Why choosing is hard right now
In eighteen months, “AI SEO” went from a niche to a line on almost every agency’s homepage. Some agencies rebuilt their process around how AI engines choose sources. Others renamed their existing SEO retainer. From the outside, the two look the same. These questions expose the difference quickly.
12 questions to ask
- Where does my brand appear in AI answers today? A good agency shows you, engine by engine, before you pay.
- Which prompts will you track, and can I see the list? It should read like real buyer questions, not a keyword dump.
- Which AI engines do you report on separately? They cite different sources; a single blended number hides that.
- What will you change on my site in the first 90 days? Expect specifics: pages, schema, crawler access, listings.
- Can I see a sample monthly report? Look for mention rate, share of voice, accuracy and leads.
- Who will actually do the work? Meet them.
- How do you use AI in your own process? “For research and testing, with human editing” is a good answer.
- How do you earn mentions off my site? They should name the kinds of sources, not a “network”.
- How do you connect visibility to revenue? GA4’s AI Assistant channel plus your CRM is the baseline.
- What will you not promise? Honest agencies answer this easily.
- Who owns the content, accounts and data? You should.
- What happens if results stall after three months? Listen for a plan, not excuses.
7 red flags
- Guaranteed rankings, or a promise that ChatGPT will recommend you.
- Screenshots as the only proof of results.
- No written methodology.
- Senior people on the sales call, juniors doing the work.
- Vague link “networks” they will not name.
- Accounts and data held in agency-owned logins.
- Large volumes of unedited AI content as the main deliverable.
Agency, consultant or in-house?
| Option | Best when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | You need monthly execution across many pages and outreach | Check who actually does the work |
| Consultant | You have a team to implement and need direction | Limited capacity for hands-on work |
| In-house | AI search is core to your growth and you can hire | Slow to build skills and tooling |
A simple scorecard
Score each agency from 1 to 5 on: visibility baseline shown, prompt list quality, technical depth, outreach approach, reporting, team you met, and contract terms. Compare totals, but treat any red flag as disqualifying, whatever the score.
Frequently asked questions
How many agencies should I talk to?
Two or three is enough. Ask them all the same questions and compare how specific the answers get.
Should I choose a local agency?
Being in the same city helps for workshops and local knowledge, but method and team matter more than distance.
How long should the first contract be?
Three months is a sensible first commitment: long enough to see foundations and early movement, short enough to exit if it is not working.
