Generative engine optimization (GEO) services

Generative engine optimization (GEO) services are paid work to get a company's pages retrieved, cited, and described accurately in answers written by AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI Overviews. AEO HQ sells GEO services and answer engine optimization (AEO) services as one offer: the same four fixed-price packages, from the automated Instant AEO Audit at $499 to $8,995 for an audit, a plan, and technical implementation.

AEO HQ uses one offer because GEO and AEO are two names for much the same work. Clutch's agency directory says GEO is "also known as answer engine optimization (AEO) or LLM optimization" (opens in a new tab), and G2 describes AEO software as "also known as generative engine optimization (GEO)" (opens in a new tab). Buying the two as separate services for the same pages would pay twice for one job. This page explains what GEO work covers at each stage of a generative engine, which tactics the research supports and which it does not, what each package includes, and how to buy. Package contents and prices come from AEO HQ's pricing page, checked on September 28, 2026. The AEO services page describes the same packages in more detail.

What GEO work covers, stage by stage

A generative engine answers in stages. It decides whether to search, finds candidate pages in an index, reorders them, and writes an answer from the top results, citing some of them. AEO HQ's complete guide to generative engine optimization describes each stage with its sources. Work on a company's own pages can act on some of these stages and not on others.

The table follows What replicates in AEO and GEO research, AEO HQ's review of which findings hold up across studies. The last column is our mapping of the items on the pricing page to each stage; the pricing page does not map them itself.

Two limits apply at every stage. 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), and no study we found has measured how long a page takes to be cited after it changes. What the packages buy is defined work, not a result.

In our reading of the evidence, the levers with the most support are the first four rows: pages that crawlers can reach and search engines index, the buyer's own words, an answer early on the page, and specific, consistent facts, checked by measuring over repeated runs.

Tactics the evidence does not support

Several tactics sold as GEO did not hold up when later studies tested them, or break the platforms' rules. None of the six below appears in AEO HQ's package lists. Generative engine optimization antipatterns covers them in more depth.

Two items in the packages touch practices whose effect on AI answers is not established: Blueprint + Implementation includes schema markup, and the Instant AEO Audit checks whether a site has an llms.txt file. In a matched study of 1,885 pages that added schema markup, AI citations did not rise (opens in a new tab) (vendor study). In one vendor's server logs, 97% of llms.txt files received no requests in May 2026 (opens in a new tab). Google asks that structured data match the visible text on the page (opens in a new tab), and says that for Google Search "you can ignore tactics like 'chunking' content, creating unnecessary AI text files (like llms.txt), or pursuing inauthentic mentions" (opens in a new tab) (official documentation). We recommend reading both as housekeeping: markup should match the page, and the llms.txt check is information, not a defect.

What each package includes

The packages are the same whether you buy them as GEO or AEO services. The first three columns follow AEO HQ's own package descriptions. The last column states what each package leaves out.

Terms, as the pricing page and checkout state them:

• Prices are fixed and paid once. 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. The $499 Instant AEO Audit is not credited toward other packages.
• Delivery. The AEO Audit is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake. The Blueprint adds strategy work on top of that, and implementation timelines depend on your stack and access.
• Technical Implementation on its own starts at $5,000 and is scoped by email.
• Monthly retainer. After the Blueprint, AEO HQ offers monthly work: "briefs, articles, answer pages, refreshes, and citation tracking across AI assistants." It has no published price; the pricing page asks you to book a call.

The pricing page does not state how many buyer questions the AEO Audit's AI visibility audit tests, or how many times each is run. Because answers vary from run to run, ask for both numbers in writing before you buy. The Instant AEO Audit's AI check is directional only; the methodology page explains what the automated audit measures and what it does not.

How an engagement runs

1. Buy. Choose a package, enter a work email, and pay the one-time price at checkout. Payment is handled by Stripe.
2. Intake (AEO Audit and both Blueprint packages). A receipt and a sign-in link for the client portal arrive by email. The intake form takes about five minutes and asks for your company, domain, top three competitors, and up to 25 target topics and keywords, plus access to Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console, and to your HubSpot portal if you use HubSpot.
3. Audit. AEO HQ audits technical SEO, content coverage, AI visibility, and where competitors win. The report is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake, with a 60-minute readout call.
4. Strategy and implementation (Blueprint packages). A competitor gap analysis, a content strategy and topic map, a prioritized roadmap, and a strategy workshop. In Blueprint + Implementation, the tracking, schema, and technical fixes are then implemented; timing depends on your stack and access.
5. Delivery. The client portal shows each project's stage, and deliverables appear there as files to download.

The Instant AEO Audit skips steps 2 to 4. 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.

Who GEO services suit, and who they do not

This is our reading of the evidence in Is AEO worth it? What the evidence says, which covers the practice under both names.

GEO services tend to suit:

1. Companies whose buyers research with AI assistants. In a March 2026 survey of 1,076 business software buyers, 51% said they now start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google (opens in a new tab) (survey by a software review platform). Check this with your own customers.
2. B2B companies with a product and a website, the buyers AEO HQ's site says it serves.
3. Companies whose key facts, such as prices and scope, are missing from their pages or stated inconsistently. The citation studies above tested facts of this kind, such as stated prices and consistent claims.

They do not suit:

1. Anyone who needs a guaranteed citation or a date. No provider can promise either, as the platforms' own statements above show.
2. Teams that mainly need content written or coverage earned on other sites. No package includes either.
3. Teams that want only ongoing measurement. A monitoring tool may cost less; AEO and AI visibility tools compared lists published prices.

FAQ

What are generative engine optimization services?

Work on a company's pages, facts, and measurement so that generative AI systems can find, cite, and describe the company accurately. At AEO HQ they are the same four packages as its AEO services, priced from $499 to $8,995.

Why use generative engine optimization services?

Buyers ask AI systems about vendors, and the systems can only cite pages they can reach. Whether paying for the work makes sense depends on whether your buyers use assistants and whether you can measure the result. The evidence that any single tactic reliably raises AI recommendations is weak, as the review cited above found.

Are GEO services different from AEO services?

At AEO HQ, no. The packages, prices, and deliverables are the same under both names. Other providers may use the names differently, so compare what each will deliver.

Is GEO the same as LLM SEO or AI search optimization?

They are further names for much the same work. Clutch's directory, quoted above, gives "LLM optimization" as another name for GEO. AEO HQ's umbrella term is AI search optimization: SEO plus corroboration on other sites, specific facts, and measurement.

How much does a GEO agency cost?

AEO HQ's packages cost $499, $2,500, $4,995, and $8,995, each paid once. Prices published by other sellers, including those that sell the work as GEO, are collected in what AEO costs, AEO HQ's sourced pricing index.

Can a GEO agency guarantee citations in ChatGPT or AI Overviews?

No. Google, OpenAI, and Bing each say that placement is not guaranteed, as quoted above. A provider can promise defined work and a way of measuring it.

How long does GEO take to work?

No study we found has measured how long a page takes to start appearing in AI answers. A page must be indexed first, and Google says crawling a URL "can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks" (opens in a new tab) (official documentation). The AEO Audit itself is typically delivered in about two weeks from completed intake.

How do I choose a GEO agency?

Compare in writing what each provider will do, how it will measure the result, and what it will cost. Avoid providers that guarantee rankings or citations, present their own "best agency" lists as independent, or report a score they will not explain. How to choose an AEO or GEO agency lists the questions to ask, and they apply to AEO HQ as well.

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, email paul@aeohq.ai.

Change log

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