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AI SEO Services: What Is in the Package, What It Costs, and How to Spot a Relabelled Retainer

AI SEO services, also sold as GEO and AEO, bundle six deliverables. See what each one is, what seven agencies publish on price, and what proof to ask for.

AI SEO services, also sold as GEO and AEO services, bundle six things: an audit, prompt research, page and content work, technical access, off-site mentions, and measurement with reports. We read seven agency sites on 12 October 2026. None publishes how many times it re-runs each question. Ask for that number. It separates real AI search work from a relabelled SEO retainer.

Lourdes Paul Agilan, founder of Aquinel

Founder, Aquinel · Published · 8 min read

Note on verification: We read seven agency pages and Clutch profiles on 12 October 2026. We re-asked each page for the exact wording of every price and term. We did not test any agency's results. We did not check Reddit. Pages change, so recheck before you buy.

What do AI SEO services include?

Agencies sell the same work under three names: AI SEO, generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO). Demand is real. US searches for "ai seo services" hit 1,300 a month in September 2026, up 48% on a year earlier (DataForSEO). The same source shows 720 for "generative engine optimization services" and 590 for "answer engine optimization services."

Most packages hold six deliverables. Here is each one in plain words, with the proof you can ask for.

DeliverableWhat it isProof to ask for
AuditA check of whether AI tools name you today.The raw answers behind the score, with dates.
Prompt researchA written list of the questions your buyers ask AI tools.The list, and where each question came from.
Page and content workNew or rewritten pages that answer those questions.Page URLs, each matched to one question.
Technical accessFixes that let AI crawlers read your site.A before-and-after check of robots.txt and page rendering.
Off-site mentionsYour name on other sites AI tools read, like reviews and trade press.Live links to each placement.
Measurement and reportsThe same questions run again and again, then reported as a share.Runs per question, tools tested, and a ratio.

Are GEO, AEO and AI SEO services the same thing?

Mostly yes. Directive's page splits GEO and AEO into two offers. It describes GEO as work to get referenced in AI answers. It describes AEO as structuring content with schema and semantic signals. Then it runs both through one five-step process.

Google's Search Central page "AI features and your website" was updated on 10 December 2025. It says: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." So the page and content work overlaps with SEO.

The names tell you little. The deliverable list tells you more. Compare lists, not labels.

What do seven agencies put in their packages?

We read the AI search page of seven agencies on 12 October 2026. They are WebFX, Single Grain, Seer Interactive, Directive, Siege Media, Lean Labs and Omniscient Digital. We took facts from each agency's own site only. A dash means the page does not list it. Omniscient's facts come from a guide on its own site, published 4 June 2026 and modified 20 August 2026.

AgencyAuditPromptsContentTechnicalOff-siteReports
WebFXYesYesYesYesYesYes
Single Grain–YesYesYesYesYes
Seer InteractiveYesYes–––Yes
Directive––YesYesYesYes
Siege MediaYesYesYes–YesYes
Lean LabsYes–YesYesYesTop tier only
Omniscient DigitalYes–YesYesYesYes

Seer stands apart. Its listed deliverables are all measurement. They are a prompt and tracking plan, a traffic conversion analysis, a benchmark report and a traffic model. It names Scrunch as its tracking partner. It lists no page, technical or off-site work.

Five of the other six list content, technical fixes and outside mentions. Siege lists no technical work. Only four of the seven list a prompt step, so that AI-specific step is the least common.

What do AI search optimization services cost?

Prices are rare. Clutch minimums describe the whole agency, not the AI service.

AgencyPrice on its siteTerm on its siteClutch minimum
WebFXFrom $3,000 a month6-month commitment$1,000+
Single GrainNot shownNot shown$10,000+
Seer InteractiveNot shown"You don't need to commit to a 12-month program to get answers."$10,000+
DirectiveNot shownNot shownNot disclosed
Siege MediaNot shownWants clients who can commit to a "6+ month horizon"$5,000+
Lean LabsTwo pages disagreeNot shownNot disclosed
Omniscient Digital"Start at $10,000 a month"Not shown$5,000+

Lean Labs shows the price problem. Its pricing page lists an on-site AEO Launchpad at "Starting at $5k/mo." It lists off-site work at "Starting at $7k/mo." Its AEO cost page lists the Launchpad as "From $12,000, one-time." It lists Authority Build as "From $5,000/month." Neither page is dated. We can't say which one is current.

WebFX states what its entry price buys. The $3,000 tier lists 50 prompts across 10 AI tools. The page does not say how often each one runs. The same tier lists thought-leadership placements at "~1 every other month." Over its 6-month term, that is about three placements, by our arithmetic.

The Lean Labs pricing page also mentions an "AEO Performance Guarantee." It says one program is "designed to 10x your pipeline from LLMs within 6-12 months." The page shows no terms and no method for either. No one can promise a result in ChatGPT, so read both as marketing claims.

How do you tell a real AI SEO service from a relabelled SEO retainer?

Look at the report. A rank tracker shows one position. AI answers have no fixed position.

SparkToro published a study in January 2026. It is vendor-linked: co-researcher Patrick O'Donnell joined Gumshoe.ai, an AI-tracking startup, and the post says so. Rand Fishkin ran 12 prompts through ChatGPT, Claude and Google's AI. 600 volunteers produced 2,961 runs. SparkToro found a chance of under 1 in 100 that ChatGPT or Google's AI gives the same brand list twice.

Fishkin suggests at least 60 to 100 runs per prompt, then an average. One screenshot proves nothing. A weekly spot check proves little more.

Our test is simple. A real AI SEO service measures the same questions across many runs. It reports a ratio, such as named in 12 of 40 runs. A relabelled retainer sells the same content and links. It then measures with rank and traffic. The monthly report looks like an SEO report with a new cover. That is our view, not a finding from the seven pages.

What did the seven pages show?

  • WebFX counts prompts and tools. It does not say how often it re-runs them.
  • Siege tracks "LLM share of voice" monthly. It gives no run count.
  • Seer re-ran one prompt 30 times in its own June 2026 research. Its client page gives no run count.
  • Single Grain, Directive, Lean Labs and Omniscient name no run count either.

None of the seven publishes how many times it runs each question. Aquinel is our company. Our services page says each question runs "several times." It reports results "as a ratio, never a single screenshot." "Several" is not a number. Ask us for one, as you would ask anyone.

What do these agencies not publish?

Across the seven pages, we found these gaps:

  1. Runs per question. None of the seven.
  2. The prompt list. Directive cites "39+ tracked prompts" in a case study. It does not show how it picked them.
  3. Price. Two of seven show one clear price: WebFX and Omniscient. Lean Labs shows two that disagree.
  4. Contract terms. One of seven states a term: WebFX. Seer and Siege give hints.
  5. Tools. Seer names Scrunch. Single Grain, Directive and Siege name none.

What should you ask before you sign?

Send the same four questions to every agency.

  1. How many times do you run each question, and in which AI tools?
  2. Can I see last month's report for a client, with names removed?
  3. Who owns the pages and mentions you build?
  4. What is the full monthly price, and the minimum term?

Compare the written answers side by side. Our guide to choosing a GEO agency goes deeper. Our comparison of seven GEO agencies shows what each page said on one day. Weigh the second with care, since Aquinel appears in it.

Questions

What do AI SEO services include?

Most packages bundle six things: an audit, a list of buyer questions, page and content work, technical fixes for AI crawlers, mentions on other sites, and measurement with reports. For each one, ask to see proof. A page URL, a live link or a dated report counts as proof.

Are generative engine optimization services and answer engine optimization services different?

Mostly no. Agencies use GEO, AEO and AI SEO for overlapping work. Directive splits GEO and AEO into two offers on one page, yet both run through the same five-step process. Compare the deliverable lists, not the names.

How much do AI search optimization services cost?

Few agencies publish a price. Of seven we read on 12 October 2026, WebFX showed a start of $3,000 a month with a 6-month commitment. Omniscient Digital's own guide showed $10,000 a month. Lean Labs showed two different prices on two pages. Four showed none.

Can an AI SEO service guarantee I show up in ChatGPT?

No. ChatGPT has no fixed ranking. SparkToro's January 2026 study found a chance of under 1 in 100 that ChatGPT or Google's AI gives the same brand list twice. A good service reports how often you appear across many runs.

How do I tell a real AI SEO service from a relabelled SEO retainer?

Ask how many times the agency runs each buyer question, in which AI tools. Then ask for last month's report. A real service shows a ratio, such as named in 12 of 40 runs. A relabelled retainer shows rank positions and traffic only.

Sources

If you would like us to walk you through how this would work for your firm, the call is free.

Lourdes Paul Agilan, founder of Aquinel

About the author

Lourdes Paul Agilan

Founder of Aquinel. Works with MSPs and IT services firms from Chennai, India, on getting recommended by ChatGPT and found on Google.

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