Choosing a GEO Agency: What to Look For

More and more people put their question to ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity before they ever open Google. That changes how you get found, and therefore also who you hire to make it happen. A GEO agency, specialised in generative engine optimization, makes sure AI models mention your brand in their answers. But the discipline is new, and that attracts pioneers and opportunists alike. In this article you will read what to look for, which questions to ask before you sign, which red flags to avoid, and how to pick a partner that steers on leads instead of vanity metrics.

What a GEO agency should actually do

Before you can weigh up criteria, you need to know what the work involves. A good GEO agency makes sure AI models understand your brand, trust it and recommend it. That goes well beyond a handful of keywords. It is all about meaning, authority and the way machines read your content.

In practice that means: structuring your content so a model can pull clear answers out of it, getting your brand mentioned in the places where AI sources its information, and monitoring how and when you surface in generated answers. An agency that only talks about “AI” without making that concrete is selling you a buzzword.

The difference with classic SEO lies in the outcome. With SEO you want a click from Google’s blue links. With GEO you want a model to name you as the answer, often without the user ever clicking a link at all. That calls for a different way of thinking about content, authority and measurement, but it does build on the same foundation. An agency that cannot explain that distinction fluently probably has not mastered the discipline yet.

The criteria to look for

Not every agency that puts “AI” in the proposal understands GEO. Pay attention to these points.

• Evidence, not promises. Ask for concrete examples where they improved a brand’s visibility in AI answers. A genuine specialist shows their approach and their results, not vague claims.
• A method they can explain. Good GEO is not a secret trick. The agency should be able to spell out clearly how it works: from content and structure through to authority and measurement.
• SEO and GEO under one roof. The two reinforce each other. A strong SEO base is the foundation GEO builds on. Choose a partner that understands the difference between GEO and SEO and masters both, not just one of the two.
• Focus on your business goal. Mentions in ChatGPT are not a goal in themselves. The agency has to connect them to what you actually want: more leads, more revenue, more customers.
• Measurability. Ask how they track whether you get mentioned and whether that is improving. If they cannot measure, they cannot steer either.
• Substantive authority. GEO is so new that experience is scarce. An agency that demonstrably publishes, speaks and thinks about it is ahead of the pack.

The questions to ask before you sign

A good conversation before the signature prevents disappointment afterwards. Ask these questions and listen closely to the answers.

1. How do you measure whether an AI model mentions my brand? You want a concrete answer about tracking, not a vague “we will see”.
2. Which business goals do you tie GEO to? The answer should be about leads or revenue, not visibility alone.
3. How does your GEO approach relate to my existing SEO? A strong agency builds on your foundation instead of ignoring it.
4. What do you do yourselves and what do you expect from me? Clarity on content, access and input prevents delays.
5. What does reporting look like and how often? You want understandable reports about results, not a dashboard full of numbers without meaning.
6. Can you explain what you will concretely do in the first few months? Anyone who cannot lay that out clearly usually has no plan.

Good answers are concrete, honest about what is still uncertain, and always traceable back to your business. Vagueness or grand promises are a signal to keep digging.

The red flags to avoid

Some signals give away an agency that sells more than it delivers. Watch out for these.

• Guaranteed positions or mentions. Nobody controls exactly what an AI model answers. Anyone offering guarantees is selling hot air.
• Secret tactics. “Our secret recipe” usually means there is no recipe. A good partner is open about the approach.
• Reports full of vanity metrics. Impressions, scores and graphs that say nothing about leads or revenue are meant to impress, not to steer.
• Not a word about your business. An agency that only talks about tech and tools and never asks about your goals is optimising for itself.
• GEO detached from everything else. GEO works best alongside SEO, content and brand. Anyone selling it as an isolated trick is missing the bigger picture.
• Everything at once, nothing explained. Speed without explanation often hides a lack of strategy.

For a fuller overview of what to watch out for, read our piece on red flags among GEO providers.

Why the foundation matters

Here is an underrated point: GEO and SEO share the same base. Both reward clear content that genuinely answers a question, a logical structure machines can read, and authority in the form of mentions and a recognisable brand.

That is why you choose an agency that masters both. A partner that gets your SEO foundation in order and lays the GEO layer on top gives you more return than a specialist who only sees one side. Not sure where you stand today? Then start with an SEO audit that covers the base for both, or a quick GEO check of your own page.

Why Customer Impact

We are a growth marketing agency for the Benelux and a pioneer in GEO. Our founder Tanguy De Keyzer wrote the book The End of Search, about how AI is changing search and what that means for brands. That head start translates into an approach that works.

What sets us apart:

• We steer on leads and revenue, not on vanity metrics. A mention in ChatGPT only counts once it brings in customers. That is why we always look at the business goal behind the visibility.
• We combine SEO and GEO. Our GEO optimisation and SEO come together, so you get found in Google as well as in the AI answers your customers read.
• We are open about the method. No secret recipe, just a clear approach that we explain and that you understand.
• We move fast. We are a small team, so you get a short line of communication and more than you expect.

The right moment to start

GEO is still young, and that is exactly why timing matters. The companies laying the groundwork now are building a lead while the competition is still hesitating. Once AI answers are the normal starting point for everyone, catching up on that visibility becomes far harder. Starting early is therefore not a luxury, but a strategic choice.

Choosing a GEO agency is ultimately a choice for whoever understands tomorrow’s search landscape and ties that knowledge to your growth. That is exactly what we stand for.

Ready to choose the right partner?

Tell us your goal, and we will show you where your opportunities lie, in Google as well as in AI searches. No jargon, no empty promises, just an honest picture of what is achievable.

Book your free intake and within 24 hours you will hear how we make you visible in the places where your customers ask their questions today.