Choosing a GEO partner: Eight questions worth asking

A couple of years ago, very few agencies mentioned generative engine optimisation. Now it's hard to find one that doesn't.

That's no bad thing, it's a sign of how quickly AI search has become part of the marketing mix. But it does make it harder to choose an agency. The language on most service pages sounds similar, and "AI visibility" can mean anything from a monthly dashboard to a full programme of content, technical and PR work.

If you're weighing up your options, these are the questions we'd ask.

1. Are they honest about what can and can't be controlled?

No one can guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your brand. AI models update often, draw on different sources and can give different answers to the same question from one day to the next. A good partner will be upfront about that, and focus instead on a clear baseline, a transparent method and honest measurement over time.

2. Where do their prompts come from?

The prompts an agency tests shape everything that follows, so it's worth asking how they're built. Are they grounded in your commercial priorities, your analytics and your competitive landscape? Do you get to review them before tracking starts? More prompts don't automatically mean better insight, the right prompts do.

3. Which platforms do they look at?

Your customers won't all be using the same tool. Check which AI platforms are covered and whether that reflects your audience. It's also worth remembering that AI and traditional search work together: around half of UK consumers who use AI for local search then check Google or Bing to verify what they've found. For B2B audiences working in Microsoft environments, ask specifically about Copilot and Bing.

4. Can they explain the why, not just the what?

"Your competitor has more citations" describes a symptom. A useful partner will tell you why, the content, entity, authority or technical gap behind the result. Ask to see an example finding. If it doesn't point to something your team could act on, that tells you a lot.

5. How will they connect AI visibility to revenue?

Share of voice is interesting, but pipeline is what gets budgets renewed. Ask how the agency will link AI visibility to the data your leadership team already relies on, such as analytics, paid media and CRM. If the answer stops at a visibility score, proving return will be difficult later.

6. Who actually makes the changes?

This is the one that's easy to overlook. GEO recommendations usually span content, technical SEO, schema, digital PR and sometimes the website itself. If a partner can only diagnose, you'll need to brief the work elsewhere, and momentum has a habit of getting lost between teams. Ask whether they can deliver the roadmap as well as write it, and how they'll work alongside your in-house teams.

7. What do you get first, and what comes next?

A good engagement usually starts with a clearly scoped diagnostic: a baseline, a competitor benchmark, a gap analysis and a prioritised plan. You should know exactly what you'll receive and when. Then ask what happens afterwards. AI visibility shifts as models change, so a single snapshot dates quickly; look for a regular cycle of re-benchmarking and roadmap updates.

8. Is the method theirs, or the tool's?

Plenty of GEO offers are built around a tracking platform. Tools are valuable, but they're evidence rather than strategy. Ask how the agency turns that data into decisions, and whether there's a connected method running from business goals through to prompts, sources, content, entities and technical factors.

How we'd answer them

We built our GEO service with these questions in mind. We don't guarantee AI mentions. We build 75+ prompts from your commercial data and agree them with you before tracking. We test across the leading AI platforms and look at why each answer happens, not just whether you appear. We connect what we find to your paid, CRM and analytics data. And as a full-service agency with over 20 years of building websites, the team that finds the gaps can help close them - across SEO, content, PR, paid media and development.

If you're comparing GEO partners, we'd be happy to answer these eight questions in person. Chat to an expert.

CTI offers GEO services. Read more in The GEO Mindset Shift.