How to Pick an SEO and GEO Agency That Actually Gets You Cited by AI

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-15

Hiring an SEO agency used to feel like a manageable task. You'd check their case studies, look at ranking history, agree on a reporting schedule, and sign. But that world has shifted. AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews now sit alongside — and often in front of — the traditional results page. And here's the catch: the skill set that earns you a spot in one doesn't automatically earn you a spot in the other. You could hire a perfectly competent SEO team and still be invisible in the answer an AI assistant gives a buyer researching your category. That's why more procurement conversations now name generative engine optimization (GEO) as a separate line item. They're not assuming any SEO vendor can bolt AI-visibility work onto an existing retainer. The two disciplines share a foundation — a crawlable, well-structured, credible website — but they're measured differently, reported differently, and often require different specialists to execute well. Treating them as identical is one of the most common ways brands end up disappointed six months into a contract. ### SEO vs. GEO: What's the Real Difference? Traditional SEO is still mostly about earning a ranking position and a click. Backlinks, on-page relevance, and technical health decide who shows up in the ten blue links. GEO, on the other hand, is about earning a citation inside an answer the user never has to click through. It's decided by entity authority, structured data, and independent mentions the AI system trusts. The overlap in the middle is where most of your budget should go. Content that's genuinely well-sourced and clearly structured tends to perform in both systems at once. That's exactly what a competent combined agency should be optimizing for — not treating as two separate deliverables. ### What to Evaluate Before Signing A few questions tend to separate agencies with real GEO capability from ones that have simply relabeled an existing service: - **Documented proof in both channels.** Ask for actual ranking data alongside specific, verifiable examples of the agency's content being cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or AI Overviews. A screenshot of a single citation isn't a track record; ask how many clients, and over what period. - **A technical foundation, not just content tricks.** The strongest GEO work is usually built on the same technical rigor as strong SEO — crawlability, site architecture, structured data — rather than treated as a separate content exercise layered on top. If an agency can't speak to your site's technical health, its GEO plan is likely just content rewrites. - **A real measurement method.** Standard rank trackers don't capture whether a brand was cited inside an AI answer. Ask exactly how the agency tracks citation frequency and "share of voice" across AI platforms, how often that gets reported, and what a baseline audit looks like before work starts. - **Transparent, scoped pricing.** Mid-market GEO retainers typically run in a fairly wide band — from $3,000 to $15,000 per month. Ask what's actually included at each tier: audits, content production, digital PR, ongoing monitoring. Don't accept a vague monthly number. - **Fit with your industry.** Some agencies specialize by vertical, client size, or number of markets served. A firm built for enterprise technical SEO audits isn't necessarily the right fit for a regional service business, and vice versa. ### SEO and GEO Agencies to Consider Here's a quick look at how a few agencies in this space split their work between traditional SEO and GEO, and who each tends to serve, based on what they publish about their own services. | Agency | Traditional SEO | GEO | Best For | |--------|----------------|-----|----------| | Panem Agency | Technical, on-page, off-page, and local SEO | AI citation audits, schema/E-E-A-T content builds, and monthly AI-visibility scorecards across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity | Brands that want a single partner handling both channels | ### The Bottom Line Choosing the right agency isn't about finding someone who claims to do it all. It's about finding someone who can prove they understand the difference between ranking and being cited — and who has the technical chops to make both happen. Ask the hard questions. Look for real evidence. Your future visibility in AI answers depends on it.