The question is landing in agency inboxes everywhere right now: 'Are we showing up when people ask ChatGPT to recommend someone like us?' Most agency owners and SEO consultants don't have a clean answer. That gap is the opportunity. AI answer engine optimization — AEO — is the service you can scope, deliver, and charge for today, without rebuilding your entire practice.
Why Clients Are Suddenly Asking This
ChatGPT crossed 200 million weekly active users. Perplexity is serving millions of research queries a day. Claude handles everything from vendor comparisons to local service recommendations. Gemini is baked into Google Search results. Your clients' customers are using all of these to make buying decisions — and your clients have no idea whether they're being mentioned or ignored.
The moment a business owner asks their own question into ChatGPT — 'Who are the best email marketing agencies in Austin?' — and doesn't see their name, they want someone to fix it. That someone should be you.
The Counterintuitive Part: It's Not About Rankings
Here's what most consultants get wrong when they first approach AEO: they treat it like SEO with a different interface. It isn't. AI systems don't crawl and rank pages in real time. They generate answers from trained knowledge, retrieval-augmented context, and indexed content that signals authority and relevance. A business that ranks #1 on Google can be completely invisible to ChatGPT. A business with 40 strong third-party mentions across niche publications can get recommended constantly. The signal set is different.
What an AEO Audit Actually Looks At
When a client asks if they're showing up in AI, you need a structured way to answer it. A real AEO audit covers:
- —Entity recognition — does the AI know this business exists as a named entity with a category, location, and service set?
- —Citation surface — is the business mentioned on the sources AI systems pull from (Reddit, industry directories, review platforms, news sites)?
- —Structured data — does the site have schema markup that lets crawlers understand what the business does?
- —llms.txt — is there a machine-readable file that tells AI systems what to surface about this business?
- —Prompt response testing — what does ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini actually say when asked about this category in this market?
- —Competitor comparison — who IS showing up, and why?
Zygur automates this entire audit. You get a scored report across these dimensions in about 60 seconds. That's your deliverable before the proposal goes out.
How to Structure the Client Conversation
Start with the prompt test, live
Pull up ChatGPT or Perplexity in front of the client — or on a screen share — and type their category and city. 'Best [service] in [city].' Show them the result. If they're not in it, you've created the problem statement in 30 seconds without a deck.
Show them the score
Run their domain through Zygur's free tool. The score gives you a structured breakdown: what's missing, what's weak, and what's working. Clients respond to scores. It makes an abstract problem concrete and makes your expertise visible.
Explain the fix, not just the diagnosis
The fix has three layers: improving entity presence (structured data, llms.txt, consistent NAP signals), expanding citation surface (getting mentioned in the places AI systems trust), and ongoing monitoring (because AI systems update their knowledge and your client's position can shift). That's a setup fee plus a monthly retainer. Scope it accordingly.
How to Price This Service
AEO is new enough that pricing norms haven't calcified yet. That's good for you. A reasonable starting framework:
- —AEO audit: $500–$1,500 depending on market complexity and number of competitors benchmarked
- —Initial optimization (structured data, llms.txt, citation gap work): $1,000–$3,000 one-time
- —Monthly monitoring and reporting: $300–$800/month per client
- —For enterprise or multi-location clients, multiply accordingly
The retainer is where this compounds. AI visibility isn't a one-time fix. Systems retrain, knowledge bases update, competitors make moves. Clients who understand that will pay for ongoing monitoring. Position it that way from the first conversation.
What Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini Do Differently
Not all AI systems behave the same way, and knowing the differences makes you a more credible expert. Perplexity is heavily retrieval-based — it pulls live sources, so recent press mentions and current web content matter more. ChatGPT's default mode blends trained knowledge with browsing, depending on the model. Claude tends to be more conservative and cites established, authoritative sources. Gemini integrates tightly with Google's index, meaning your traditional SEO signals carry more weight there than elsewhere. A complete AEO strategy accounts for all four, not just ChatGPT.
FAQ
Does Google SEO work for AI visibility?
Partially. Good SEO helps with Gemini specifically, since it indexes from Google's own systems. But ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity rely on different signals — entity recognition, structured data, and third-party citations on authoritative sources. You need both, and they require different work.
How long does it take to show up in ChatGPT after fixing this?
It varies. Perplexity can reflect changes within days because it retrieves live content. ChatGPT's knowledge base updates on its own schedule. Expect 4–12 weeks for meaningful improvement across most platforms, with Perplexity moving fastest.
Can I white-label Zygur's audit for clients?
Yes. Zygur is built with agencies in mind. The free score tool at zygur.com is a starting point. For white-label reporting and client management, reach out through the site.
What if my client has zero AI presence right now?
That's actually a better starting position than a mixed or inconsistent one. You're building from clean. Establishing structured data, an llms.txt file, and a handful of strong third-party citations can move the needle faster than correcting years of conflicting information.
Is AEO only relevant for local businesses?
No. Local businesses see the clearest wins earliest — 'best plumber in Denver' is a query with an obvious answer slot. But B2B companies, SaaS products, professional services, and e-commerce brands all have category queries where AI is forming recommendations. The opportunity exists at every level.
Check your score free at zygur.com — takes 60 seconds, no account required.