Buyer's guide

How to brief and vet an AI search agency in the UK

Once you have a shortlist, judge each AI search agency on what it measures, how it shows its evidence and what it will change, not on a list position. Put those requirements in the brief, ask every agency for a sample deliverable, and agree how movement will be reported before work starts.

Still deciding what kind of provider you need, a monitoring tool, a content agency or a specialist? Start with how to choose an AI visibility or GEO agency. This guide is the next step: briefing and vetting a shortlist.

SearchIntel is one of the agencies you might be choosing between, so we have not ranked anyone here, including ourselves. Check who published any ranked list you read. A list position tells you less than ten minutes with a sample deliverable.

What should an AI search agency actually deliver?

A dated baseline: which questions, which engines, which market, and where you appear.
The sources behind the answers, so you can see what to change.
A short list of priorities with the evidence for each.
A re-measurement on the same questions, so you can see movement rather than activity.

What should the brief ask for?

The AI engines in scope, each reported separately.
The question list, agreed with you and editable by you.
A stated rule for what counts as a mention and what counts as a recommendation.
A real sample deliverable, with the client removed, returned with the proposal.
How change will be shown, on which questions, and how often.
Who implements: the agency, your team or your existing agency.

How can you tell measurement from guesswork?

Measurement names the question, the engine, the date and the source. Guesswork talks about "AI" as one thing. Each engine answers differently, so a single blended score hides most of what matters.

What are the red flags?

Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed AI recommendations.
Reporting on one engine and calling it "AI visibility".
Statistics with no named source.
A ranked list of agencies with the author at number one.

What is the difference between AEO, GEO and AI SEO?

They describe overlapping work. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the term from a 2023 research paper on improving visibility in AI-generated answers. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the older name for optimising content to be quoted as a direct answer. AI SEO is the broad label agencies use for both. What matters is the deliverable, not the acronym.

What should the first 90 days look like?

Our view: expect a baseline early, a short list of priorities, the first changes made by whoever implements, and a re-measurement on the same questions within the first 90 days.

Want to see where AI recommends your competitors instead of you?

We look at the questions your buyers ask, what six AI platforms answer, and which sources those answers lean on. Then we set out the priorities, with the evidence for each.

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