How to choose a GEO agency: questions to ask and red flags

A GEO agency helps your business get found and named in answers from AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. The field is new, so it is hard to tell a good agency from a weak one. Use the seven questions and the red flags on this page before you hire anyone, including us.

1.Can I see a real audit?

Ask for a sample audit that shows the exact questions asked, the AI tools used, and the answers found. A real audit lists where your business is named, where it is cited, and where it is absent. If the agency only shows a score with no answers behind it, you cannot check the work.

2.What will you change, and where?

Good GEO work changes things you can see: crawler access in robots.txt, readable page content, structured data, an llms.txt file, answer pages, and the facts about your business on outside listings. Ask for the list. Ask who makes each change, you or the agency.

3.How do you measure progress?

A fair method uses the same list of customer questions on the same AI tools every month. It records if your business is named, cited or absent. It keeps the raw answers. We explain our own method on How we measure AI visibility.

4.What do you do that my SEO agency does not?

GEO and SEO share many parts, but they are not the same job. A GEO agency should say clearly what is new: AI crawler access, answer shaped pages, entity facts, and AI answer tracking. Read GEO vs SEO for a small business for the difference.

5.What happens if nothing changes?

AI tools choose their own answers. An honest agency says so and tells you what it will do if your business is still not named after the work. Ask for this in writing.

6.Who does the work?

Ask who writes the pages, who edits your site, and who reads the audit with you. Ask if work is done by a person or only by software. Ask what access to your site and accounts the agency needs, and how it removes that access when the job ends.

7.How does the quote work?

Ask what the quote covers and what it does not. A fair quote names the parts of the work: audit, implementation and tracking. At GEO Agency NYC the audit is free. After the audit we give a custom quote. See What does a GEO agency cost? for the parts of the work.

Red flags

• A promise of a first place in AI answers. No agency controls what an AI tool says.
• No sample audit or report. You cannot check what you cannot see.
• No fixed list of test questions. Without it, month to month results cannot be compared.
• SEO work with a new name. If the plan has nothing about AI crawlers, answer pages or answer tracking, it is SEO.
• Fake reviews or bought links. These can harm your business and AI tools may ignore them.
• A long contract before any audit. You should see what the agency finds before you commit.

Questions and answers

What should I ask a GEO agency before I hire it?

Ask to see a real audit with the questions asked, the AI tools used and the answers found. Ask what the agency will change on your site, how it measures progress, who does the work, and what happens if nothing changes.

What is a red flag when I choose a GEO agency?

A promise of a first place in AI answers is the biggest red flag. No agency controls what ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity say. Other red flags are no sample report, no fixed list of test questions, and SEO work with a new name.

How do I know a GEO agency measures results in a real way?

A real method uses the same list of customer questions on the same AI tools each month, and records if your business is named, cited or absent. It shows the raw answers, not only a score.

Does GEO Agency NYC offer a free audit?

Yes. The audit is free. After the audit we give a custom quote for implementation and monthly tracking.