Autopilot

A visually differentiated marketing automation platform positioned as a more intuitive alternative to enterprise-grade tools, targeting growth-stage businesses

Autopilot was a cloud-based marketing automation platform founded in San Francisco that distinguished itself through a highly visual, canvas-style interface for building customer journeys. Unlike traditional marketing automation tools that relied on complex rule-based systems, Autopilot allowed marketers to visually map out multi-channel customer journeys using a drag-and-drop workflow builder, making sophisticated automation accessible to teams without deep technical expertise. The platform supported email marketing, in-app messaging, SMS, and direct mail channels, enabling businesses to orchestrate personalized communications across the entire customer lifecycle. The company gained significant traction among SMB and mid-market companies seeking a more intuitive alternative to enterprise-heavy platforms like Marketo or HubSpot. Autopilot integrated with a wide range of CRMs, analytics tools, and third-party applications, positioning itself as a flexible hub within the broader marketing technology stack. Its collaborative features, including the ability for teams to annotate and comment directly on journey canvases, further differentiated it in a crowded market. In 2021, Autopilot rebranded to Ortto, reflecting a broader evolution of its product vision to include a built-in customer data platform (CDP) and analytics capabilities alongside its marketing automation core. The Autopilot brand was effectively retired as the company consolidated its identity under the Ortto name, which continues to operate today as a unified marketing analytics and automation platform.