Five questions that separate real from rebranded
- “Can you show me a client’s llms.txt?” It is a real file at a real URL. Either they deploy them or they do not.
- “How do you verify AI crawlers can reach my site?” The right answer mentions checking the CDN or edge, not just robots.txt, because Cloudflare overrides robots.txt.
- “Which schema types will you deploy, and why those?” Should be specific to your business type, not a generic list.
- “How do you measure AI visibility?” If the answer is Google rankings, they are measuring the old thing.
- “What happens in month one?” Should be technical foundation work. If they promise rankings, be careful.
Red flags
- Guaranteed rankings. Nobody controls Google or OpenAI’s output. A guarantee is either meaningless or targeting terms nobody searches.
- Volume content packages. "Twenty blog posts a month" is the exact pattern Google’s Helpful Content system demotes and answer engines ignore.
- Cheap link packages. Sub-$300 guest posts are almost always private blog networks, and the penalty risk is real.
- Mass directory submissions. Three hundred citations to sites nobody reads and no model queries.
- Reports instead of changes. If the monthly deliverable is a PDF rather than modifications to your website, you are buying monitoring.
- No access to your own accounts. You should own your Google Business Profile, Search Console, Analytics and domain. Always.
What good actually looks like
A capable AI SEO agency does unglamorous things consistently: verifies crawler access at the edge, deploys accurate structured data, keeps NAP identical everywhere, writes fewer and better pages that answer real questions, and reports on what changed rather than what was observed.
They should also tell you when something is not worth doing. An agency that says yes to everything is selling, not advising.
Own your own accounts
This matters more than any tactic. Your Google Business Profile, Search Console, Analytics, domain registration and hosting should be in accounts you control, with the agency granted access rather than owning them.
Agencies that hold your assets hostage are common enough that it is worth checking before you sign. The right structure gives the agency the permissions it needs to work while leaving you able to walk away with everything intact.
Choosing an AI SEO agency, frequently asked questions
Is AI SEO different enough to need a specialist agency?
The foundations overlap heavily with good technical SEO, so a strong SEO agency that has genuinely adapted is fine. What matters is whether they have adapted, deploying llms.txt, verifying AI crawler access, building entity signals, writing answer-shaped content. Ask for evidence rather than assurances.
Should I hire local or does it not matter?
For local businesses, local helps more than people expect. An agency that knows your market knows which competitors matter, what your customers actually search, and which local directories carry weight. For national or e-commerce, location is largely irrelevant.
What should a contract look like?
Month to month, or a short initial term with a clear exit. You should own every account. Deliverables should be specific changes rather than vague retainer language. Any agency confident in its work does not need to lock you in for a year.