How to choose a GEO agency (and when you don't need one)
A good GEO agency will show you, before you pay, exactly which AI answers you're missing from and why, will promise the work rather than results it can't control, and will re-measure the same questions every month so you can see what changed. If a few checks show you're blocked by robots.txt or missing basic pages, you may be able to fix that yourself first.
What to ask before you pay
Ask any agency, including us, these questions:
- Which AI tools will you check, which questions, and how many times each? (One ask proves little: answers vary.)
- Can I see what the AI tools say about my business today, word for word?
- What exactly will you change on my site and listings, and will I approve it first?
- How will you show me progress? (The answer should be: the same questions, re-asked on a schedule.)
- What happens if a page you write is wrong about my business?
- Shows you what AI says about you today, word for word
- Asks several questions, several times, across several AI tools
- Promises the work, not the result
- You approve every change before it goes live
- Re-asks the same questions every month
- Guarantees ChatGPT will recommend you
- Offers reviews or review swaps
- Posts about you under made-up names
- Adds hidden text or “instructions to AI”
- Can't explain how they measure progress
Warning signs
Walk away from anyone who:
- Guarantees you'll be recommended by ChatGPT or ranked first. Nobody controls AI answers.
- Offers reviews, or review swaps. Fake reviews are illegal in the UK under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
- Plans to post about you on forums under made-up names.
- Wants to add hidden text or "instructions to AI" to your pages. Search engines treat that as spam.
- Can't explain how they measure AI visibility, for you or for themselves.
When you don't need an agency
If your site blocks AI crawlers, has no page for your main service, or shows different opening hours on Google, those are fixes your web person can make in an afternoon. Run the free tools first. An agency is worth paying when the basics are right and you're still not named, or when you want the work done and measured every month without doing it yourself.
Written by the Get Recommended team, run by Atlas Labs. We check these guides against each AI tool's own documentation and update them when it changes.
Questions
How much should GEO cost for a local business?
It depends on how much work your site and listings need and how competitive your trade is. As a reference point, our one-off Quick Fix is £495 and our monthly plans start at £199 a month plus setup.
How quickly should I expect results?
AI tools pick up changes at different speeds, from days to a couple of months. Judge an agency on whether the work was done and measured honestly each month, not on the first week.