What Is AI SEO, and Is It Worth Paying an Agency For?
AI SEO is the work of getting named when someone asks ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini who to hire in your category. If you already pay for SEO, it's worth having, because the work that makes a page rank is most of the same work. A separate GEO or AEO retainer on top is paying twice for one job.
What AI SEO is, in plain terms
People now ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for a recommendation instead of scanning a list of links. The tool answers with a few names. AI SEO is the work of making sure yours is one of them.
GEO, AEO and AI SEO are labels for one problem, and I've covered that elsewhere. This post is about something different. It's about the money, and how you'd know if it's being spent well.
I did this work on my own site when I rebuilt it in September 2026. I put plain answers on the page and published my prices. I added structured data to every page and used one business name and number everywhere. I also added a plain-language file that describes the business for AI crawlers.
Check where you stand before you spend anything
Open ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Ask who to hire for what you do in your city. Use the words a customer would use. Read the whole answer. It takes ten minutes and costs nothing.
Three things can happen. Your name shows up and the description is right. Your name shows up and something is wrong, like an old phone number or a service you don't offer. Or your name is missing. The last two are your starting point. Write down what the tool got wrong and who it named instead.
Ask the same question in all three tools, since they don't always agree. Then run it again in a month. That's your baseline. Without one, nobody can tell you whether anything worked, including me.
What you can do yourself in a weekend
Two jobs fit in a weekend. First, put clear answers on your own pages. If customers ask how much, how long or where you work, say it in one sentence near the top. Models quote passages that answer a question directly.
Second, finish your Google Business Profile. Fill in every field, pick the right categories, add real photos and answer the questions people ask. Doing this yourself is a fair choice.
I wrote about the tradeoff in can ChatGPT run my ads, and the same logic holds here. A tool can help you draft. You still have to know your business and check every line.
Where the weekend job stops
Three jobs don't fit in a weekend. Structured data tells a machine what your business is. It's written in code, it goes on every page, and it has to stay correct when your pages change.
One consistent set of business details means the same name, phone number and hours on every listing. One old listing can undo the rest. The third job is other sites mentioning you. If everything findable about you was written by you, you look unverified.
None of this is hard to understand. It's slow, fiddly and never quite finished. That's what you'd be paying for.
Is paying an agency for AI SEO worth it?
If you already pay for SEO, yes, as long as the AI work is inside it. Clear answers, clean listings and mentions on other sites help you rank and help you get named. AI SEO is part of the SEO work I do, and I describe it on my AI SEO page. It's not a separate product, and it's not priced separately.
SEO is from $1,500 CAD a month for one channel, from $2,800 for two, and from $4,000 for three. There's a three month minimum on all. Ad spend is separate and goes to Google or Meta.
If you pay for nothing today and your site is small, start with the check and the weekend jobs. Bring in help when the three harder jobs are what's holding you back.
What to ask any agency before you sign
Ask what is in a separate GEO or AEO retainer that SEO is not. A good answer names specific work. A weak answer is a new label on the same tasks. If the tasks are the same, you'd pay twice for one job.
Ask how they'll measure it. The ten minute check should be in the report, with the same questions asked every month. Ask who does the work and what you'll see. My post on how to vet a marketing agency has more.
Be wary of anyone promising a date, or a guarantee that a tool will name you. Timing is hard to promise for work that depends on other sites. My post on how long SEO takes explains why.
If you'd like a second set of eyes on your ten minute check, let's chat. I'll tell you plainly whether you need an agency at all.
Frequently asked questions
Is AI SEO different from regular SEO?
Mostly no. The work that helps a page rank in Google also helps AI tools find and quote it. The extra parts are small, like structured data and a plain-language file for AI crawlers.
How much does AI SEO cost?
I don't price it separately. SEO is from $1,500 CAD a month for one channel, from $2,800 for two, and from $4,000 for three, with a three month minimum. Ad spend is separate.
Can I do AI SEO myself?
Part of it. Clear answers on your pages and a complete Google Business Profile are a weekend of work. Structured data, consistent listings and mentions on other sites take longer.
How do I know if it's working?
Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini who to hire in your category and city, then read the answer. Do it before you start and every month after. Look for your name and a correct description.
Run the ten minute check, then call me
Bring me what the AI tools said about your business, and I'll tell you what is worth fixing and who should fix it.