How to choose a generative engine optimization (GEO) agency
The right GEO agency measures before it recommends: it records how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews answer your buyers' questions, names the competitors and sources in those answers, and gives your team prioritised changes with the evidence behind them. Judge agencies on their method, their evidence and who publishes the work, and walk away from anyone who guarantees rankings or citations. Creative Data Engineers is one option, built for marketing teams at brands with several markets and languages.
Published 11 November 2026 · By Balázs Turán
What a good GEO agency shows you
- →A baseline before any advice. Recommendations without a measured starting point are guesses. Ask for the baseline first.
- →The method, in writing. Which questions, which AI services, which markets and languages, how often, and how answers are captured.
- →Evidence for each recommendation. Every recommendation should point to the question, the recorded answers and the sources it is based on.
- →The sources AI assistants cite. Directories, comparison articles, videos and forums often decide who gets named. A good agency tells you which of them matter for your questions and how to earn a place there.
- →Your own pages and their readiness. Crawler access, raw HTML, structured data and structured pages are technical prerequisites. No single one of them earns a citation, but missing them can block you.
- →A fit with your publishing process. Ask whether the agency needs CMS access and who publishes. Our standard service needs no CMS access.
- →Honest promises. Nobody controls what an AI assistant says. An agency that guarantees rankings, citations or recommendations is selling something it cannot deliver.
GEO provider types, compared
Most offers fall into one of four types. The table compares how each type handles the criteria above.
| Provider type | Baseline before advice | Method shown | Evidence per recommendation | Cited third-party sources | Website readiness | Who publishes | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO agency with a GEO offer | Ask | Ask | Ask | Ask | Often part of SEO work | The agency | Retainer or project fee |
| AI visibility tracking software | You build it yourself | Visible in the tool | Data only, no recommendations | Often listed | Ask | Your team | Monthly subscription |
| Measurement and recommendations (Creative Data Engineers) | Yes, from your agreed buyer questions | Questions, AI services, markets and languages agreed with you | Recorded answers, dates and sources | Listed per question, with what to do there | Free Inspector page check; readiness assessed for every brand | Your team or agency | From €199 a month, no setup fee |
| Content or PR agency | Ask, often none | Ask | Ask | Their own network | Rarely | The agency | Retainer or project fee |
Test an agency in 30 days
- →Week 1: agree the questions. Agree the buyer questions with the agency, including questions that compare providers and questions that do not name your brand. Ask for the baseline with recorded answers.
- →Week 2: check three recommendations. Pick three. Each should name the question, the evidence and the page or source to work on. If it does not, ask why.
- →Weeks 3 and 4: publish one or two changes. Publish them in your normal process. Check the changed pages with a free tool such as our AI Visibility Inspector.
- →Next monthly run: compare. The same questions are measured again. Look at answers, competitors and cited sources. You get a clear record of what changed; a change in the answers is not guaranteed.
Questions to ask every GEO agency
- →Which buyer questions will you measure, and can we change them?
- →Which AI services, markets and languages do you measure, and how often?
- →Can we see the recorded answers, dates and sources behind each result?
- →Who writes and publishes the changes, and do you need CMS access?
- →What happens when AI answers change from one month to the next?
- →What does the contract say about term, cancellation and data processing?
Warning signs
- →Guaranteed rankings, citations or recommendations.
- →Results based on one manual chat.
- →No list of the questions that were measured.
- →Only questions that name your brand. They tell you little about buyers who do not know you yet.
- →Reports without dates or sources.
When we are not the right choice
- →You want an agency that writes and publishes for you. With Start, System and Scale, your team or agency implements the recommendations. Partner adds monthly human review, a working call and coordination with your stakeholders, agencies and developers.
- →You need classic SEO. Read AI search and SEO to see where the work differs.
- →You only need data. A tracking tool can be cheaper if your team acts on the numbers. See tools vs a consultant.
Questions buyers ask
What is the best generative engine optimization agency?
The best GEO agency for you depends on your markets, your languages and how much your team publishes itself. Choose one that measures before it recommends, shows its method, backs each recommendation with recorded answers and sources, and promises no rankings. Then test it for 30 days.
What does a GEO agency do?
A GEO agency measures how AI assistants answer your buyers' questions, finds out which competitors and sources they name, and recommends what to publish on your website and on the sources those assistants cite. Some agencies also write and publish the content.
Should we hire a GEO agency or buy an AI visibility tool?
Buy a tool if your team has time to read the data and decide what to do. Hire an agency if you want priorities and recommendations with evidence. Our guide AI visibility tools vs a GEO consultant compares both.
How long until a GEO agency shows results?
Nobody can give you a date. AI assistants change their answers on their own schedule. What you can expect is a monthly record of answers, competitors and sources for the same questions, so you see what changed after you published.
Can GEO recommendations fit our existing CMS and publishing process?
They should. Our standard service needs no CMS access: your team or agency publishes the changes in your normal process, and each recommendation names the page and the evidence.
What human support is included?
Start, System and Scale include no human review or calls. Partner includes monthly human review and a working call: book a call. We coordinate the work with your internal stakeholders, agencies and developers.
Related guides: How to choose an AI visibility agency in Germany · AI visibility tools vs a GEO consultant · AI search and SEO
Start with a free check
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