SEO agency or AI search (AEO/GEO) agency? What to ask before you hire

If you need rankings and traffic from classic search results, start with agencies that name technical, content, or ecommerce SEO. If you need to get cited or recommended inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, or AI Overviews, start with agencies that name AEO, GEO, or AI search. Many of the 33 agencies on the SEO page name both. Listed Agencies is an unpaid, alphabetical directory of ~274 agencies. The order on the SEO page is A-Z.

The rest of this guide helps you name the job before you compare agencies. The directory maps who publishes which work. It does not choose an agency for you.

Two different jobs

Classic SEO and AI search work often share the same foundations: a crawlable site, clear content, and pages other sites reference. They are still different purchases, with different questions about what success means.

Classic SEO agency work compared with AI search agency work
Question	Classic SEO agency	AI search / AEO / GEO agency
What you're buying	Rankings, technical SEO, content, and links aimed at Google and Bing results.	Programs aimed at citations and recommendations inside AI systems, often with supporting SEO.
What exists today	A site and content you can improve for search results.	A brand that also wants to show up inside AI answers.
What success looks like	Organic rankings and traffic you can track in Search Console.	Mentions or citations in named AI systems, measured the way the agency defines on its own site.
Owner on your side	An SEO or content lead.	A growth, brand, or demand lead who owns AI visibility.

This guide does not set ranking timelines, citation rates, traffic thresholds, or expected lift. No sourced figures were provided, and any number here would be invented. Ask each agency how it measures progress, and treat its answer as that agency's claim, not a standard.

Talk vs not-talk checklist

"Talk" means there is a reason to start an agency conversation. It does not mean you should sign. "Not talk yet" means the job is not defined enough to compare scopes.

When an SEO or AI search conversation is worth having
Question	Talk	Not talk yet
Channel	You can name where you want to show up: search results, AI answers, or both.	You only know "search" should bring in more.
Scope	You can name the pages, categories, or queries that matter.	You want the agency to decide what you sell and to whom.
Ownership	Someone on your side owns content, site changes, and reading reports.	No one can approve site or content changes.
Measurement	You know which tool or report you will read, and who reads it.	You have no way to see organic traffic or AI mentions today, and no plan to add one.

Before you request proposals, finish this sentence:

The work I need to hand over is…

"Fix indexation and category-page SEO for our Shopify store, with a monthly content plan" is talk. That points to classic SEO.

"Get us cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews for these five category queries, with technical SEO support" is talk. That points to AI search work with an SEO component.

"Do our SEO" or "do AI SEO", with no channel or outcome named, is not talk yet. Name the channel and the outcome first.

When one agency does both

On 2026-10-05, 17 of the 33 who-they-serve lines on the SEO hub named AEO, GEO, AI search, AI SEO, AI-discovery, or answer engine optimization. The other 16 did not. Many of the 17 also name classic SEO. That overlap is useful, and it also makes scope easy to blur.

When an agency names both, ask:

Which workstream is primary? Classic SEO with AI search added, or AI citations with SEO in support.
Who owns technical SEO? Named people or a role, and whether site changes are included or handed to your team.
Who does AI-citation research? The same team as SEO, or a separate one.
Is classic SEO in scope now, or a later phase? Get it in writing. "SEO and GEO" on a website does not tell you which one your contract buys.

The SEO hub states its own rule: "SEO agencies listed here name SEO on their own website, including technical, ecommerce, and AI search SEO. Amazon listing optimization is not included." There is no separate AEO/GEO hub yet, so AI search agencies that name SEO sit on the same A–Z list.

Read four live rows

The four rows below were linked from the SEO hub on 2026-10-05 PT. They show how to read a listing. They are examples, not recommendations, and not a ranked set. Each quote is the who-they-serve line exactly as the listing shows it.

EcomSEO. Published who-they-serve: "Ecommerce brands buying profit-focused SEO specialized for Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento stores." Ask: is the scope classic ecommerce SEO only, with no AI search line?

Aggentic. Published who-they-serve: "Brands across SaaS, ecommerce, finance, and B2B buying GEO, AEO, and AI SEO programs to get cited and recommended inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and AI Overviews." Ask: do you need citation programs as the primary buy?

Citable. Published who-they-serve: "Brands buying GEO and AI Search programs with technical SEO, content, digital PR, and web implementation so AI systems mention and cite them as sources." Ask: is technical SEO bundled, or a separate phase?

Previsible. Published who-they-serve: "Enterprise and growth teams buying SEO, content marketing, and AI-discovery (GEO) programs for organic pipeline." Ask: does your stage match enterprise and growth teams, and is GEO added to SEO or the main ask?

On every row, separate evidence from assumption.

Evidence: what the who-they-serve line and specialty chips say.

Still to confirm: who does the work day to day, which workstream is primary, how progress is reported, and any fees. Listings do not show rates. Ask the agency.

Last checked is a date, not an endorsement. Unclaimed means the facts came from the agency's public site.

Use the specialty hub

Orientation counts on the SEO page (2026-10-05 PT):

Who-they-serve split on the SEO page
Group	Listed	Use it when…
SEO agencies, all rows	33	You need search work and will narrow by who-they-serve.
Who-they-serve names an AI search term	17	AI answers are part of the job.
Who-they-serve does not name an AI search term	16	Classic search results are the job.

These counts orient the size of the section. They do not rank a row, and they are not a capacity census. A–Z is alphabetical order, not quality order. Claiming a listing does not move a row.

What this directory does not do

Listed Agencies does not collect quotes, publish fees, match you with agencies, or sell placement. Listings are unpaid. Amazon listing optimization is out of scope on the SEO hub. You read the rows, shortlist a few you can explain, and contact agencies yourself.

Next step

Finish the sentence "The work I need to hand over is…". Then open SEO agencies and read each who-they-serve line for the channel you named. Shortlist a few rows you can explain, and visit each /a/ page and agency site with your scope written down. More guides: Guides.