Is a Generative AI Search Engine Optimization Agency Worth It?

A generative AI search engine optimization agency is worth hiring when your customers already ask Google, ChatGPT or Perplexity who to choose, and you don't have the hours to keep your site eligible, accurate and worth citing.

If neither is true yet, you can do much of the groundwork yourself and save the agency budget for later.

This page is for owners of small businesses deciding which camp they're in.

You'll see what the work includes, which business types gain most, the real risks and the questions to ask before you sign anything.

If you want a second opinion on your own site, book a free SEO strategy session with my team.

How your customers search now

A customer who once typed "plumber near me" into Google may now ask a chatbot to compare three local plumbers.

Google describes AI Mode on its AI features page as built for nuanced questions, comparisons and exploration that might once have taken several searches.

OpenAI's guide to ChatGPT search says web search is available on the free plan and to people who aren't signed in, so the audience is not limited to tech fans.

Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot answer the same kinds of questions with links back to sources.

Generative search means any of these tools writing an answer and citing the websites behind it.

Your goal is simple: be one of those cited websites when the question is about what you sell.

What the agency actually does for you

Strip away the jargon and the work falls into five buckets.

Access checks. Making sure Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude can reach your site at all.
Page fixes. Rewriting your service pages so they answer real customer questions with facts only you know.
Business details. Keeping your name, address, hours and services consistent on your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
Mentions and links. Earning coverage on relevant sites through outreach, not shortcuts.
Reporting. Showing where you appear in AI answers and which visits turn into enquiries.

A good agency explains each change before making it.

Google's advice on hiring an SEO says your SEO should share every change and the reasoning behind it, and that is a fair standard to hold anyone to.

The fair part: Google calls it SEO

Some agencies sell generative search as a brand-new discipline with its own secret rules.

Google disagrees, and its generative AI optimization guide says that optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO from Google Search's perspective.

Its AI features page goes further: there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special optimizations needed.

That doesn't make an agency pointless.

It means you are paying for skilled, consistent SEO work that covers more surfaces, not for a magic file or a hidden switch.

Bing's guidelines make the same point for Copilot: the same foundation sits under classic search and AI answers.

📞 Not sure if your business needs outside help yet? Book a free SEO strategy session and we'll tell you straight whether to hire, wait or do the groundwork yourself. → Get a plain-English verdict on your site

Five business types that gain the most

Some businesses see more from generative search because their customers ask comparison questions before they buy.

A dental clinic

List the treatments patients ask about most, such as implants, whitening and emergency visits.
Give each treatment its own page written with input from the dentist who performs it.
Keep opening hours, emergency contact details and the practice address the same on every listing.
Ask happy patients for reviews in the normal way, without incentives, which Google's review policy bans.

An accountancy firm

Write one page per service: bookkeeping, year-end accounts, tax returns, payroll.
Add a short section on who each service suits, for example sole traders or growing limited companies.
Name the qualified accountants and their professional memberships on the team page.
Answer common deadline questions in plain words and update them when the rules change.

An independent café or bakery

Keep the Google Business Profile menu, hours and photos current every season.
Publish a simple page on what makes the food different, such as where the flour comes from.
Add allergy and dietary information as visible text, not only inside a menu image.

A small online shop

Keep the Merchant Center feed accurate, since Google lists it as a best practice for AI features.
Write product descriptions from real use, with sizing notes and care instructions.
Create a short buying guide for each main category that answers the questions customers email about.

A B2B consultancy

Publish a case write-up for each core service, with the client's permission.
Explain your method in a way a buyer can compare against other providers.
Keep the company description identical on LinkedIn, the site and industry directories.

The pattern is the same each time: real details, consistent facts and pages that answer the next question.

When you can do it yourself

Google's hiring page says the owner of a small local business can probably do much of the work alone.

It suggests starting with the SEO starter guide, which covers most of what an agency would do.

You can manage these jobs without help:

Claiming and filling in your Google Business Profile completely.
Writing accurate service pages in your own words.
Checking that your website builder isn't blocking search crawlers.
Asking customers for reviews after a good job.

Bring in help when the jobs get technical, when you have many locations or products, or when your time is better spent serving customers.

If you'd like to learn the AI side yourself, the AI Profit Boardroom teaches AI SEO for business owners step by step.

Risks to weigh before you sign

Hiring the wrong provider can do real harm, and Google is blunt about it.

Google says an irresponsible SEO can damage your site and your reputation.
Deceptive content created on your behalf could get your site removed from Google's index.
Paid links that pass ranking credit break Google's link spam rules unless they carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
Mass-produced pages aimed at every search variation can fall under Google's scaled content abuse policy.
You stay responsible for what any agency does, a point Google makes on its hiring page.

There's also a softer risk: paying for work Google says you don't need, such as an llms.txt file to help Google rankings.

Google's guide says Google Search ignores llms.txt, though other services may read it.

Questions to ask before you sign

Use these in your first call and write down the answers.

Can you show examples of past work and put me in touch with a client?
Do you follow Google Search Essentials, and do you cite Google's own documentation for your advice?
Does your AEO or GEO advice line up with what Google publishes about generative AI features?
What results do you expect, over what timeframe, and how will you measure them?
What experience do you have with businesses like mine?
Will you share every change you make and explain why?
How do you build links, and how do you label any paid placements?

Want to practise these questions on a real proposal? Book a free SEO strategy session and bring it with you.

Walk away from anyone who promises first place.

Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, and OpenAI says placement in ChatGPT search is not guaranteed.

What a sensible first month looks like

Nobody can promise results in a month, but you should see clear activity.

A written audit of crawler access, page quality and business listings.
A short list of your most important pages and what will change on each.
Read-only access set up, as Google recommends during an audit.
A baseline report so later progress can be compared fairly.

If the first month produces only a slide deck and an invoice, ask harder questions.

How you'll know it's working

Ask for numbers you can check yourself.

Impressions in AI features from Google's Generative AI performance reports in Search Console.
Copilot citations from Bing's AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools.
Visits from chatgpt.com in your analytics, which in our own observation often carry utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Enquiries, calls and bookings from those visits.

Google says visitors who click from results pages with AI Overviews tend to spend more time on the site, so watch quality as well as volume.

What an agency won't fix for you

Some problems sit outside search entirely, and no provider can solve them with SEO work.

Slow replies to enquiries: an AI answer can send a customer your way, but they still judge how fast you respond.
Poor reviews from real customers: the fix is better service, not more pages.
A website you can't edit: if your builder locks you out, sort access before hiring anyone.
Unclear services: if you can't explain what you sell in two sentences, neither can a chatbot.

Sorting these first makes any agency far more effective, and makes later search work easier to measure.

Where Julian's agency fits

Julian Goldie runs Goldie Agency, which covers SEO, GEO, AEO and link building for its clients.

According to Julian's own published figures, the agency has run 1,000+ SEO and link building campaigns, worked with 240+ clients and holds a 100% Job Success Score on Upwork.

It describes its link building as "manual outreach, no PBNs", and Julian shares AI SEO tests with 425K+ subscribers on YouTube.

For a related read, see our guide on how to rank in ChatGPT.

🔥 Rather learn AI SEO yourself first? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, the installable Agent OS and four live coaching calls every week, built for business owners doing the work in-house. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom

A five-minute decision checklist

Answer yes or no to each line.

Do customers compare providers before they contact you?
Do you have more than a handful of services, products or locations?
Has your site gone unchanged for over a year?
Are you too busy to write and update pages yourself?
Do you want help measuring AI visibility?

Three or more yeses suggest outside help is worth exploring; fewer suggest starting with the starter guide and your Business Profile.

📞 Got three or more yeses? Book a free SEO strategy session and we'll walk through your site and listings with you, no obligation. → Book your free call with my team

🎁 Two free resources for owners Grab the 200+ AI SEO Prompts and the free link building book. They help whether you hire an agency or do it yourself.

Also On Our Network

FAQ: Is a Generative AI Search Engine Optimization Agency Worth It for a Small Business?

Is a generative AI search engine optimization agency different from a normal SEO agency?

The foundation is the same. Google says optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO, so the difference is mostly wider coverage of ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot plus AI-specific reporting.

Can a small local business do this without an agency?

Often, yes. Google says a small local business owner can probably do much of the work, starting with its SEO starter guide.

Which businesses benefit most from generative search work?

Businesses whose customers compare options before buying, such as clinics, accountants, consultancies and online shops with many products.

What should make me walk away from an agency?

A guaranteed #1 ranking or ChatGPT mention, secret methods, private blog networks, or a request that you link to them.

How long before I see results?

Nobody can promise a timeframe. Ask the agency what they expect and how they will measure it, which is one of the questions Google suggests.

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About Julian

I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.

I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.

I've built a 7-figure SEO and link building agency, Goldie Agency, with a team of 70+ SEO experts.
I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
I wrote "Link Building Mastery".
My Udemy courses have taught over 29,000 students.

→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom

Start with fair pages and accurate listings, then book a free strategy session if you want to know whether a generative AI search engine optimization agency is worth it for your business.