At some point in the last year, a client has asked you about AI search. Maybe they heard that ChatGPT isn't recommending their business. Maybe they noticed a competitor getting named in AI responses and wanted to know why. Maybe they just asked whether your SEO work covers "the AI stuff."
If you didn't have a clear answer, you're not alone. Most agencies don't yet have a defined GEO offering not because they don't care, but because the discipline is new and the language around it is still forming.
This post explains what GEO is, why it's genuinely different from what you're already doing, and what it looks like as a service your agency can offer.
The Short Version
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is the practice of getting AI tools like ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity to recommend a business by name. It's not the same as SEO. It targets a different channel, uses different signals, and requires different deliverables. For agencies, it's an opportunity to add a high-value, recurring service that your clients need and almost no one is currently providing well.
| Traditional SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Google search rankings | AI recommendation engines |
| Success metric | Page rank, traffic | Citation frequency, engine coverage |
| Primary signals | Backlinks, page authority, technical health | Reviews, consistency, FAQ content, credibility signals |
| Where results show | Google search results list | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews |
| What success looks like | "Your page ranks #3 for [keyword]" | "ChatGPT names your business for [query]" |
| Update cycle | Weeks to months | Weeks to months, varies by platform |
Why Your Current SEO Work Doesn't Cover This
SEO and GEO share some foundational elements clear content, credible sources, technical website health. But the things that drive AI recommendations go well beyond what a standard SEO engagement covers.
Reviews. For local and service businesses, the volume and recency of Google reviews is one of the most powerful signals AI uses to evaluate credibility. This isn't typically part of an SEO scope.
Off-site consistency. AI cross-references business information across Google, Yelp, LinkedIn, industry directories, and dozens of other platforms. Inconsistencies in a business name, address, or description across these platforms suppresses AI recommendations even when the website is perfectly optimized. This isn't a standard SEO deliverable.
FAQ content format. AI actively pulls from question-and-answer formatted content. Writing FAQ sections with complete paragraph answers not bullet points, not vague descriptions is a specific content format that most SEO content strategies don't prioritize.
The hidden business information layer. Adding the specific, machine-readable code to a website that tells AI exactly who the business is requires different expertise and deliverables than standard on-page SEO.
Your clients need all of this. And right now, it's probably not in scope.
What a GEO Engagement Actually Looks Like
Here's what a GEO audit and implementation covers:
Phase 1: Audit (one-time)
- Test the client's current AI visibility across ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok
- Identify the gap between where they are and where competitors are being cited
- Assess eight dimensions: citation frequency, engine coverage, website setup, content clarity, credibility signals, profile consistency, FAQ coverage, and competitor comparison
- Deliver a prioritized list of findings with specific recommendations
Phase 2: Implementation (one-time or ongoing)
- Set up the correct business information on the website homepage
- Audit and fix directory and profile inconsistencies
- Write or restructure FAQ sections across key pages
- Optimize the Google Business Profile
- Create an llms.txt file (the AI-specific instruction file for the website)
- Build out any missing content that addresses gaps in what AI can find
Phase 3: Monitoring (ongoing)
- Monthly AI visibility tracking across major platforms
- Reporting on citation frequency, engine coverage, and movement
- Quarterly re-audits as AI platforms update
- Ongoing content additions as new search patterns emerge
This is a repeatable, scalable service. The audit is the entry point. Implementation is the project. Monitoring is the retainer.
How to Price It
Agencies currently offering GEO are pricing it in a few different ways:
Bundled with existing retainers. Adding a monthly GEO report and quarterly audit to an existing SEO retainer, with an added monthly fee. This is the easiest entry point if you have existing clients.
As a standalone audit. A one-time deliverable typically a detailed report covering all eight visibility dimensions with prioritized recommendations and implementation guidance. This is a good entry point for new client conversations and for clients who want to understand their position before committing to ongoing work.
As a full ongoing service. Audit + implementation + monthly monitoring, priced as a separate retainer. This is the highest-value option and makes sense for clients who are actively investing in their digital presence.
The right price depends on your market and your positioning. What's consistent across agencies that are doing this well: the audit deliverable is detailed enough to stand alone as a valuable report, and the monitoring retainer is tied to specific, measurable outcomes citation frequency, engine coverage that clients can see improving over time.
Partnering With Cited by AI
If you want to add GEO to your agency's offering without building the expertise and tooling from scratch, Cited by AI works with agencies as a white-label partner.
That means you can offer a professional GEO audit and implementation under your agency's brand, backed by our platform and process. We handle the technical execution. You own the client relationship.
If you're interested in exploring what that looks like for your agency, book a call and we can walk through the specifics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I just add GEO to my existing SEO process? GEO requires different tools, different deliverables, and different expertise. The signals that drive AI recommendations review volume, off-site consistency, FAQ content structure, the machine-readable business information layer aren't standard parts of an SEO workflow. Some agencies have adapted their process to include these elements, but doing it well typically means treating GEO as a separate service rather than a checkbox added to an existing report.
How do I explain GEO to a client who hasn't heard of it? The simplest framing: SEO gets you found when someone searches Google and clicks through to a website. GEO gets your business named when someone asks an AI tool for a recommendation. The client experience is completely different instead of scrolling through search results, they get a direct answer. "You should call [Business Name]." That's what GEO delivers. Most clients immediately understand the value when you put it that way.
What tools do I need to offer this? At a minimum: access to the major AI platforms for manual testing, a process for auditing directory consistency, and the ability to implement the machine-readable business information layer on client websites. For scale, you'll want a tracking system that automates monthly citation checks across platforms. The Cited by AI platform was built specifically for this and is available for agency use.
How do I know if a client's AI visibility is actually improving? Track citation frequency the number of times the client's business is named in AI responses to relevant test searches across a consistent set of searches month over month. Track engine coverage how many of the six major AI platforms mention the client. These two numbers, tracked consistently over time, are the clearest evidence of progress.
Is GEO a one-time project or an ongoing service? Both, depending on the client. The audit and initial implementation is a one-time project. Ongoing monitoring, content additions, and quarterly re-audits are where the recurring revenue lives. AI platforms update their models on different schedules, competitors are constantly adding content, and new search patterns emerge which means there's genuine, ongoing work to do, not just a set-it-and-forget-it setup.
What types of clients benefit most from GEO? Local service businesses see the fastest and most measurable results because AI recommendations for local searches are already significant and growing quickly. Professional services financial advisors, lawyers, therapists, healthcare providers benefit because AI recommendations carry enormous weight in high-trust categories. B2B companies benefit because buyers are increasingly using AI to build vendor shortlists before ever contacting a sales team.
Your clients are already asking about AI. The agencies that build a credible GEO offering now will have a meaningful advantage over the next few years both in retaining current clients and attracting new ones who need this work done.
Book a call to learn how Cited by AI works with agencies and what a white-label partnership looks like.
