DataForSEO Brain v1.0.2 - Backlinks + LLM Mentions pay-as-you-go

Highlights

On 2026-07-01 DataForSEO cancelled the $100/mo minimums on the Backlinks API and LLM Mentions API and moved every endpoint to 100% pay-as-you-go. This release corrects the brain, which previously documented both modules as subscription-gated (40204), including an authoritative "not removed" debunk that the update made false.

What changed

• Backlinks + LLM Mentions are now pay-as-you-go across the brain: no subscription, no activation step. Existing subscriptions were auto-cancelled by DataForSEO with access retained.
• 40204 reframed as a defined-but-legacy code for these two modules. It stays in the error catalog but is no longer returned on a pay-as-you-go account.
• Honest timeline preserved: gated through 2026-06-26, removed 2026-07-01. No silent deletions.
• dashboard-map.json gate flags flipped (gated / gated_partial -> false); source-ledger.json gains a dated pricing-update source and updated Backlinks / LLM-Mentions claim rows; hub, operator dashboard, overview, hot cache, current-requirements, and build log all corrected.

Verification

• Live re-probe (2026-07-08) against the production API: /v3/backlinks/summary/live, /v3/backlinks/bulk_ranks/live, and /v3/ai_optimization/llm_mentions/search/live all now return 20000 Ok (were 40204). Captured the first authentic Backlinks + LLM Mentions fixtures.
• audit_brain.py --require market-ready: market-ready, score 100
• pytest: 6 passed

Known follow-up

• The same 2026-07-01 update also "adjusted rates across selected APIs." Per-endpoint pricing was not fully re-audited; the brain notes that price figures are due a refresh.

Merged via #6. Full details in CHANGELOG.md.