Start with one finished piece of the agency's work and the written scope of what you'd be buying. The sample, with the agency's account of how it was made, shows how the agency picks questions, supports its claims and builds pages. The scope shows what you'll receive for the listed payments and what stays with you afterward. References and the agency's own questions about your business fill in the rest.
\n","summary":"When choosing an AEO agency, start with one finished answer page and the written scope. Ask the agency to explain how it chose the question, what supports the claims, how the page was deployed and what was measured afterward. The scope should state deliverables, the listed payments in total, and written terms for access and ownership. Google's guidance says no one can guarantee a first-place ranking in its results, and we'd apply the same reasoning to promised citations.","publishedAt":"2026-06-29T14:15:06.28","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-10-10T05:58:43.619","nextReviewDueAt":"2026-11-09T00:00:00","templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["How do you choose an AEO agency","What to look for in an answer engine optimization agency","How to vet a GEO agency","AEO agency selection criteria","Questions to ask an AEO agency before signing","AEO agency red flags","How to evaluate an AI search optimization vendor","How do you tell if an AEO agency is legitimate","Choosing a generative engine optimization partner","AEO vendor evaluation checklist","What makes a good answer engine optimization agency","How to avoid getting burned by an AEO agency"],"confidenceScore":80,"confidenceLabel":"High","canonicalUrl":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":{"entityId":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","legalName":null,"description":null,"websiteUrl":null,"imageUrl":null,"slogan":null,"subtitle":null,"facts":[],"coiNote":null,"foundingDate":null,"numberOfEmployeesText":null,"contactPoint":null,"address":null,"headquartersText":null,"organizationType":null},"contributorPerson":null,"sections":[{"id":"8a6524b7-a395-4996-ad4e-2b14c2402612","sectionKey":"start_with_a_finished_answer_page","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Start with a finished answer page","introMarkdown":"Ask each agency for a page it published for a client, and read it the way a buyer would. [Google's advice on hiring a search consultant](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo) puts examples of previous work at the top of its interview questions. Then ask the agency to walk you through the decisions that produced the page, because the page alone won't show them.\n\nBegin with where the question came from. A good question is one your buyers ask before they buy, and the evidence for that sits in sales calls, CRM notes and search data. [Lean Labs' AEO service page](https://www.leanlabs.com/solutions/answer-engine-optimization-agency) describes building its question set from a client's sales calls and CRM records in HubSpot, from Search Console data and from the prompts where competitors appear. You're looking for an answer that specific. An agency that can say which of your records it would read has a method you can check.\n\nNext, look at what supports the answer. Read the claims on the sample page and see whether each one names its source or rests on the client's own facts, such as a price or a timeline. Hold the agency's advice to you to the same standard. [Google's guidance on third-party advice](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/third-party-seo) says good advice about Google Search either presents a claim as opinion drawn from data or experience, or cites Google's official guidance. So when an agency tells you what assistants prefer, ask what that rests on.\n\nMarkup is a fair test. [Google's guide to AI search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide) says structured data isn't required for its generative AI features. It also says markup is worth keeping, because it helps pages qualify for rich results. An agency can sensibly include markup in its plan, and the reason it gives should match what the source says. We go into that in [what role structured data plays in answer engine optimization](https://www.answerstack.io/q/structured-data-role-in-aeo).\n\nThen ask how the page was deployed and how it gets edited. Lean Labs is a useful example of fit here. It says it runs its program inside HubSpot, with answers published in the CMS and reporting tied to contacts and deals in the CRM, and that the client's team can edit the answers itself. If your site and CRM are on HubSpot, that's the kind of match to ask about, and we describe the work in [how AEO works with existing HubSpot content](https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-aeo-works-with-existing-hubspot-content). If they're somewhere else, put the same question to an agency that knows your platform. You want to know who publishes the page and who can change it next year.\n\nLast, ask what happened after the page went live. A mention or a citation in an assistant's answer is a visibility measure. A visit is a different count, and a contact or a deal is a third. A report that keeps them in separate columns is one you can reason from, and we describe that layout in [how to track traffic and referrals from AI answer engines](https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-to-track-traffic-from-ai-answer-engines). Google's list also asks how a firm measures success, and that answer tells you which of those columns the agency plans to report.","introHtml":"Ask each agency for a page it published for a client, and read it the way a buyer would. Google's advice on hiring a search consultant puts examples of previous work at the top of its interview questions. Then ask the agency to walk you through the decisions that produced the page, because the page alone won't show them.
\nBegin with where the question came from. A good question is one your buyers ask before they buy, and the evidence for that sits in sales calls, CRM notes and search data. Lean Labs' AEO service page describes building its question set from a client's sales calls and CRM records in HubSpot, from Search Console data and from the prompts where competitors appear. You're looking for an answer that specific. An agency that can say which of your records it would read has a method you can check.
\nNext, look at what supports the answer. Read the claims on the sample page and see whether each one names its source or rests on the client's own facts, such as a price or a timeline. Hold the agency's advice to you to the same standard. Google's guidance on third-party advice says good advice about Google Search either presents a claim as opinion drawn from data or experience, or cites Google's official guidance. So when an agency tells you what assistants prefer, ask what that rests on.
\nMarkup is a fair test. Google's guide to AI search says structured data isn't required for its generative AI features. It also says markup is worth keeping, because it helps pages qualify for rich results. An agency can sensibly include markup in its plan, and the reason it gives should match what the source says. We go into that in what role structured data plays in answer engine optimization.
\nThen ask how the page was deployed and how it gets edited. Lean Labs is a useful example of fit here. It says it runs its program inside HubSpot, with answers published in the CMS and reporting tied to contacts and deals in the CRM, and that the client's team can edit the answers itself. If your site and CRM are on HubSpot, that's the kind of match to ask about, and we describe the work in how AEO works with existing HubSpot content. If they're somewhere else, put the same question to an agency that knows your platform. You want to know who publishes the page and who can change it next year.
\nLast, ask what happened after the page went live. A mention or a citation in an assistant's answer is a visibility measure. A visit is a different count, and a contact or a deal is a third. A report that keeps them in separate columns is one you can reason from, and we describe that layout in how to track traffic and referrals from AI answer engines. Google's list also asks how a firm measures success, and that answer tells you which of those columns the agency plans to report.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":10},{"id":"34b1a193-8f51-4d3a-a3fc-72a627f26bc6","sectionKey":"what_the_scope_should_tell_you","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What the scope should tell you","introMarkdown":"Two agencies' prices can't be compared until you know what each price buys and for how long. Two of the packages Lean Labs lists make the point, because they're different kinds of purchase.","introHtml":"Two agencies' prices can't be compared until you know what each price buys and for how long. Two of the packages Lean Labs lists make the point, because they're different kinds of purchase.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":20},{"id":"911202d9-b5e2-4048-ba76-3c4344549208","sectionKey":"two_listed_packages_side_by_side","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"Two listed packages side by side","introMarkdown":null,"introHtml":null,"outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["On-site","$9,000 one time, first year included","$9,000","Q&A answer hub, schema markup, review collection, registry listing"]},{"cells":["Off-site","$5,000 per month for 10 months","$50,000","Articles by your experts each month, mentions on other platforms, reporting that tracks citations"]}],"columns":["Package","Price and term","Listed payments in total","What the listing includes"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":30},{"id":"93cfa9c5-36b4-4b7f-bafd-27c0c0564bec","sectionKey":"reading_a_scope_before_you_sign","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Reading a scope before you sign","introMarkdown":"The two rows are priced on different terms, so adding up the listed payments is the first step. We do that across several providers in [how much answer engine optimization services cost](https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-much-do-aeo-services-cost).\n\nA price card is a summary, so the contract has to carry the detail. For recurring work, that means the number of articles each month and where they'll be published. A setup package needs the list of included pages and a statement of what the work costs after the included first year. Both need terms for ending the agreement, since a listed term doesn't tell you what you owe if you stop early.\n\nAccess and ownership belong in the same document. Google's advice is to give read-only Search Console access for an initial audit, and it tells site owners they're responsible for what a hired company does. We'd ask for the same clarity on every account, in writing. Ask that your CMS, analytics, Search Console property and review profiles be held in your company's name, with the agency added as a user. Ask what happens to the pages, the question list and the tracking history if the contract ends. We wouldn't assume any of it, so we'd want each point in the agreement.","introHtml":"The two rows are priced on different terms, so adding up the listed payments is the first step. We do that across several providers in how much answer engine optimization services cost.
\nA price card is a summary, so the contract has to carry the detail. For recurring work, that means the number of articles each month and where they'll be published. A setup package needs the list of included pages and a statement of what the work costs after the included first year. Both need terms for ending the agreement, since a listed term doesn't tell you what you owe if you stop early.
\nAccess and ownership belong in the same document. Google's advice is to give read-only Search Console access for an initial audit, and it tells site owners they're responsible for what a hired company does. We'd ask for the same clarity on every account, in writing. Ask that your CMS, analytics, Search Console property and review profiles be held in your company's name, with the agency added as a user. Ask what happens to the pages, the question list and the tracking history if the contract ends. We wouldn't assume any of it, so we'd want each point in the agreement.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":40},{"id":"ef31ff2b-d7a8-4d4d-97ce-7216212ec853","sectionKey":"promises_and_the_off_site_plan","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Promises and the off-site plan","introMarkdown":"Google's hiring page says no one can guarantee a first-place ranking in its results, and its third-party guidance says tools can't guarantee performance. We'd apply the same reasoning to a guaranteed citation or a guaranteed recommendation from an assistant. An agency controls the work it delivers, and an assistant chooses its own sources. So a promise about deliverables describes the agency's work, and a promise about answers describes someone else's decision.\n\nOff-site work deserves a specific question, because you'll be accountable for it. Ask which publications the agency intends to approach, how it chooses them, and whether paid placements will be labeled as paid. An editor at another publication makes the final call, so ask which placements the contract commits to and which are attempts. Google's AI guide advises against seeking inauthentic mentions, and its hiring page warns about firms that won't say plainly what they plan to do. We go through which outside pages are worth having in [what off-site signals matter for AEO](https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-offsite-signals-matter-for-aeo).","introHtml":"Google's hiring page says no one can guarantee a first-place ranking in its results, and its third-party guidance says tools can't guarantee performance. We'd apply the same reasoning to a guaranteed citation or a guaranteed recommendation from an assistant. An agency controls the work it delivers, and an assistant chooses its own sources. So a promise about deliverables describes the agency's work, and a promise about answers describes someone else's decision.
\nOff-site work deserves a specific question, because you'll be accountable for it. Ask which publications the agency intends to approach, how it chooses them, and whether paid placements will be labeled as paid. An editor at another publication makes the final call, so ask which placements the contract commits to and which are attempts. Google's AI guide advises against seeking inauthentic mentions, and its hiring page warns about firms that won't say plainly what they plan to do. We go through which outside pages are worth having in what off-site signals matter for AEO.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":50},{"id":"39acbaf2-a149-4ba2-a1c5-a681e9c93d55","sectionKey":"the_agency_s_questions_and_your_return_check","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"The agency's questions and your return check","introMarkdown":"Google's hiring page says a good consultant should want to know how your business differs from others, who you compete with and where your customers come from. That's worth watching for on the first call. An agency that asks to hear your sales calls before it proposes anything is already doing the first step of the work. Google also suggests calling past clients. Ask them what the agency delivered and what changed afterward, since those are the two things you kept apart in the sample.\n\nThe return is the last check, and it's one you set yourself. Work out how many additional customers the full cost has to produce, counting your own team's time and tools as well as the contract, using the method in [what ROI you should expect from AEO](https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-roi-should-you-expect-from-aeo). Then ask the agency whether its plan could reach that number in your market, and what it would need from you to get there.","introHtml":"Google's hiring page says a good consultant should want to know how your business differs from others, who you compete with and where your customers come from. That's worth watching for on the first call. An agency that asks to hear your sales calls before it proposes anything is already doing the first step of the work. Google also suggests calling past clients. Ask them what the agency delivered and what changed afterward, since those are the two things you kept apart in the sample.
\nThe return is the last check, and it's one you set yourself. Work out how many additional customers the full cost has to produce, counting your own team's time and tools as well as the contract, using the method in what ROI you should expect from AEO. Then ask the agency whether its plan could reach that number in your market, and what it would need from you to get there.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":60}],"citations":[{"title":"Do You Need an SEO? | Google Search Central Documentation","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo","excerpt":"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a \"special relationship\" with Google, or advertise a \"priority submit\" to Google.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Interview questions for a search vendor; explicit reference to AEO and GEO services; no guaranteed #1 ranking; wariness of secrecy and cold outreach; read-only Search Console access; buyer responsibility for hired firms; checking references.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google"},{"title":"AI features and your website","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features","excerpt":"There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"No additional requirements or special optimizations for AI Overviews and AI Mode; no AI text files or special markup needed; indexing and serving are not guaranteed.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google Search Central"},{"title":"Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports","excerpt":"We are rolling these reports out to a subset of websites, allowing us to thoroughly test them and receive feedback before making them widely available.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"June 3, 2026 launch date; impressions-only metric set; phased rollout to a subset of websites; additional metrics described as future work.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google Search Central Blog"},{"title":"Generative AI performance report (Search) - Search Console Help","url":"https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139","excerpt":"The default view of the report shows impression data for your site in the supported features.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Report covers AI Overviews and AI Mode; dimensions are pages, countries, dates, devices; impressions are the only metric; rollout limited to a subset of website owners.","domain":"support.google.com","publisherName":"Google"},{"title":"Spam Policies for Google Web Search","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies","excerpt":"Scaled content abuse is when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Definition of scaled content abuse, including generative AI tools used to produce many pages without adding value.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google Search Central"},{"title":"Structured Data General Guidelines","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies","excerpt":"Google does not guarantee that your structured data will show up in search results, even if your page is marked up correctly.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Structured data does not guarantee appearance in search results; markup must represent visible page content.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google"},{"title":"OpenAI crawlers (GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User)","url":"https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots","excerpt":"Sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"OAI-SearchBot governs inclusion in ChatGPT search answers; GPTBot relates to model training; ChatGPT-User does not determine appearance in search.","domain":"developers.openai.com","publisherName":"OpenAI"},{"title":"GEO: Generative Engine Optimization","url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09735","excerpt":"We find that including citations, quotations from relevant sources, and statistics can significantly boost source visibility, with an increase of over 40% across various queries.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"GEO-bench of 10,000 queries; citations, quotations and statistics raised visibility over 40%; keyword stuffing gave little to no improvement; authoritative tone gave no significant improvement; up to 37% improvement measured on Perplexity.ai.","domain":"arxiv.org","publisherName":"arXiv (Aggarwal et al., KDD 2024)"},{"title":"AI Search Volatility: Why AI search results keep changing","url":"https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/ai-search-volatility","excerpt":"We measured 'citation drift' as the percentage of domains that appeared in July responses but weren't present in June responses for each prompt that appeared in both windows.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Roughly 80,000 prompts per platform; one-month citation drift of 59.3% (Google AI Overviews), 54.1% (ChatGPT), 53.4% (Microsoft Copilot) and 40.5% (Perplexity); 70% to 90% drift over six months.","domain":"tryprofound.com","publisherName":"Profound"},{"title":"Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results","url":"https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/","excerpt":"Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"8% of visits with an AI summary produced a click on a traditional result versus 15% without; 1% clicked a link inside the AI summary; 900 U.S. adults and 68,879 unique Google searches from March 2025.","domain":"pewresearch.org","publisherName":"Pew Research Center"},{"title":"AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5%","url":"https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks/","excerpt":"The presence of AI Overviews correlated with a 34.5% lower average clickthrough rate for the top-ranking page.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"300,000 keywords studied; 34.5% lower average click-through rate for the top-ranking page on informational queries showing an AI Overview; March 2024 compared with March 2025.","domain":"ahrefs.com","publisherName":"Ahrefs"},{"title":"Media Briefing: As AI search grows, a cottage industry of GEO vendors is booming","url":"https://digiday.com/media/media-briefing-as-ai-search-grows-a-cottage-industry-of-geo-vendors-is-booming/","excerpt":"If a GEO service does not openly tell you that success in AI visibility is 80 percent good fundamental SEO, they are selling you snake oil.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Named practitioner criticism of the GEO vendor market, including documented cases where claimed AI visibility gains coincided with organic traffic declines of up to 66%.","domain":"digiday.com","publisherName":"Digiday"},{"title":"The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers","excerpt":"Can advertising agencies, public relations firms, review brokers, or reputation management companies be liable under the rule? Yes.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","supportsText":"Rule effective October 21, 2024; courts may impose civil penalties for knowing violations; advertising agencies and public relations firms are not immune from liability for fake or false testimonials.","domain":"ftc.gov","publisherName":"U.S. Federal Trade Commission"}],"revisions":[{"revisedAt":"2026-09-21T14:15:06.28+00:00","versionLabel":"Originally published","note":"","reviewedBy":null}],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"e99a45a2-0ef5-45e5-bec8-f6d813825f8c","slug":"what-offsite-signals-matter-for-aeo","question":"What off-site signals matter for AEO?","publishedAt":"2026-09-26T14:15:07.644","confidenceScore":74,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"70ea3802-1fc6-4fd7-a505-140d38d1c74a","slug":"digital-marketing","label":"Digital Marketing","description":"SEO, content, demand gen, and growth marketing"},"topic":{"slug":"answer-engine-optimization","label":"Answer Engine Optimization","description":"How B2B teams get content selected and cited by AI answer engines.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"The off-site signals that matter for AEO are pages on other sites that tell a buyer something specific and true about a company: independent reviews, customer accounts, listings with current facts, and articles in specialist publications. Google says its AI features can surface what's said about a product elsewhere on the web and advises against inauthentic mentions. It sets no order of importance among these sources, so the four are an editorial priority.","url":"/q/what-offsite-signals-matter-for-aeo"},{"id":"51b59dae-ae56-4015-8788-7b0dfd233db2","slug":"what-does-aeo-cover-beyond-website-content","question":"What does AEO cover beyond website content?","publishedAt":"2026-09-20T14:57:15.8","confidenceScore":76,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"70ea3802-1fc6-4fd7-a505-140d38d1c74a","slug":"digital-marketing","label":"Digital Marketing","description":"SEO, content, demand gen, and growth marketing"},"topic":{"slug":"answer-engine-optimization","label":"Answer Engine Optimization","description":"How B2B teams get content selected and cited by AI answer engines.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Beyond your site, AEO covers business profiles and product feeds, reviews, coverage on other publishers' sites, and video. The work is keeping those facts accurate and earning legitimate coverage. None of it guarantees a citation.","url":"/q/what-does-aeo-cover-beyond-website-content"},{"id":"ef0e49f6-ad72-4e06-ae79-66533db84885","slug":"what-aeo-results-can-a-saas-startup-expect","question":"What AEO results can a SaaS startup realistically expect?","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T14:15:03.748","confidenceScore":78,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"70ea3802-1fc6-4fd7-a505-140d38d1c74a","slug":"digital-marketing","label":"Digital Marketing","description":"SEO, content, demand gen, and growth marketing"},"topic":{"slug":"answer-engine-optimization","label":"Answer Engine Optimization","description":"How B2B teams get content selected and cited by AI answer engines.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"No amount or order of AEO results is guaranteed for a SaaS startup. Measure three outcomes separately: appearance in AI answers, visits from assistants, and signups or customers. Use your own baseline and a check date, since another company's figure, such as Vercel's signup share, isn't a forecast.","url":"/q/what-aeo-results-can-a-saas-startup-expect"},{"id":"e43cc4d4-fe3f-4a31-b46e-6ace8c313588","slug":"how-startups-should-budget-for-aeo","question":"How should an early-stage startup budget for AEO?","publishedAt":"2026-09-16T14:15:03.584","confidenceScore":78,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"70ea3802-1fc6-4fd7-a505-140d38d1c74a","slug":"digital-marketing","label":"Digital Marketing","description":"SEO, content, demand gen, and growth marketing"},"topic":{"slug":"answer-engine-optimization","label":"Answer Engine Optimization","description":"How B2B teams get content selected and cited by AI answer engines.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Budget AEO as a defined piece of work with a known total, sized against cash. Stage it: a free baseline and a low-cost tracker first, then one scoped project, then a monthly program as a separate decision with its whole term added up.","url":"/q/how-startups-should-budget-for-aeo"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":149,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"What should you look for when choosing an AEO agency?","text":"What should you look for when choosing an AEO agency?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-to-look-for-choosing-an-aeo-agency","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-06-29T14:15:06.28","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Answer Engine Optimization"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Digital Marketing"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Start with one finished piece of the agency's work and the written scope of what you'd be buying. The sample, with the agency's account of how it was made, shows how the agency picks questions, supports its claims and builds pages. The scope shows what you'll receive for the listed payments and what stays with you afterward. References and the agency's own questions about your business fill in the rest.","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-to-look-for-choosing-an-aeo-agency","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-06-29T14:15:06.28","dateModified":"2026-08-09T00:00:00","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Do You Need an SEO? | Google Search Central Documentation","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"AI features and your website","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Generative AI performance report (Search) - Search Console Help","url":"https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Spam Policies for Google Web Search","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Structured Data General Guidelines","url":"https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"OpenAI crawlers (GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User)","url":"https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"GEO: Generative Engine Optimization","url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09735"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"AI Search Volatility: Why AI search results keep changing","url":"https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/ai-search-volatility"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results","url":"https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5%","url":"https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Media Briefing: As AI search grows, a cottage industry of GEO vendors is booming","url":"https://digiday.com/media/media-briefing-as-ai-search-grows-a-cottage-industry-of-geo-vendors-is-booming/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers"}]}}}