Answer engine optimization (AEO) services

Answer engine optimization (AEO) services are paid work that makes a company's pages and facts easier for AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI Overviews, to find, use, and cite. AEO HQ sells them as four fixed-price, one-time packages: the automated Instant AEO Audit ($499), the AEO Audit ($2,500), the AEO Blueprint ($4,995), and Blueprint + Implementation ($8,995). No package includes content writing, and none guarantees a ranking or a citation.

This page is for buyers comparing AEO agencies and services. It sets out what each package includes and leaves out, who the work suits, how an engagement runs, and how to buy. Package contents and prices are taken from AEO HQ's pricing page, checked on September 28, 2026. AEO HQ also sells the same packages under a second name, generative engine optimization (GEO), because the two names describe much the same work; the GEO services page describes them from that side. AEO HQ is the seller here. Statements about other organizations link to their sources.

What the work covers

AEO work acts on what an AI assistant does before it answers. AEO HQ's complete guide to answer engine optimization explains the method. In short, the work has four parts:

1. Access. Search engines and AI crawlers must be able to fetch and index the pages. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode can only show pages that are indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet (opens in a new tab) (official documentation).
2. Answers. Pages should answer buyers' questions in the buyers' own words and state specific facts. In a controlled test of six AI models, a source that mentioned a price was significantly more likely to be cited first in all six (opens in a new tab) (peer-reviewed; laboratory; the authors work for a software company).
3. Consistent facts. The company's name, services, and prices should read the same on every page and profile. In the same test, consistent rather than contradictory claims were one of the factors that changed which source a model cited first (opens in a new tab).
4. Measurement. What assistants say about a company has to be measured over repeated runs, because when the same prompt was repeated, ChatGPT and Google's AI returned the same list of brands less than once in 100 runs (opens in a new tab) (vendor study; 2,961 runs).

Much of this is search engine optimization (SEO). Google says that optimizing for generative AI search "is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO" (opens in a new tab) (official documentation), and the AEO Audit includes a technical SEO audit. Assistants also cite other sites far more than a company's own: in one panel of 102 brands, only 2.9% of 149,912 citations pointed to the tracked brand's own domain (opens in a new tab) (preprint; the author co-founded the tracking platform studied). The AEO Audit and the Blueprint analyze where competitors win in search and AI answers, but no package includes work on other sites, such as earning reviews or press coverage.

The four packages

Each price is fixed and paid once at checkout. No retainer is required.

What each package includes, and what it leaves out

Instant AEO Audit: $499

The Instant AEO Audit is automated: software runs it, and no person reviews it. The pricing page lists what it covers: a live crawl of your key pages; AI crawler access, schema, and llms.txt checks; authority and keyword data from Ahrefs; side-by-side analysis of up to three competitors; and how AI assistants answer your buyers' questions. You receive a readiness score, a prioritized to-do list with steps, and competitor moves.

What it leaves out:

• Live assistants and repeated runs. The last item on that list is a small sample from one AI model. The model answers five buyer questions, once each, through its API and without web search. The audit does not test the ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google interfaces that buyers use, so it cannot say how often they mention you. The methodology page describes each step and its limits.
• A measured score. An AI model writes the readiness score from the evidence the audit collects, and the code sets no formula or weights for it. Read it as a summary judgment, not a measurement.
• People and meetings. There is no review by a person and no call.
• Your own data. The audit does not use your analytics or Search Console data.
• Credit. Its $499 is credited toward the AEO Audit if you buy the Audit within 30 days with the same email.

Buy the Instant AEO Audit

AEO Audit: $2,500

The pricing page lists five parts: a technical SEO audit; a content and topical coverage audit; an AI visibility audit across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI Overviews; where competitors win, and why; and a prioritized findings report. You receive an audit report (PDF), an AI citation snapshot, a priority fix list, and a 60-minute readout call. The Audit is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake.

What it leaves out:

• A plan. The content strategy, topic map, and roadmap are in the Blueprint.
• Doing the fixes. The Audit reports what to fix. Implementation and content writing are not included.
• Measurement over time. The Audit is a one-time engagement. Monthly citation tracking is part of the retainer described below.
• Work on other sites.

Confirm one point before you buy. The pricing page names the four assistants that the AI visibility audit covers, but it does not state how many buyer questions are tested or how many times each is run. Those numbers decide how much the result can tell you. A small sample leaves a wide range: if none of five answers names a company, the 95% range for its true rate still runs from 0% to 43% (AEO HQ's calculation, using the Wilson interval, which suits small samples (opens in a new tab)). Ask for the number of questions and runs in writing, as How to choose an AEO or GEO agency advises for any provider.

Buy the AEO Audit

AEO Blueprint: $4,995

The Blueprint contains everything in the AEO Audit. The pricing page adds: competitor analysis across search and AI answers; content strategy and answer-page architecture; a prioritized plan to rank in search and get cited by AI; and schema and entity recommendations. An entity is a distinct thing, such as a company, a person, or a product, that search systems and language models can identify and keep apart from others. You receive everything in the Audit, plus a competitor gap analysis, a content strategy and topic map, a prioritized roadmap, and a strategy workshop. The pricing page says the Blueprint adds strategy work on top of the Audit's delivery time; it gives no separate figure.

If you bought the AEO Audit in the last 30 days, its full $2,500 is credited automatically at checkout when you use the same email. The Audit and the Blueprint together then cost $4,995, the Blueprint's price.

What it leaves out: implementation, content writing, and work on other sites. The plan sets out what to do and in what order. It does not promise a ranking or a citation.

Buy the AEO Blueprint

Blueprint + Implementation: $8,995

This package is the AEO Blueprint with the Technical Implementation add-on included. The pricing page lists: GA4, Search Console, and conversion events; schema markup, sitemap, robots, and redirects; and Core Web Vitals fixes and a reporting dashboard. You receive everything in the Blueprint, plus implemented tracking and schema, technical fixes shipped, a HubSpot attribution tie-in, and a live reporting dashboard. Implementation timelines depend on your stack and access.

On its own, the Technical Implementation add-on starts at $5,000 and is scoped by email. It covers GA4 setup and conversion events, Google Search Console setup and verification, schema markup, sitemap and robots.txt cleanup, redirect mapping and fixes, Core Web Vitals fixes, a HubSpot attribution tie-in, and a reporting dashboard. Content creation is not included.

We recommend reading structured data, the schema markup in this work, as maintenance rather than as a way to be cited. In a matched study of 1,885 pages that added JSON-LD markup, AI Overview citations fell 4.6%, and the changes for AI Mode and ChatGPT were statistically indistinguishable from zero (opens in a new tab) (vendor study). Google says that structured data isn't required for generative AI search (opens in a new tab), and asks site owners to make sure it matches the visible text on the page (opens in a new tab) (official documentation).

What it leaves out: content creation and ongoing monthly work.

Buy Blueprint + Implementation

After the Blueprint: the monthly retainer

The pricing page describes a monthly retainer: "After the Blueprint, our team executes the plan every month: briefs, articles, answer pages, refreshes, and citation tracking across AI assistants." It has no published price, and the pricing page asks you to book a call. Ongoing content execution is available through this retainer.

Who these services suit, and who they do not

This section is our reading of the evidence set out in Is AEO worth it? What the evidence says. No study has compared results across types of company.

The services tend to suit:

1. B2B companies with a product and a website. AEO HQ's site says it is for B2B marketing leaders and founders who already have both. The industry guides cover B2B SaaS and five other kinds of business.
2. Companies whose buyers ask AI assistants about the category. Ask recent customers how they found you before you buy.
3. Teams that can act on findings. The Audit and the Blueprint diagnose and plan. Someone still has to write and publish.
4. Companies with specific facts to publish, such as prices, scope, and comparisons.

They do not suit:

1. Anyone who needs a guaranteed ranking, citation, or date. No one can promise one; see What AEO HQ does not promise.
2. Companies whose buyers do not ask assistants about the category.
3. Teams that mainly need content written or coverage earned on other sites. No package includes either.
4. Teams that want only ongoing measurement. A monitoring tool may cost less; AEO and AI visibility tools compared lists published prices.

How an engagement runs

For the AEO Audit, the AEO Blueprint, and Blueprint + Implementation:

1. Buy. Choose a package, enter a work email, and pay the one-time price at checkout. Payment is handled by Stripe.
2. Receive a receipt and a sign-in link for the client portal at the email you paid with.
3. Complete the intake form. It takes about five minutes and asks for your company name, primary domain, top three competitors, up to 25 target topics and keywords, and anything else AEO HQ should know. It also asks for access to Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console, and to your HubSpot portal if you use HubSpot, and walks you through granting each.
4. Audit. AEO HQ audits technical SEO, content and topical coverage, AI visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI Overviews, and where competitors win. The report is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake, with a 60-minute readout call.
5. Strategy (Blueprint and Blueprint + Implementation). A competitor gap analysis, a content strategy and topic map, a prioritized roadmap, and a strategy workshop.
6. Implementation (Blueprint + Implementation only). Tracking, schema, and technical fixes are implemented, with a HubSpot attribution tie-in and a live reporting dashboard. Timing depends on your stack and access.
7. Follow progress. The client portal shows each project's stage (intake, audit, strategy, implementation, delivered), and deliverables appear there as files to download.

The Instant AEO Audit runs differently. There is no intake form and no call: you enter the domain to audit and, if you like, up to three competitor domains, the audit runs automatically, and the report appears in the client portal.

Prices and credits

• One-time prices: $499, $2,500, $4,995, and $8,995. No retainer is required.
• Audit credit: if you upgrade to the AEO Blueprint within 30 days of buying the AEO Audit, the full $2,500 is credited automatically at checkout when you use the same email. The checkout applies the same credit to Blueprint + Implementation.
• Instant AEO Audit credit: its $499 is credited toward the AEO Audit within 30 days, with the same email.
• Technical Implementation on its own: from $5,000, scoped by email.
• Monthly retainer: no published price.

For other sellers' published prices, see what AEO costs, AEO HQ's sourced pricing index.

How the packages compare

What AEO HQ does not promise

• No guaranteed rankings, citations, mentions, traffic, or dates. No outside provider controls these. Google says third-party tools "can't guarantee performance" (opens in a new tab) and lists services that promise improvements for AI experiences, which it says are "also known as 'AEO' or 'GEO' tools" (opens in a new tab), among those to evaluate critically. OpenAI says of ChatGPT search that "Placement is not guaranteed" (opens in a new tab), and Bing says "GEO does not guarantee grounding or citations in AI experiences" (opens in a new tab) (all official documentation).
• No "rank in ChatGPT." Assistants do not return a stable ranked list: it took about 1 in 1,000 runs to see two brand lists in the same order (opens in a new tab) (vendor study).
• No timeline for appearing in AI answers. No study we found has measured how long it takes, and a 2026 review of 45 studies found no technique with a stable, longitudinal, cross-platform causal effect on organic discoverability (opens in a new tab) (preprint).
• Example engagements, not client results. The case studies on this site are example engagements for hypothetical companies. They show how an audit would run in six industries and report no results.

The methodology page lists what AEO HQ does not claim.

FAQ

What is an answer engine optimization agency?

A firm that does answer engine optimization work for clients: audits, plans, content, technical fixes, and measurement of what AI assistants say about a company. Consultants, in-house teams, and monitoring software cover parts of the same work. Scope varies between agencies, so compare what each will deliver rather than what it calls the service. AEO HQ is an AEO agency that sells the four fixed-price packages above.

What do AEO services include?

At AEO HQ: an automated audit, an audit of technical SEO, content coverage, and AI visibility, a prioritized plan, and technical implementation, sold as four packages. Content writing and work on other sites are not included.

How much do AEO services cost?

AEO HQ's packages cost $499, $2,500, $4,995, and $8,995, each paid once. The Technical Implementation add-on starts at $5,000 on its own, and the monthly retainer has no published price. Other sellers' prices are collected in the pricing index linked above.

Can an AEO agency guarantee that ChatGPT recommends us?

No. OpenAI says placement in ChatGPT search is not guaranteed, as quoted above. An agency can promise work and a way of measuring it, not an answer from another company's model.

How long does AEO take?

The AEO Audit is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake. The Blueprint adds strategy work, and implementation time depends on your stack and access. How long AI answers take to change has not been measured by any study we found. Indexing alone takes time: Google says crawling a URL "can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks" (opens in a new tab) (official documentation).

Do you write content?

No package includes content writing. The Blueprint includes the content strategy and plan, and ongoing content execution is available through the monthly retainer.

What access do you need?

For the AEO Audit and both Blueprint packages, the intake form asks for access to Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console, and to your HubSpot portal if you use HubSpot. The Instant AEO Audit needs only a domain.

Does the AEO Audit fee count toward the Blueprint?

Yes. If you upgrade within 30 days of buying the AEO Audit and use the same email, the full $2,500 is credited automatically at checkout. The same credit applies to Blueprint + Implementation.

Is AEO the same as GEO?

Mostly. The names describe much the same work, and AEO HQ sells the same packages under both. The GEO services page explains the work stage by stage, with the research behind it.

Can I see examples of the work?

The case studies show example engagements for six hypothetical companies. Each one sets out the questions an audit would check, the rules that apply in that industry, the deliverables, and how results would be measured. None reports results. For the measurement design AEO HQ recommends, see how to measure AI visibility and the methodology page.

How to buy

• Buy the Instant AEO Audit, $499
• Buy the AEO Audit, $2,500
• Buy the AEO Blueprint, $4,995
• Buy Blueprint + Implementation, $8,995

Each link opens the pricing page with that package in your order. Enter a work email and continue to checkout. To scope the Technical Implementation add-on on its own, or to ask about the monthly retainer or about anything on this page, email paul@aeohq.ai.

Change log

• September 28, 2026: First published. Package contents and prices checked against the pricing page on September 28, 2026.