6 green flags when choosing a GEO agency
1	Ask them to find themselves in an AI answer — live, in the room
2	Check that they lead with content strategy, not just technical fixes
3	Confirm they measure AI visibility specifically, not just rankings
4	Make sure they genuinely understand your industry
5	Verify they’re honest about what they can and can’t guarantee
6	Ensure they’re building on your SEO, not replacing it

Something shifted in search marketing over the past two years, and the agencies haven’t all caught up. AI-generated answers from Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others are increasingly the first thing your potential customers see when they go looking for what you offer. The businesses featured inside those answers win the customer’s attention before a single search result is clicked.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of agencies noticed this shift and started adding “GEO” to their service list. The problem is that GEO is new enough that there’s no standardized qualification, no obvious credential to look for, and no shortage of agencies charging significant monthly retainers without the results to back them up.

This guide is written for business owners who are seriously considering investing in GEO services and want to know what separates the agencies that genuinely deliver from those riding a trend. Here’s exactly what to look for and what should make you walk away.

What does a GEO agency actually do?

Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of making your business more likely to be cited, recommended, or mentioned inside AI-generated answers. When someone asks ChatGPT which accountant to use in their city, or Google’s AI which plumber is most trusted in their area, GEO is the work that influences whether your name comes up.

It’s different from traditional SEO in one important way: SEO gets you into the list of blue links below an AI answer. GEO gets you into the AI answer itself, which sits above everything else on the page and increasingly captures the customer’s attention before they scroll. If you want to understand how AI Overviews work in practice, our guide on AI overview optimization covers the fundamentals in plain language.

In practice, GEO work is roughly 80% content — building the kind of clear, credible, experience-driven material that AI systems judge trustworthy enough to cite — and 20% technical, covering things like structured markup and site architecture. Agencies that invert that ratio and lead with technical fixes are, in our experience, often missing the point.

6 green flags: what a good GEO agency looks like

1. They can show you their own GEO results

This is the single most useful test you can run, and it costs nothing. Before your first serious conversation with any GEO agency, open ChatGPT or Google’s AI search and ask a question they should be ranking for — something like “best GEO agencies for small businesses” or “who offers generative engine optimization services.”

Does their name come up?

If an agency can’t earn AI citations for their own business, in the field they claim to specialize in, that tells you something important. It doesn’t need to be perfect — AI citations fluctuate — but a credible GEO agency should be able to demonstrate at least some visibility in the AI answers relevant to their own services.

2. They lead with content strategy, not technical fixes

The first question a good GEO agency asks is: “What questions are your customers asking, and is your content the clearest, most credible answer to those questions?” That’s a content strategy conversation.

The first question a less-capable agency asks is: “Can we audit your schema markup and page speed?” Those things matter — but they’re table stakes. If an agency’s GEO pitch centers on technical SEO fixes, they’ve misunderstood what GEO actually requires. Technical foundations need to be in place, but they don’t determine whether an AI cites you. The quality and structure of your content does.

3. They measure AI visibility specifically

Traditional SEO metrics — keyword rankings, organic traffic — are necessary but not sufficient for GEO. If a potential agency can’t tell you specifically how they’ll track your visibility inside AI-generated answers, they’re not doing GEO. They’re doing SEO and calling it GEO.

Ask them directly: “What will appear in my monthly report?” The answer should include citation frequency across AI platforms, share of voice in AI answers for your target topics, and trends in branded search volume. If they show you a rankings dashboard and call it a day, walk away.

Questions to ask: Which AI platforms do you monitor? How do you track citation frequency? How do you attribute business impact to AI visibility improvements?

4. They genuinely understand your industry

Generic content doesn’t earn AI citations. AI systems are looking for credible, specific, experience-driven answers — not boilerplate that could apply to any business in any sector. An agency that spreads itself across 40 completely different industries often produces shallow content for all of them.

The best GEO agencies either specialize in a sector or take a genuinely deep-dive approach to each client’s business before writing a single word. When you speak to them, they should be asking intelligent questions about your customers, your competitors, and the specific questions people in your industry ask before making a decision. If they’re not asking those questions, they won’t produce content that earns citations.

5. They’re honest about what they can and can’t guarantee

No agency — none — can guarantee specific placements in AI-generated answers. The systems are dynamic, the citation patterns fluctuate, and Google doesn’t publish a rulebook for getting into its AI Overviews. Any agency that promises “you’ll appear in ChatGPT results within 60 days” is either overstating their capability or about to redefine “results” in ways that won’t translate to actual business impact.

What a credible agency can commit to: a clear, well-researched content strategy; measurable improvements in content quality and topical authority over time; and transparent, honest reporting on AI visibility trends. That’s the realistic value proposition. Be suspicious of anything that sounds more certain than that.

6. They’re building on your SEO, not replacing it

GEO and SEO aren’t competing disciplines — they’re complementary. Research consistently shows that the vast majority of content cited in AI Overviews also ranks well in traditional organic results. The content quality signals that earn AI citations — clarity, credibility, depth — are the same signals that improve your search rankings.

A GEO agency worth hiring will strengthen your existing SEO foundation, not ask you to abandon it. If an agency pitches GEO as a reason to overhaul everything you’ve already invested in, treat that as a red flag.

4 red flags: when to walk away

They can’t explain GEO in plain language

Jargon is sometimes a smokescreen. If an agency can’t explain what they do clearly — without acronyms, buzzwords, or references to “entity optimization frameworks” and “LLM retrieval mechanics” — they’re either still figuring it out themselves, or they’re deliberately making it hard for you to evaluate their work.

A simple test: ask them “If I already rank number one on Google, why do I also need GEO?” A good agency answers in two or three clear sentences. If you leave that answer more confused than when you started, that’s your answer.

Their own website content is thin or outdated

An agency’s website is their best portfolio piece — and the most honest signal of their actual capability. If their blog hasn’t been updated in six months, their articles are short and generic, or they don’t appear in AI answers for their own services, you’ve learned everything you need to know without spending a penny.

Look specifically at the depth of their published content. Do they have detailed, well-researched articles on GEO topics? Do those articles read like they were written by people with genuine expertise, or like content produced at volume to fill a page? The quality of their own content is a direct preview of the quality of content they’ll produce for you.

They’re pitching GEO as a quick win

Building the topical authority and content credibility that earns consistent AI citations takes time. Realistically, most businesses should expect 3–6 months before meaningful, measurable movement — and the work continues beyond that as competitors improve their own content and AI systems evolve.

Any agency promising significant results in 30 days is either misleading you, or measuring something that doesn’t reflect actual business impact — like raw “AI mentions” that include passing references in unrelated contexts. Pace yourself, and be sceptical of urgency that serves the agency’s sales cycle more than your business goals.

They want a long contract with no performance benchmarks

GEO is measurable. Citation frequency, content output, traffic from AI referrals, and branded search volume trends can all be tracked. A confident agency ties their engagement to deliverables and measurable milestones — not just to months elapsed on a retainer.

Before signing anything longer than three months, ask for a clear 90-day plan: what gets produced, what gets measured, and what does success look like at the end of it? A good agency has a ready answer. A less confident one changes the subject.

5 questions to ask before you hire

Take these into any agency conversation. The right agency will welcome them — they’ve answered them before.

 

1. Can you show me examples of content you’ve produced that is currently cited in AI answers? Not case studies — actual live examples you can verify yourself, right now, in ChatGPT or Google.
2. What will appear in my monthly report, and how do you specifically measure AI visibility? Look for citation frequency, share of voice, and AI referral traffic — not just rankings and organic sessions.
3. Who writes the content — in-house experts, freelancers, or AI tools? There’s no single right answer, but you want to understand the process and how quality is controlled.
4. What realistic progress should I expect in the first 90 days? A credible agency will give you a specific, honest answer. Vague commitments to “building momentum” are a warning sign.
5. How does your GEO work integrate with my existing SEO? If they can’t give you a clear answer, they’re likely treating GEO as a standalone service rather than something that compounds your existing investment.

 

One more thing: Ask if you can speak to a current client. Not a testimonial — an actual reference call. Agencies that do good work are usually happy to facilitate this. Those who hesitate or offer only written testimonials sometimes have a reason.

The bottom line

GEO is still new enough that the gap between good agencies and bad ones is wider than in almost any other area of digital marketing. The field is moving fast, the terminology is still being standardized, and a lot of what passes for GEO expertise is actually just repackaged SEO with a new label on it.

The businesses that identify a genuinely capable GEO partner now — and build their AI visibility while competitors are still figuring out what GEO even means — will be significantly harder to displace in twelve months’ time. That early-mover advantage is real, and it compounds.

At Wormwood, we’re happy to answer every question on the list above — and to show you our own AI search visibility as part of the first conversation. If you’d like an honest assessment of where your business currently stands and what a realistic GEO strategy looks like, get in touch with our team here.

Not sure whether you need GEO, SEO, or both? Our guide on GEO vs SEO: what’s the difference and do you need both covers exactly that.