Key takeaways
- AEO and GEO extend good SEO. Google says the same best practices apply to its AI features.
- Sell visibility and citations, measured monthly, never "guaranteed ChatGPT placement".
- Package it as an upgrade to SEO, not a separate magic product.
What are AEO and GEO?
AEO, answer engine optimization, makes content easy for search features and assistants to quote as a direct answer. GEO, generative engine optimization, helps a brand get mentioned and cited in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. Both build on solid SEO: clear content, strong entities and trusted mentions.
Google's guidance on AI features and your website is explicit that there are no special requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that SEO best practices still apply. That is good news for agencies: the work is real, and it compounds with SEO.
Why are clients asking for it now?
Because AI answers are changing how people click. In a Pew Research Center study of real browsing data, users who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no summary appeared. Clients see that shift in their traffic and want to know how to stay visible.
The figures come from Pew Research Center, July 2025. I break down what it means in how AI Overviews affect your clients' traffic.
What to promise, and what not
| Promise this | Never promise this |
|---|---|
| Content structured to be quoted and cited | Guaranteed placement in ChatGPT or AI Overviews |
| Monthly tracking of brand mentions and citations | A fixed number of AI mentions |
| Stronger entity signals and trusted mentions | Secret prompts or hacks |
| Honest reporting of what changed | Results in the first few weeks |
How should you package AEO and GEO?
Package it as a layer on top of SEO: an AI visibility audit to set the baseline, then a monthly add-on for content structure, entity work, mentions and tracking. Clients understand the audit as a clear first step, and the monthly add-on keeps the work measurable. Selling it standalone, without SEO underneath, rarely delivers results.
Visibility audit
Where the brand appears in AI answers today, and where competitors appear instead. From $400 wholesale.
Answer-ready content
Direct answers, tables and FAQs that AI systems can extract, following Google's people-first guidance.
Entity and mentions
Consistent brand facts, schema and trusted third-party mentions.
Monthly tracking
Mentions and citations reported next to rankings. From $300 per month wholesale.
The content side follows Google's advice on helpful, people-first content. My white label AEO and GEO service covers the delivery.
A simple pitch you can use
Put the AI metrics in the monthly report, as shown in white label reporting, and use the upsell steps in how to sell SEO to existing clients. The full offer is on the white label SEO services page.
Frequently asked questions
Is AEO different from SEO?
It builds on SEO. The same technical and content foundations help both rankings and AI citations.
Can you guarantee a client appears in ChatGPT?
No one can. You can improve the odds and measure the change.
How do you measure AI visibility?
By tracking brand mentions and citations for a set of relevant prompts each month.
How much should agencies charge for AEO?
Most price it as an add-on to SEO. Use the same markup logic as SEO, around 2x wholesale.
Which clients benefit most?
Brands in categories where buyers research before buying: B2B, healthcare, legal, automotive and e-commerce.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is a senior SEO specialist with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships and supervises the SEO of 18 US e-commerce stores. He runs White Label SEO LATAM from Medellín, Colombia, and delivers white label SEO for agencies in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Read more · LinkedIn.