.
What is the backlink exchange network?
An opt-in feature where Sauron matches your published blog articles with complementary articles from other opted-in Shopify stores. Both stores get a contextual backlink: no link farms, no spammy directories, and competitor linking is blocked by default. The network opens category by category as stores join, and every member gets a dofollow directory link on day one.
Do you offer refunds?
We don't offer pro-rated refunds for partial billing periods, but you can cancel before your trial ends and pay nothing. If you believe you were charged in error, email billing@sauron.so within 14 days.