To choose an AI SEO agency, ask what they'll change on your site, how they'll check whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews mention you today, and what they'll report each month. A good GEO or AEO agency shows you its own results first, explains the work in plain English and never promises a guaranteed spot in an AI answer.
If you've started looking for help getting your business into AI answers, you'll have noticed that every agency suddenly does AI SEO. Some call it GEO, some call it AEO, some call it LLM optimisation. The labels change. The question you need answered doesn't: will this team get my business named when a buyer asks an AI assistant for help?
Here's how I'd judge any agency or consultant before signing anything, including me.
What an AI SEO agency should do for you
An AI SEO agency works on the things AI assistants read before they answer. That means your website, the pages that explain what you do, the structured data behind those pages, and the other sites that talk about you. The goal is simple to say and slow to do: when someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI Overview who can help with your kind of problem, your name and your page come up.
A GEO agency (generative engine optimisation) and an AEO agency (answer engine optimisation) are doing much the same job under different names. Don't let the acronym decide it. Look at the work.
- An honest baseline. Which prompts mention you now, which competitors get named instead, and which sources the assistants trust.
- Page fixes. Clear answers near the top of key pages, headings that match the questions buyers ask, and facts that are easy to quote.
- Entity work. Making sure every page, profile and schema block describes your business the same way, so the assistants don't get confused about who you are.
- Content that fills gaps. New pages for the buyer questions where you're missing, written to be cited rather than padded.
- Reporting you can read. The same prompts checked every month, with the before and after side by side.
The 9 questions to ask before you sign
Take these into the first call. You'll learn more from how they answer than from any proposal.
- Where do I show up today? They should be able to run a set of buyer prompts on ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google before you pay anything, or at least show you how they'd do it.
- Which prompts will you track? Ask to see the list. It should read like real buyer questions, not a list of vanity keywords.
- What will you change on my site in the first month? Vague answers here are a warning sign.
- How do you handle my existing Google rankings? Good AI work shouldn't put the pages that already bring you clicks at risk.
- Who writes the content, and in whose voice? AI assistants quote clear, specific writing. Generic filler doesn't get cited.
- How do you build mentions on other sites? Listen for earned coverage and honest profiles, not bought links.
- What does your monthly report contain? Ask for a sample.
- Can I see it working on your own site? This is the one most agencies struggle with.
- What happens if it doesn't move? You want a plan for a slow month, not a promise.
How I'd judge the proof
The fastest test is the agency's own website. If a team sells AI visibility, its own site should be getting visits from AI assistants, and it should be happy to show you the numbers.
I hold myself to the same test. Between January and September 2026, my own site went from 32 visits a month from AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and Gemini to 3,599. Google clicks went from 1,322 a month to 6,412 over the same months, which is 4.8 times higher. You can see how I did it in the full case study of my own site.
Ask any agency for the same kind of evidence: their own before and after, from their own analytics, over full months. If all they can show is a screenshot of one AI answer, keep asking.
Agency, consultant or in-house: which one fits
| Option | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| AI SEO agency | You want a team to run the work every month across many pages | Junior staff doing the work after a senior sales call |
| AI SEO consultant | You want one experienced person who looks at your business and does or directs the work | Limited hours, so agree the scope clearly |
| In-house | You already have a marketer who can learn the method and keep it going | No outside view of what the assistants say about you |
Many small businesses do well with a consultant who sets the work up and trains someone in-house to keep it going. That's the way I tend to work, and you can see the details on my AI SEO services page.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Red flags to walk away from
- A guaranteed position in ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI answers. Nobody controls those answers.
- Talk of secret prompts or tricks that make an AI recommend you.
- Plans to publish dozens of thin pages a week under your name.
- Link buying dressed up as AI visibility work.
- Reports that only show traffic, with no check on what the assistants say.
- No clear answer on who owns the content and the work if you stop.
If you'd like a refresher on the terms an agency will use, this plain guide to answer engine optimisation covers the basics.
What the first 90 days should look like
A sensible plan starts with a baseline, fixes the pages that matter most, and only then adds new content. Here's the shape I'd expect from anyone you hire:
- Weeks 1 to 2: run the buyer prompts, record who gets named, audit the key pages and your structured data.
- Weeks 3 to 6: fix the service pages, tidy how your business is described everywhere, and answer the top buyer questions on your site.
- Weeks 7 to 12: fill the remaining gaps with new pages, earn a few honest mentions elsewhere, and rerun the same prompts.
AI answers change from one day to the next, so judge progress over months, not single checks. The trend is what matters.
If you'd like a second opinion
If you're comparing agencies and you'd like someone to look at your situation with you first, I'm happy to talk it through. Here's how I work with businesses, and you'll find no hard sell on the call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a GEO agency and an AEO agency?
In practice very little. GEO means generative engine optimisation and AEO means answer engine optimisation. Both work on getting your business named and cited in AI answers. Judge the agency on its work and its own results, not on the label it uses.
Can an AI SEO agency guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says. A good agency improves the signals the assistants read and measures the same prompts over time. Treat any guarantee as a red flag.
How long before an AI SEO agency shows results?
Expect the first changes in what the assistants say within a few months, with clearer movement over a longer period. AI answers vary day to day, so look at the trend across the same set of prompts.
Should a small business hire an AI SEO agency or a consultant?
If you need a team running work across many pages every month, an agency can fit. If you want one experienced person to set the work up and train someone in-house, a consultant is often the better match for a small business.
