Quick answer: how do I hire an AEO or GEO agency?
Ask nine questions about method, scope and honesty, then score each answer from 0 to 2. Choose the agency that shows how it tests AI answers, takes a baseline, names the work, gives you account access and refuses to guarantee mentions.
To choose a geo aeo agency, ask nine questions about method, scope and honesty, then score each answer before you sign. A good agency shows how it tests AI answers, takes a baseline first, names the work it will do on your site and refuses to promise a mention in ChatGPT.
If you run a business in London or Southwestern Ontario, a proposal for AI search work will probably land in your inbox before you have decided what you want. Our AI search optimization service in London, Ontario is one option, and this guide is written so you can judge any provider, including us, on the same nine questions. It does not re-explain what AEO is or what it costs, because those topics have their own guides, and it focuses on how to vet the people you are about to pay.
Why vetting a geo aeo agency is different from vetting an SEO company
Vetting an AEO or GEO agency is different because nobody controls the output. A search agency can point to a ranking report, but an AI assistant composes a fresh answer each time, so a mention cannot be promised, only earned and measured.
That single fact changes what a good proposal looks like. The work that helps is mostly the same work that helps traditional search: crawlable pages, clear answers, accurate business details and consistent entity information. If you want the background, our guides on what answer engine optimization is and on generative engine optimization versus SEO cover the definitions, so this page can stay on the buying decision.
The market is also new and crowded. Some providers rebrand ordinary SEO packages with AI vocabulary, and a few sell certainty they cannot deliver. The location of the agency matters less than the quality of its answers. A search for a geo aeo agency Ottawa business owners use would raise exactly the same nine questions as one for London, St. Thomas or Strathroy.
What a proposal should let you check
Before you read the questions, decide what you want to be able to verify on day one. A short list helps you stay calm when a sales call gets technical.
- How they test. The prompts, the assistants and the way they record results.
- What they will change. Pages, schema, listings, reviews and content, named one by one.
- What you keep. Access to your accounts, your files and your reports if you leave.
- What they refuse to promise. Any commitment about a specific assistant's wording.
Questions 1 to 3 for a geo aeo agency: method and evidence
The first three questions test whether the agency can measure anything at all, because work you cannot measure cannot be improved or defended at renewal time.
1. How do you test what AI assistants say about my business?
A good answer describes a repeatable method. The agency should run a fixed set of prompts about your services, your location and your competitors, in a logged-out session, with the same wording each time, across more than one assistant. They should record whether you are mentioned, recommended, cited and described accurately. Our own approach is laid out in the guide on how to check what ChatGPT says about your business, and you can run it yourself before any call.
A weak answer is a general claim that they "monitor AI visibility" with a proprietary tool and no sample output.
2. What baseline will you take before any work starts, and will I see it?
A good answer is a dated snapshot delivered in the first two to four weeks: the prompts tested, the answers received, your current mentions, and the state of your website, Google Business Profile and listings. Without a starting point, every later improvement is an opinion.
A weak answer is "we will start optimizing right away", because it means there is nothing to compare against when you ask what changed.
3. Can I see a sample report and a real example of work you have done?
A good answer is a redacted report from a current client, or a transparent explanation of why none exists yet. A newer agency can still be honest. It can show its own site, its own testing and its method, and it can say plainly that case studies are still being built.
A weak answer is a page of screenshots with no dates, no prompts and no explanation of what produced the change. Treat invented-looking numbers the same way you would treat any unverified claim: ask for the source.
Questions 4 to 6 for a geo aeo agency: scope and ownership
These three questions test whether you will be able to see the work, own the result and understand what you paid for after the contract ends.
4. Exactly which pages, schema and listings will you change?
A good answer names assets. For a plumber in Byron or a dental office near Masonville, that means the service pages, the Google Business Profile, LocalBusiness and FAQPage structured data, the location and service-area pages, and the directory listings that confirm your name, address and phone number. Schema.org defines these types, and Google's Search Essentials explains what it expects from a site, so the agency should be able to point to both.
A weak answer is "we will optimize your content for AI", with no list of what is touched. Our guide to AI search optimization deliverables shows what a month-by-month list normally looks like, so you can hold any proposal up against it.
5. Who writes and approves the content, and how is accuracy checked?
A good answer says a named person writes, a second person edits, and you approve anything that states a fact about your business. Google's helpful content and E-E-A-T guidance rewards pages that show real experience, so a provider who publishes unreviewed machine text on your domain is spending your credibility.
A weak answer is "our AI handles the writing", with nobody accountable for errors. A healthcare clinic, a law office or a trades company in Old North or Wortley Village cannot afford a page that gets a licence, a price or a service area wrong.
6. Will I own and have access to every account, file and report?
A good answer is yes, without hesitation. Your Google Business Profile, Search Console, analytics, hosting and website files should stay in your name, with the agency added as a user. If the relationship ends, you keep everything.
A weak answer is any version of "we manage that for you", where the provider holds the logins. Access is the simplest test of whether the work is built for your benefit or for their retention.
Questions 7 to 9 for a geo aeo agency: pricing, term and honesty
The last three questions test the commercial terms, which is where most disappointed buyers wish they had pushed harder.
7. What does the monthly fee include, and what costs extra?
A good answer is an itemised scope with hours or deliverables attached. Buyers searching how much a geo or aeo agency costs per month, or for AEO agency pricing, should expect a range tied to scope. On our site, local SEO retainers run from $500 to $1,500 per month, and AI search work is usually an add-on of $150 to $400 per month, or a standalone project of $300 to $800. Our AI search optimization pricing guide explains what moves a quote within those ranges, so this page does not repeat it.
A weak answer is a single flat price with no scope, or a price that changes as soon as you ask what is included.
8. What is the contract term, and how do I leave?
A good answer is a short initial term, month-to-month after that and a clear notice period. AEO and GEO results build slowly, so a few months is a fair trial, but a twelve-month lock-in before any baseline is delivered shifts all the risk to you.
A weak answer is an auto-renewing annual agreement with a cancellation fee and no exit clause tied to missed deliverables.
9. What do you refuse to guarantee, and who does the work?
A good answer starts with the refusal. No honest provider guarantees that ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity will mention you, because those systems choose their own sources. They commit to work and measurement instead. They should also name who does the work: their own staff, a contractor or an offshore team, and who you can call.
A weak answer is a promised number of mentions, a promised ranking or a vague team. That is the one answer worth walking away over, whatever else the proposal says.
Good answer versus weak answer: all nine questions side by side
The table below puts the nine questions next to what a good answer sounds like and what a weak one sounds like, so you can score a call while it is happening.
| # | Question | A good answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How do you test AI answers? | Fixed prompts, logged-out sessions, more than one assistant, results recorded | "We monitor AI visibility" with no sample |
| 2 | What baseline do you take? | Dated snapshot in weeks 1 to 4, shared with you | "We start optimizing right away" |
| 3 | Can I see a report and real work? | Redacted report or an honest "not yet" with their own site as proof | Undated screenshots, no method |
| 4 | What will you change? | A named list of pages, schema, listings and profile fields | "We optimize your content for AI" |
| 5 | Who writes and checks content? | Named writer, an editor and your approval on facts | "Our AI handles it" |
| 6 | Do I own the accounts? | Yes, you hold every login and the agency is a user | "We manage that for you" |
| 7 | What is in the fee? | Itemised scope, hours or deliverables, extras listed | One flat price, no scope |
| 8 | What is the term? | Short trial, then month-to-month, clear notice | Annual auto-renewal with a fee to leave |
| 9 | What do you refuse to guarantee? | Mentions and rankings, plus a named team | A promised number of mentions |
Red flags that should end the conversation
A red flag is any claim that removes your ability to verify the work, and a single one is usually enough to stop the conversation. Treat these as automatic fails, whatever the price.
- Guaranteed mentions. Anyone promising placement in an AI assistant is promising something they do not control.
- Secret methods. "Proprietary" is fine for software. It is not fine for what is changed on your own website.
- No baseline. If they will not measure first, they cannot show progress later.
- Fake-looking proof. Round percentages, unnamed clients and testimonials with no business behind them.
- Login hoarding. If they will not add you as owner on your own accounts, treat it as a hostage situation.
- Pressure to sign today. A good provider is comfortable with you comparing proposals. For a wider checklist that applies to any vendor, our guide on how to choose an SEO company in London goes through the same traps from the search side.
If a provider also treats AEO as a separate product from SEO and sells both with overlapping tasks, ask which deliverables are duplicated. For most local businesses, the work belongs in one plan.
A one-page vendor scorecard and decision rule
A vendor scorecard turns nine answers into one number, so the decision does not depend on who was most persuasive on the call. Print this page, score each question from 0 to 2 and total the result.
- Score 2 when the answer is specific, checkable and matches the good-answer column.
- Score 1 when the answer is reasonable but vague, and you would need it in writing.
- Score 0 when the answer matches the weak-answer column or is avoided.
| Total out of 18 | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 18 | The agency answers clearly and openly | Ask for a written scope and a short initial term, then proceed |
| 11 to 14 | Some answers are vague | Send the weak questions back in writing and score again |
| 0 to 10 | The agency cannot show how it works | Move on to the next proposal |
Add one override: any score of 0 on question 9 ends the process, whatever the total. An agency willing to promise mentions has already told you how it handles the truth.
For a small business in Middlesex County, the scorecard also keeps you honest about your own needs. If you serve customers in London, Woodstock, Ingersoll and St. Thomas, ask each vendor how service-area pages and your Google Business Profile will be handled for each town, because each town needs its own accurate details to be described correctly.
Want a second opinion on a proposal?
Send us the quote you received and we will score it against these nine questions. You can also start with our free SEO audit, or read how our AI search optimization service is scoped, so you have a comparison point.
What to do this week
This week, run the ChatGPT check on your own business, collect two proposals and score both on the same page. The comparison takes about an hour, and it protects a budget you will spend over many months.
- Run ten prompts about your business and save the answers with the date.
- Ask each agency the nine questions in writing, not only on a call.
- Score the replies, apply the question 9 override and compare totals.
- Ask the top-scoring agency for a written scope, a short initial term and account access in your name.
That order puts evidence ahead of enthusiasm, which is the main protection you have in a market where the vocabulary changes faster than the results.