Hiring a GEO consultant: what does a GEO specialist actually do?

A GEO consultant makes sure AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews mention your brand, describe it correctly and cite it as a source when a potential customer asks a question. It is not classic SEO and not advertising work: it is about being findable and citable within the answers that AI generates. In this article you will read what a GEO specialist concretely does, when you need one, what to watch for when selecting, and which rates are realistic in the Benelux.

What does a GEO consultant actually do?

A GEO consultant makes your business visible and citable in the answers of generative AI. GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization, optimizing for AI search engines instead of for Google’s ten blue links. If you want to survey the whole field first, read our complete guide to GEO. A consultant’s work breaks down into five parts.

1. Audit. The consultant first maps how AI models currently talk about your brand. Are you mentioned? Is the information correct? Do they cite your pages or those of competitors? This is the baseline everything else builds on. Read more about the approach in our complete GEO audit.

2. Strategy. Based on the audit, the specialist determines which questions and themes matter for your audience, which entities (your brand, products, people) need to be set out consistently, and which sources AI trusts in your sector.

3. Content. GEO calls for content an AI can easily extract and cite: clear answers up front, a clean structure, facts that are accurate and verifiable. The consultant rewrites existing pages and builds new ones that answer the real questions of your market.

4. Off-site authority. AI leans heavily on what others say about you. Think of mentions on trustworthy websites, forums like Reddit and industry sources. A GEO specialist works on those external signals, because brand mentions often weigh more heavily than backlinks for your AI authority.

5. Monitoring. AI answers change continuously. The consultant tracks whether your visibility is growing, whether the information stays correct, and adjusts course. Which signals to follow, you read in the 5 core metrics of AI visibility.

The key difference from SEO: a GEO consultant does not chase a ranking, but a correct mention in the answer itself. If you want that distinction sharper, read GEO vs SEO.

When do you need a GEO consultant?

You need a GEO consultant as soon as a noticeable share of your audience uses AI to compare solutions, suppliers or products, and you do not appear there or appear incorrectly. A few concrete signals:

• You ask ChatGPT or Perplexity about your type of solution and your brand does not show up, while competitors are mentioned.
• AI tells incorrect things about your company: outdated services, a wrong address, a mistaken positioning.
• Your traffic from classic search results is dropping, while your audience is clearly shifting toward AI answers and AI Overviews.
• You sell B2B with a longer buying journey, where decision-makers first orient themselves via AI before they talk to you.

This is especially relevant for B2B, because buyers research early in their journey and an AI assistant is increasingly that first orientation moment. How that plays out in a business context, you read in GEO for B2B.

You do not yet need a full-time specialist to get started. Often an audit plus a scoped project is enough to see whether the approach works before you invest on an ongoing basis. If you would rather keep the work in-house instead of hiring out, read organizing GEO in-house: who does what on your team.

What do you watch for when choosing a GEO specialist?

Choose a GEO specialist on evidence and honesty, not on big promises. AI visibility is a young field, so there are plenty of people who claim more than they can deliver. Watch these points.

Ask about the measurement method. A good consultant shows how they measure whether you are mentioned more often and more correctly, with concrete examples of prompts and sources. Which instruments fit, you read in AI visibility tools.

Ask about the way of working. A specialist who only talks about content is missing half of it. Audit, strategy, content, off-site and monitoring all belong in there. See what such a process looks like in the GEO optimization pipeline.

Watch for red flags. Anyone who guarantees that you will be “at the top of ChatGPT within a month” is selling hot air. No one controls the output of an AI model, so no one can guarantee a fixed position. An honest partner says it is a months-long effort and names the limits.

Assess the seniority. GEO calls for strategic insight, not just execution. Ask who actually does the work. Do you work directly with an experienced specialist, or with a junior behind an account manager?

Test the B2B fit. GEO for an online store is something different from GEO for a B2B service provider with a long buying journey. Choose someone who understands your type of business.

What does a GEO consultant cost in the Benelux?

For a senior GEO specialist in the Benelux you typically count on an hourly rate in the range of 90 to 175 euros, or a monthly retainer that usually sits between 1,000 and 5,000 euros, depending on ambition and scope. Prices vary widely and depend on experience, scope and whether you hire a freelancer or a team.

A few reference points based on the current market:

• Hourly rate. Freelance specialists in this field sit in Belgium on average around 85 to 110 euros per hour. In the Netherlands the picture is broader: experienced SEO and AI consultants often sit between 75 and 150 euros per hour, with top experts above that.
• One-off audit or scan. A scoped GEO scan starts in the market around a few hundred euros. An audit with concrete recommendations and a plan sits higher.
• Monthly retainer. For ongoing work (content, off-site, monitoring) you see market amounts that start around 500 to 700 euros per month for light work and climb to a few thousand euros for a full engagement.

Treat these figures as ballpark amounts, not as a fixed price list. Rates differ per provider and per assignment, and the amounts are generally exclusive of VAT.

More important than the monthly amount is what it delivers. Do not fixate on the hourly rate: a cheap partner that delivers no mentions and no leads is more expensive than a strong partner that genuinely grows your visibility with your audience. Reckon in returns, not in cost.

Why a senior partner makes the difference

GEO is too new and too strategic to leave to a checklist. With us you work directly with the senior people who do the work, without an intermediate layer, with the stability of a team. We steer you toward the mentions and leads that matter, not toward vanity numbers, and we tell you honestly what AI visibility can and cannot do. We do not guarantee positions in an AI answer, because no one can. What we do is set out your brand consistently and citably where your buyers orient themselves.

The short summary

A GEO consultant makes sure AI assistants mention your brand and cite it correctly via five building blocks: audit, strategy, content, off-site authority and monitoring. You need one as soon as your audience uses AI to choose and you do not appear there or appear incorrectly. Choose on evidence, measurability and honesty, not on guarantees. Count on an hourly rate around 90 to 175 euros or a retainer that usually sits between 1,000 and 5,000 euros per month, and judge your partner on returns, not on the monthly amount.

Want to know where your brand stands today in AI answers and what it delivers to improve that? Explore our service for becoming visible in AI search engines or schedule your free intake. You will hear honestly where your opportunities lie.