AEO and GEO became popular enough, fast enough, that a lot of agencies added the terms to their service pages without changing much about how they actually work. That's not necessarily dishonest. It's a normal response to a hot term, and it means the burden is on you to ask questions specific enough to tell the difference between a genuine capability and a rebrand. A few direct questions in a sales call usually reveal which one you're actually looking at.
- Can you show a specific example of getting a brand cited by an AI assistant, not just ranked in search? Ranking and citation are related but different outcomes. An agency that can only point to traditional ranking improvements is likely still selling SEO with new terminology attached.
- How do you test whether content actually gets cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity? These systems behave differently from each other. An agency without a real testing process across multiple platforms is guessing rather than measuring.
- What changes in how you write content specifically for AI-search visibility? The honest answer involves structure, directness, and extractability, not just keyword targeting with different vocabulary layered on top.
- How do you strengthen authority signals beyond the content itself? Citation and trust signals matter as much as the writing. An agency with no answer here is only addressing half the problem.
- How often do you revisit and update AEO and GEO strategy? These systems change quickly. A one-time optimization project with no ongoing monitoring will likely be outdated within months.
- Can this work alongside our existing SEO, or does it require starting over? A good answer treats AEO and GEO as connected to existing SEO work, not as a replacement requiring a fresh start.
- What does a realistic timeline for visible results actually look like? Anyone promising fast, dramatic citation gains is likely overselling. This is a genuinely newer discipline, and honest timelines reflect that.
- What's the single test you use to judge whether a piece of content is actually AI-search ready? A specific, concrete answer here, something like whether a model could state the core claim accurately in one sentence, is a strong signal of real experience. A vague answer usually isn't.
None of these questions require a technical background to ask. What they require is patience for a specific answer instead of a confident but generic one, and that patience usually pays off before the contract gets signed, not after.
For the fundamentals, see our explainer on how AEO, GEO, and SEO actually differ.