GEO Services: Who Can Help You Rank in AI Search

You've read the articles about generative engine optimization. You understand that AI search is changing how people discover content and products. Now you're sitting in front of your laptop thinking: "Should I hire someone to handle this, or can I figure it out myself?"

Here's the honest answer that most GEO service providers don't want you to hear: the market for generative engine optimization services is still immature. There's no standardized playbook, no universally agreed-upon metrics, and a lot of agencies are repackaging traditional SEO as "GEO" without adding meaningful new value. That doesn't mean good options don't exist — it means you need to know exactly what to look for and what to avoid.

This guide is a no-BS overview of the GEO services landscape: what's actually available, what it costs, who does it well, and when it makes sense to invest versus handling it yourself. We'll also flag the red flags that separate legitimate providers from those capitalizing on hype.

What GEO Services Actually Include

A legitimate GEO service should cover three core pillars, and if a provider isn't addressing all three, they're likely rebranding traditional SEO:

AI Citation Audit and Strategy. This is the foundation: analyzing how (and whether) AI models currently cite your content, identifying gaps, and creating a prioritized roadmap. A good provider will test your brand across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for your target queries and benchmark your citation rate against competitors.

Content Optimization for AI Models. This goes beyond traditional content optimization. It includes restructuring content for extraction, adding proper entity markup, ensuring citation-friendly formatting, building topic authority clusters, and creating content specifically designed to answer the queries AI users ask. The best providers understand the different preferences of each AI model and optimize accordingly.

Technical GEO Implementation. This covers structured data markup (schema), site architecture changes, entity optimization, cross-platform presence building, and monitoring setup. For a detailed look at what technical GEO involves, check out our generative engine optimization guide.

Actionable takeaway: Before engaging any GEO service provider, ask them to describe these three pillars in their own words. If they can't clearly articulate how AI citation optimization differs from traditional SEO, keep looking.

The Three Types of GEO Providers

The market breaks down into three categories, each with distinct advantages and limitations:

Specialized GEO agencies

A small but growing number of agencies focus specifically on GEO or have dedicated GEO practices within larger SEO agencies. These providers typically offer full-service engagement: strategy, content optimization, technical implementation, and ongoing monitoring. The advantage is hands-on expertise and custom strategy. The disadvantage is cost — expect $3,000-$15,000/month depending on scope — and the fact that truly experienced GEO practitioners are rare since the discipline is so new.

GEO software tools

Software tools automate parts of the GEO process: monitoring AI citations, suggesting content optimizations, tracking visibility across AI platforms, and identifying opportunities. These are more affordable ($100-$500/month typically) and provide ongoing data that agencies may only report monthly. The tradeoff is that you need in-house expertise to act on the data. A tool can tell you that Claude isn't citing your e-commerce content, but you still need to know how to fix it.

DIY with education

The most cost-effective approach for smaller teams: learn the principles yourself through guides, courses, and experimentation, then implement in-house. Resources like our breakdown of why GEO matters give you a foundation, and the GEO community is still small and collaborative enough that practitioners actively share insights. The cost is primarily time — expect to invest 10-15 hours per week initially — and you'll move slower without expert guidance.

Pricing Comparison: What GEO Services Actually Cost

Let's talk real numbers. Here's what you can expect to pay across different service tiers:

A critical caveat: pricing in this space is volatile because the market is immature. Some agencies are charging enterprise rates for what amounts to basic content restructuring, while some talented freelancers are undercharging because they haven't yet established a track record. Price alone tells you very little about quality.

Actionable takeaway: Start with a monitoring tool to understand your baseline. That data will help you make an informed decision about whether you need agency support or can handle optimization in-house.

Red Flags: How to Spot GEO Snake Oil

The newness of GEO means the space is ripe for charlatans. Here are the warning signs that a provider is selling hype rather than substance:

Guaranteed citations. Nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT or Claude will cite your content. AI model behavior changes with updates, and no external party controls what these models choose to reference. Any provider promising guaranteed citations is either lying or doesn't understand how AI models work.

Proprietary 'AI ranking algorithms.' Some providers claim to have cracked the code on how AI models rank and select sources. While research into AI citation patterns is legitimate, anyone claiming a proprietary algorithm that guarantees results is overselling. The major AI models are black boxes, and their behavior changes with each update.

No measurement framework. If a provider can't clearly explain how they'll measure success, that's a dealbreaker. Good GEO providers will define specific KPIs — citation rate across AI platforms, AI-referred traffic, branded query volume in AI — and establish baselines before starting work.

Only focused on one AI model. A provider that only optimizes for ChatGPT is leaving the majority of AI search traffic unaddressed. Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews all matter, and each has different content preferences. Comprehensive GEO addresses all major platforms.

Repackaged traditional SEO. Ask the provider what they do differently for GEO versus traditional SEO. If the answer is essentially the same list of services — keyword research, content writing, link building, technical SEO — with "AI" sprinkled in, you're paying a GEO premium for standard SEO work.

When to Hire vs. When to DIY

The decision isn't purely about budget — it's about your situation. Here's a framework for deciding. Understanding the differences between GEO and traditional SEO is a helpful starting point.

DIY makes sense when: You have a content team that's already producing quality material and just needs to adjust their approach. Your business has fewer than 100 pages of content to optimize. You're willing to invest 10-15 hours per week in learning and implementation. Your budget is under $2,000/month for marketing tools.

Hiring makes sense when: You have a large content library (500+ pages) that needs systematic optimization. Your team doesn't have capacity to learn a new discipline. You're in a highly competitive space where speed matters. AI search is already driving measurable traffic in your industry.

The hybrid approach often works best: Use a monitoring tool for ongoing tracking, hire a consultant for initial strategy and training (a 2-3 month engagement), then execute in-house with periodic check-ins. This gives you expert guidance without ongoing agency costs.

Actionable takeaway: Honestly assess your team's capacity and expertise. If you can dedicate a senior content person to GEO for 10+ hours per week, start with DIY plus a monitoring tool. If not, a short-term consulting engagement to set strategy is the highest-ROI investment.

An Honest Assessment of Market Maturity

Let's be straightforward about where the GEO services market stands in early 2026: it's where SEO services were in about 2005. The discipline is real and the opportunity is massive, but the infrastructure around it — standardized practices, reliable benchmarks, proven ROI models — is still being built.

This creates both risk and opportunity. The risk: you might pay for services that don't deliver measurable results because the provider is still figuring it out themselves. The opportunity: companies that invest in GEO now, even imperfectly, are building an advantage that will compound as AI search becomes a larger share of total search volume.

The most valuable thing a GEO service can provide right now isn't a magic formula — it's a systematic approach to testing, measuring, and iterating. The providers worth hiring are the ones who are honest about what's proven, what's experimental, and what the data actually shows. The ones who present GEO as a solved problem are the ones to avoid.

Actionable takeaway: Evaluate providers based on their intellectual honesty, not their confidence. The best GEO practitioners will tell you "here's what we know, here's what we're testing, and here's how we'll measure progress" rather than "we guarantee top AI citations in 90 days."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my existing SEO agency handle GEO?

Maybe, but you need to vet them specifically for GEO expertise. Ask them: How do you track AI citations? What's the difference between optimizing for Google AI Overviews vs. ChatGPT vs. Claude? Can you show me results from a current GEO client? If the answers are vague, they're likely just adding GEO to their service menu without genuine expertise behind it.

How long should a GEO service contract be?

Avoid long-term commitments initially. A good structure is a 3-month initial engagement with clear deliverables and KPIs, followed by month-to-month continuation if results warrant it. The first month should focus on audit and strategy, months two and three on implementation and initial optimization. If the provider insists on a 12-month contract upfront, that's a yellow flag — especially in a discipline this new.

What metrics should I track for GEO ROI?

Track AI citation rate (how often your brand appears in AI responses for target queries), AI-referred traffic (visits from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.), branded query volume (increasing brand searches indicate growing AI-driven awareness), and conversion rate from AI-referred traffic. The last metric is crucial — AI traffic often converts differently than organic search traffic, and understanding this helps you calculate true ROI.

Is GEO worth the investment for small businesses?

For most small businesses, the DIY-plus-tool approach offers the best ROI. The core principles of GEO — clear content structure, topic authority, proper entity optimization — are things you can implement yourself. Where small businesses should consider paid help is in the initial strategy phase: a one-time consulting engagement to build a roadmap can save months of trial and error.

How does GEO pricing compare to traditional SEO services?

Currently, GEO-specific services run about 20-40% higher than comparable traditional SEO services. This premium reflects the specialized expertise required and the smaller talent pool. As the market matures and more practitioners develop GEO skills, expect prices to normalize. In the meantime, the best value often comes from providers who integrate GEO into a broader SEO engagement rather than selling it as a standalone service.

The Bottom Line

The GEO services market is real but young. The best approach for most companies is to start with education and self-assessment, invest in a monitoring tool to establish baselines, and then make a data-driven decision about whether to bring in external help. If you do hire a provider, prioritize intellectual honesty and measurable frameworks over flashy promises.

The companies that will win in AI search aren't the ones who spend the most on GEO services — they're the ones who build systematic, measurable optimization processes early while the competition is still debating whether AI search matters. And the good news? Whether you hire an agency, use a tool, or go DIY, the fundamental principles are the same. The question is just how fast you want to move and how much hand-holding you need along the way.