Quick answer: A GEO agency should help improve your public information, technical discoverability, useful content and visibility measurement across specified AI experiences. A clear engagement defines the pages, evidence, implementation and reporting involved. Ask how the work overlaps with SEO, what your team must provide and how uncertainty is handled. Guaranteed assistant recommendations are not a credible deliverable.
In this guide: Look for a defined diagnostic phase · Compare the deliverables · Understand what is not under the agency's control · Ask how SEO and GEO work will be coordinated · Review the reporting sample · Set a sensible first scope · Frequently asked questions
GEO proposals can be difficult to compare because the term covers several kinds of work. One provider may offer content production, another monitoring, and another technical consulting. Start with your business objective before comparing packages.
If you want more suitable agency enquiries, an engagement should explain how it supports that journey. If you want factual brand accuracy, the scope may focus more on information consistency and observed responses.
Look for a defined diagnostic phase
The provider should inspect a relevant set of pages, identify the intended audience and establish a baseline. A useful audit distinguishes verified findings from areas that were not checked.
Ask what information is needed from you. Service scope, pricing, customer questions and case-study evidence cannot be reliably invented by an external agency or AI tool. A provider that promises to establish expertise without any access to genuine expertise deserves further scrutiny.
The initial output should be an actionable backlog with priorities, owners and verification methods. A score without an explanation of how to improve the business information is not enough.
Compare the deliverables
| Work area | A concrete deliverable | A question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Technical review | Findings for specified pages and access controls. | Which checks were actually performed? |
| Business identity | Corrections to service, company and contact information. | Which sources can we legitimately update? |
| Content | Named articles or page revisions with briefs and evidence. | What useful contribution will each page make? |
| Implementation | Agreed changes in the CMS or a handover with acceptance criteria. | Who publishes and verifies the work? |
| Measurement | A prompt set, saved observations and clear definitions. | What does the sample represent? |
| Maintenance | Update triggers and review responsibilities. | What happens when the offer or platform changes? |
Request quantities only where they help define scope. “Eight articles” is clearer than “unlimited optimization,” but quantity still needs quality criteria and a reason for each topic.
Understand what is not under the agency's control
The provider can improve a page, check its accessibility and record assistant outputs. It does not control every user prompt, model change, source-selection decision or competitor action.
That does not make the work unmeasurable. It means the report should distinguish completed work, observed visibility and commercial outcomes. A claim that a technical fix caused a specific recommendation needs stronger evidence than events occurring in sequence.
The same care applies to third-party coverage. Legitimate professional mentions and genuine reviews can help people assess a business. Fabricated endorsements, paid fake reviews and undisclosed comparison sites are not credible substitutes for evidence.
Ask how SEO and GEO work will be coordinated
Many activities overlap: content research, internal links, clear service pages and technical access. Ask whether your existing SEO provider already performs some of the proposed work. Avoid paying twice for the same page revision under different labels.
Platform-specific recommendations should cite current documentation. The agency should distinguish ChatGPT Search, Gemini Apps and Google Search's AI features. It should also distinguish search access from model-training permissions rather than treating every crawler setting as interchangeable.
For structured data, ask what the markup describes and whether it agrees with the page. Do not accept “special AI schema” as an unexplained shortcut.
Review the reporting sample
Ask to see a sample report before agreeing to a retainer. It should name the prompts, products, dates, language and counting method. Branded prompts should be separated from unbranded discovery. Failed or inconclusive observations should not silently disappear.
The report should connect findings to a next action. If the only output is a changing visibility score, ask what decision the business can make from it.
If referral and enquiry data is included, ensure the report distinguishes observed attribution from proven incremental revenue. Small samples should be described as small samples.
Set a sensible first scope
A starting engagement could define a priority-page audit, a set of agreed content improvements and a repeatable monitoring method. The appropriate size depends on the website, evidence available and internal capacity. There is no universal article count or package price that suits every business.
Confirm the actual services in a written proposal. Educational GEO content on an agency website does not by itself establish the scope or availability of a particular package.
Frequently asked questions
Should a GEO agency guarantee results?
It can commit to deliverables, process and reporting standards. It cannot responsibly guarantee that an independent assistant will recommend your business in every relevant conversation.
Is a monitoring-only service useful?
It can be, if you already have people who can interpret the evidence and implement improvements. Be clear that monitoring and implementation are different services.
What is the biggest warning sign in a proposal?
An unexplained promise of guaranteed visibility, supported only by proprietary scores or screenshots, should prompt detailed questions about evidence, scope and limitations.
Sources and further reading
Platform guidance checked on 12 October 2026. Frameworks and illustrative examples are editorial guidance; they are not platform ranking formulas or reported client results.
Continue reading
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- How to Run a GEO Audit: 20 Checks for Your Website and Brand
- How to Track Brand Mentions and Website Citations in ChatGPT and Gemini
Plan your next step. Discuss your website and marketing priorities with Stefano Marketing Agency. We can clarify your goals and agree on the appropriate scope.