Can Your SEO Agency Do AI Search, or Do You Need a GEO Specialist?
Google says in writing that you need no special markup or files to appear in AI Overviews, and that normal SEO still applies. So most of AI search is SEO your agency already does. The part that differs is off your website: how consistently the web describes your brand, which lists and reviews mention you, and whether anyone checks what ChatGPT actually says on a fixed set of questions every month. Here is how to tell whether your agency covers that.
Short answer
Your SEO agency can handle most AI search work, because Google says no special markup is needed for AI Overviews and normal SEO still applies. Hire a GEO (generative engine optimization) specialist only if your agency does not do three things: entity work, third-party mentions, and monthly tracking on a fixed prompt set. Evolve Media Agency's AI Visibility Audit is $495 and tests 50 prompts; follow-on work is fixed-price at $995, $1,995 or $3,995. Ask your agency for its prompt list first.
Most of AI Search Is SEO, According to Google Itself
GEO stands for generative engine optimization: getting your brand mentioned and linked inside answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. Our plain-English explainer covers the basics.
Google's own page on AI features and your website is blunt. It says: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." It adds that "all existing SEO fundamentals continue to be worthwhile," and that there is "no special schema.org structured data that you need to add." To be eligible, a page must be indexed and able to show in Google Search with a snippet.
OpenAI is just as plain about ChatGPT. Its crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to show websites in ChatGPT search, and a site that blocks it will not appear in ChatGPT search answers. GPTBot, a separate crawler, collects content for training. You can allow one and block the other.
So any SEO agency that keeps your site crawlable, indexed, fast and clearly written is already doing the largest share of AI search work. If someone tells you that you need an AI-only file or a secret markup to get into AI Overviews, Google's page says otherwise.
Crawling and indexing
Pages must be indexed and allowed in robots.txt (the file that tells crawlers what they may read) and by your hosting or CDN (the network that serves your pages). Google lists this first. For ChatGPT, OAI-SearchBot must not be blocked. Any competent SEO agency checks both.
Clear pages that answer the question
AI answers quote pages that state the answer early, with names and numbers. That is good SEO writing, not a separate skill.
Structured data that matches the page
Google says markup should match the visible text. It helps machines read the page, but Google says no special AI markup is required.
Internal links, speed and page experience
All on Google's list. Your SEO agency should already own them.
Three Jobs That Live Off Your Website
AI answers are built from many sources at once, not just the top ten links. A model deciding "who are the best options for X" weighs what other sites say about you as much as what you say about yourself. That pushes three jobs to the front that many SEO retainers treat as optional.
1. Entity work
An entity is how machines understand your brand as one thing: name, founder, location, what you sell, prices. If your site, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Wikidata and directory listings disagree, models hedge or leave you out. The fix is making every one of those say the same facts. Our Wikidata guide shows one piece of it.
2. Directories and third-party mentions
When ChatGPT names three agencies or three products, it often draws on roundups, review sites, forums and industry directories. Getting onto those lists, and getting accurate reviews there, is closer to PR than to link building. Classic SEO counts links; this counts mentions, with or without a link. See our brand mention strategy.
3. Measurement on a fixed prompt set
SEO reports rankings and traffic. AI search needs a fixed list of buyer questions, such as "best X for Y" or "X vs Y." Run them in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode on a schedule. Record whether you are named, whether you are linked, and who is named instead. Without the same prompts each month, nobody can tell if anything improved. Our reporting dashboard post shows one way to track it.
For an ecommerce brand, the three jobs look like this in practice. Entity work means your brand name, founder, address, product line and prices read the same on your Shopify site, your Amazon brand store, your Google Business Profile and your LinkedIn page. Third-party mentions mean being named in the gift guides, comparison posts, review roundups and subreddit threads that AI tools pull from when a shopper asks for the best product in your category. Prompt tracking means a spreadsheet of the 50 questions a buyer would type, rerun every month, with a column for each AI tool.
None of this replaces SEO. A brand with strong mentions but a blocked crawler or thin product pages still loses, because the model has nothing on your site to link to. That is why the useful split is rarely SEO agency or GEO specialist. It is who owns the site and who owns everything said about you off the site, and whether anyone is measuring the result on questions buyers actually ask.
Your SEO Agency, a GEO Specialist, or Both
Your SEO agency adds AI search
Separate GEO specialist (for example, Evolve)
Both, with clear lanes
Keep Your Agency, Add a Specialist, or Switch
Keep your SEO agency when it already tracks prompts
If your agency can show you a fixed prompt list and last month's results across at least ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, it is doing the work. Do not pay a second company for the same report.
Keep your SEO agency when your site has basic problems
Pages not indexed, a blocked crawler, slow templates or thin product pages come first. Google's page makes indexing the entry ticket. Fix that with the agency you have.
Add a specialist when AI answers name competitors and not you
That gap is usually off-site: directories, roundups and reviews that mention them. It is outreach and entity cleanup, which many SEO teams are not set up for.
Add a specialist when nobody can tell you where you stand
A one-time audit on a fixed prompt set gives you a baseline. You can hand it to your current agency to act on. That alone is often enough.
Switch when the agency sells AI search with no prompt list
If it promises "AI visibility" but cannot show which questions it measures, or sells a special AI file as the main deliverable, Google's own documentation says that file is not required.
Example Budgets for Small, Mid-Size and Larger Brands
These are worked examples using our published prices, not quotes. Your SEO agency's add-on fee is its own number; put it next to these and compare like for like. Every example starts with the $495 audit, because without a baseline there is nothing to measure against.
Small brand, few competitors in AI answers
Mid-size brand, competitors named ahead of you
Larger brand, crowded category
When You Should Not Pay Anyone for AI Search Yet
Your site is not indexed or is blocked
Google requires indexing; OpenAI's search crawler must be allowed. Check robots.txt and Google Search Console first. That is free.
Nobody asks AI tools about your category
If buyers in your niche search by part number or buy on habit, AI answers may not drive sales yet. Run ten of your own buyer questions in ChatGPT first and see if any answer names a brand.
Someone guarantees a ChatGPT mention
No one controls what a model says. A guarantee is either about a prompt so narrow nobody asks it, or it is not a real promise.
The pitch is a special AI file or markup
Google says no new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup are needed for its AI features. Pay for work Google and OpenAI document, not for a shortcut.
Your SEO agency just started the work
If your agency added prompt tracking or entity cleanup in the last two or three months, give it a full quarter on the same prompt list before paying anyone else. AI answers change slowly, and switching mid-stream resets your baseline.
You have no budget for the follow-up
An audit tells you what to fix. If nobody will fix it, keep the $495 and start with your own prompt list.
Seven Questions to Ask Your SEO Agency About AI Search
Which prompts do you track, and can I see the list?
A real answer is a document of 30 to 100 buyer questions. No list means no measurement.
Which AI tools do you check, and how often?
At least ChatGPT and Google AI Mode or AI Overviews; Perplexity and Gemini are common additions. Monthly is a sensible minimum.
Is OAI-SearchBot allowed on our site?
OpenAI says a site that blocks it will not show in ChatGPT search answers. This is a two-minute check.
Who fixes our entity facts across other sites?
Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, directories, Wikidata. Ask who owns it and how often it is checked.
Do you do outreach for mentions, not just links?
Roundups, review sites and industry lists. If the answer is links only, that is a gap a specialist fills.
What do you charge for AI search work, in writing?
Is it included in the retainer, an add-on, or a separate project? Put the number next to an outside quote.
Are you selling us anything Google says we do not need?
Ask directly about AI-only files and special markup. Google's page says neither is required for AI Overviews.
About the Author
Ian Smith
Founder, Evolve Media Agency
Ian has run Evolve Media Agency since 2017 and has spent more than a decade in ecommerce, building and selling his own brands and producing listing content, video and ads for Amazon, Shopify and TikTok Shop brands. He writes every page on this site himself and the prices quoted for Evolve are the prices you pay.
GEO vs SEO Agency Questions
Can my SEO agency handle AI search?
What is the difference between a GEO agency and an SEO agency?
Do I need special markup or an AI file to appear in AI Overviews?
Does my SEO agency handle ChatGPT visibility?
How do I measure AI search visibility?
How much does AI search optimization cost?
Should I fire my SEO agency to hire a GEO agency?
Is GEO a scam?
Find Out What AI Tools Say About You Before You Change Agencies
Book a free 30-minute call. Bring your current agency's report if you have one. We will tell you whether it already covers AI search, whether a $495 audit on 50 prompts is worth running, or whether you need nothing from us at all.