Back to Blog

AEO has become a common service label. Some providers have added retrieval-policy checks and source monitoring, while others have only renamed an SEO package. The label alone does not show what the engagement delivers.

That makes comparison difficult. Buyer use of ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI products varies by category, so first verify whether those products matter in your own buyer journey. Then compare agencies on delivered work, evidence, and measurement.

This is the buyer's guide. A one-sentence definition, the seven questions that separate a real AI search optimization agency from a rebrand, what it should actually cost, and the one promise that should make you walk. If you want the discipline explained first, start with our pillar on what AEO actually is.

What an AEO Agency Actually Does

An AEO agency builds and measures technical, editorial, and authority work intended to earn citations inside AI answers. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude use different source-selection systems, so the agency can control the work and measurement, not the outcome.

The real deliverables are concrete: crawlable content, accurate schema that matches the page, named authors with real bios, retrieval access for OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User, and PerplexityBot, authority signals across the open web, and weekly tracking of who actually gets cited. An optional llms.txt can help compatible systems discover selected pages, but Google does not use it and it cannot guarantee citations. If an agency cannot point at those deliverables and instead talks about "visibility" and "thought leadership," you are buying a slide deck. For the deeper split between this and classic search, read AEO vs SEO.

The 7 Questions to Ask

Ask these on the first call. The answers sort the field fast.

1. Show me a brand you have gotten cited, and on which engine.

Ask for dated evidence across a stable query set, including the product, mode, exact prompt, and cited sources. One screenshot can be cherry-picked and does not prove a repeatable outcome. The agency should also separate rankings and traffic from citation observations.

2. What is your crawl, schema, and optional llms.txt process?

This is the technical floor. A real answer is specific: they make key content crawlable, validate JSON-LD that matches visible content, and check OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User, and PerplexityBot in robots.txt. FAQPage belongs only where matching Q&A is visible. llms.txt is optional, worth 2 of 66 audit points, and cannot guarantee citations.

3. How do you track citations across all four engines?

A citation in one product does not establish source presence in another. A credible monitoring plan defines the products, query set, mode, date, and review cadence, then reports observations by product. The cadence should match the category and scope, not an invented universal refresh cycle. Our roundup of AI search visibility tools shows what real tracking looks like.

4. Do you do SEO too, or just AEO?

A strong answer addresses both disciplines and their shared foundation. Crawlability, technical health, useful content, and accountability support the work, while rankings, traffic, citations, and referrals are measured separately. AEO is not a clean replacement for SEO.

5. What do you not control, and will you say so out loud?

This is the honesty test. A real operator will tell you, unprompted, that they do not control engine algorithms, training refresh cycles, or what competitors ship next. Anyone who answers this question with total confidence is selling certainty that does not exist. The good ones are precise about the line between what they ship and what the engine decides.

6. Who writes the content, and is there a named human on it?

Named authorship makes editorial accountability explicit. The Meridian15 audit assigns it 8 of 66 points, but a byline does not guarantee ranking or citation. Ask who writes, whether real bylines and bios go on the page, and how the agency keeps the voice yours instead of generic.

7. What does month one actually deliver?

Not "strategy and discovery." Shipped artifacts. A strong answer sounds like: audit in week one, crawl and schema fixes live by week two, then the first substantive content and any useful visible FAQ blocks in by week four. If month one is a deck and a roadmap, you are paying retainer rates for homework.

What It Should Cost

Pricing is where the rebrands get shy, so here are real numbers. Foundational AEO retainers start around $1,950 per month. That tier covers crawlable content, retrieval access, accurate schema, named authors, and a monthly content cadence. Optional llms.txt discovery and FAQ markup for visible Q&A may sit inside that scope. It is the right fit for a local business or a single-location brand that needs to be citable and is not fighting a national field.

Full-stack engagements run $5,000 to $15,000 per month. That tier adds serious content volume, authority and link work, multi-engine citation monitoring, and monthly iteration on what the tracking shows. It may fit broader or more competitive categories that require more content, authority work, and product-level monitoring.

Two pricing rules. First, an agency that will not name a starting number is a pass. A transparent agency should apply its own publishing standard to itself. Second, compare the stated price with the actual technical, editorial, and monitoring scope. Price alone does not establish quality, and no package can promise a source-selection outcome.

The One Promise That Should Make You Walk

Any agency that guarantees citations is lying. Full stop.

An agency controls its implementation, content, documentation, and measurement. It does not control a product's source-selection system, interface changes, or competitor activity. An honest agency guarantees process, not outcome: the work will pass observable technical checks, match the visible page, and be measured against a stable query set.

How to Vet One in Ten Minutes, Before You Sign

You can pressure-test any AEO agency before the second call. Two moves.

First, run their own site through an audit. The Meridian15 free AEO audit scores 13 technical checks across structured data, retrieval access, authorship, metadata, sitemap quality, and crawlable content. llms.txt is the optional 2-point discovery check. A weak score identifies technical questions to ask, but the score is a heuristic and does not prove whether the agency can earn citations.

Second, sample relevant queries in ChatGPT and Perplexity and record the product, mode, date, and sources. Treat the result as one observation, not a pass-or-fail ranking. Ask the agency for dated evidence across a stable query set and for an explanation of what it does not control.

That is the bar: dated evidence, explicit scope, honest limits, and repeatable measurement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AEO agency?

An AEO agency (answer engine optimization, also called AI search optimization or GEO) builds and measures the technical, editorial, and authority work intended to earn citations inside answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude. The unit of success is a named citation in the answer, not a ranking position in Google's blue links. The work covers crawlable content, accurate schema, named-author accountability, retrieval access, an optional llms.txt for compatible systems, and tracking whether the four major engines actually cite you on the queries that matter for your category.

How is an AEO agency different from an SEO agency?

They share a technical foundation but measure different outcomes. SEO works toward rankings and organic traffic. AEO monitors whether a brand appears as a source in AI answers and improves the crawlable, factual material available to retrieval systems. Neither discipline guarantees placement, and AEO does not replace SEO.

How much does an AEO agency cost?

Foundational AEO retainers start around $1,950 per month and cover crawlable content, retrieval access, accurate schema, named authors, and a monthly content cadence. Optional llms.txt discovery and FAQ markup for visible Q&A may sit inside that scope. Full-stack engagements that add content, authority building, multi-engine citation monitoring, and iteration typically run $5,000 to $15,000 per month depending on category breadth and refresh cadence. Treat any agency that hides pricing as a red flag. A transparent agency runs its own publishing standard on itself.

Can an AEO agency guarantee I'll get cited by ChatGPT?

No, and any agency that guarantees citations is lying. An agency controls its implementation, content, documentation, and measurement. It does not control a product's source-selection system, interface changes, or competitor activity. What it can promise is that the work will pass observable technical checks, match the visible page, and be measured against a stable query set.

How long until an AEO agency gets results?

There is no fixed citation timeline or reliable engine order. A good agency establishes a baseline, tracks the same queries with product and date context, and reports what changed. Judge it on delivered work and measurement quality, not a promised 60-to-90-day result or six-month share of voice.

How do I vet an AEO agency before hiring?

Run the agency site through an AEO audit, then sample relevant queries and record the product, mode, date, and sources. One answer is not a universal verdict. Ask for dated client evidence across a stable query set, confirm the agency handles the SEO foundation, and check that named humans are accountable for the content.