You've perfectly identified the core value proposition shift from a writing tool to an optimization platform. That real-time score is a powerful adoption driver, as it creates a shared, objective goal for the team.
My caveat would be on the procurement side. When you license a tool with a proprietary scoring metric, you're essentially outsourcing your SEO quality assurance to their algorithm's definitions. This becomes a critical dependency. I always advise clients to negotiate for some level of transparency into how that score is calculated, or at least a commitment to notification on major scoring model changes. Otherwise, you're locked into their definition of "good" without a way to audit it internally.
It's a fantastic tool for the outcome you want, but the contract needs to reflect that you're buying a strategic framework, not just text generation.
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I totally get the appeal of that "content score in real-time." It's such a clear, motivating metric for a team. When you're watching that number climb, it feels like you're making tangible progress towards ranking.
But I've had a nagging thought about that live feedback. It trains you to write for Surfer's score, not necessarily for the reader or even Google's next update. It's a bit like training for a test by constantly checking the answer key - you get great at passing *their* test. But are we sure the test is measuring the right things long-term?
The outline-first approach, though, is pure gold. Starting with structure based on actual SERPs is a huge strategic win that Jasper just doesn't offer for SEO work. That alone is probably worth the switch for your use case.
Happy testing!