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Before hiring a generative engine optimization (GEO) agency, ask it to put the work—not a promised AI-search ranking—in writing. The scope should identify target queries and platforms, a baseline, technical and content deliverables, reporting methods, approval rights, ownership, fees, change control and exit terms. Check each proposed tactic against the guidance for the specific platform it targets.
What a GEO agency can—and cannot—promise
GEO is a label for work intended to improve visibility in generative search experiences. Google describes its own generative-search optimization as still being SEO: “From Google Search’s perspective, optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO.” Google says its AI search features rely on core Search ranking and quality systems. A page must be indexed and eligible for a Search snippet to be eligible for those features, but eligibility does not guarantee that Google will crawl, index or display it. Google Search Central’s AI features and your website guide explains the limits.
That makes defined work a more sound basis for a contract than a guaranteed mention, citation, ranking or traffic increase. An agency can describe the changes it will make and the observations it will report; it cannot control a platform’s ranking systems or guarantee that a platform will show a particular page. Google also says third-party tools do not have access to its internal ranking or AI systems.
Review the proposal across seven contract areas
Use the questions below to test whether proposals describe comparable, verifiable work. Put the answers and any exclusions in the agreement or an attached scope of work.
#1 Best Overall
- Large area for complete description of work proposed
- Includes space for customer to sign his/her acceptance of proposal.
- 1-part form includes carbons to create 2 part forms if necessary.
- Space at top for company stamp.
| Area | Ask the agency | Put in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Business scope | Which audiences, products or services, locations and buyer questions are included? Which search experiences and platforms will be assessed? | Target query and platform list, exclusions, assumptions, baseline date and baseline method. |
| Technical work | What will be checked or changed on the site, and who approves production changes? | Audits, implementation tasks, dependencies, required access, approval steps and evidence for accepting completed work. |
| Content work | What original expertise or evidence will each page add for customers? Who supplies and approves factual claims? | Deliverables, owners, review rounds, publication rights and quality-control process. |
| Measurement | What counts as a mention, citation, referral or business outcome? How will observations be sampled and repeated? | Reporting schedule, queries, platforms, locations, dates, sampling method, data access and measurement limits. |
| Ownership and control | Who owns accounts, analytics, content, research and work files? Can the business export them? | Account access, intellectual-property terms, data handling, deliverable formats, handover and exit assistance. |
| Commercial terms | What is included in the fee, and what triggers extra work or third-party charges? | Fees, payment milestones, taxes, change control, renewal, termination and transition terms. |
| Risk and compliance | How will the work address privacy, accessibility, factual review and platform policies for this business? | Responsibility allocation and a review process appropriate to the client’s circumstances and jurisdiction. |
A Canadian public procurement scope for website work offers an example of requirements that can be made explicit, including visibility across search and AI platforms, accessibility, content accuracy and content-management autonomy. It is an example, not a universal template for private businesses. Read the CanadaBuys scope of work.
Check the tactics against platform guidance
Ask the agency to connect each recommendation to a customer need, a documented platform requirement or a clearly labelled experiment. For Google Search, current guidance emphasizes useful, original content, technical clarity and crawlability, eligibility for Search, and measurement through Search Console’s Generative AI performance report. Google’s guide also says the following are not required for visibility in its generative AI search features:
- Special
llms.txtfiles. - AI-specific “chunking” of content.
- Rewriting pages solely for AI.
- Special schema markup.
Google warns against seeking inauthentic mentions and says scaled, low-value pages can violate its spam policy. Its separate guidance on using generative AI content is relevant when an engagement proposes AI-assisted production. These statements concern Google products; they do not establish what other AI services require. For a multi-platform proposal, ask the agency to identify the platform-specific documentation behind each tactic.
Set a baseline and make reporting repeatable
A visibility report is only useful if the contract explains what was checked and how someone else could interpret or repeat the check. Agree on the query set, platforms, locations, dates, sampling method and reporting frequency before work begins. Define “mention,” “citation” and “referral” separately rather than treating them as interchangeable. Specify whether the report records a result on one observation or tracks it across repeated samples.
Rank #3
- Understand how contract provisions work
- Adapt reliable drafting precedents
- Avoid drafting errors, omissions, and ambiguities
- Make contracts more user-friendly
- Build flexibility into contracts without compromising precision
Pair platform observations with business measures that matter to the engagement, such as referrals or another agreed outcome, and state what data is available to the client. Google says Search Console provides a Generative AI performance report for Google Search and Discover features; the contract should say whether that report is part of the agency’s analysis and how the client will retain access. Do not treat a third-party visibility score as access to a platform’s internal systems.
Check whether your site is ready for the engagement
Before paying for a distinct GEO program, assess whether the underlying site and content need foundational work. The Canadian Marketing Association’s 2025 AI playbook highlights three readiness checks: do core pages answer customer problems, is expertise verifiable through credentials or other trust signals, and is the site technically discoverable? It presents GEO as building on SEO fundamentals, with conversational answers, specific factual content and visibility testing as additional considerations. See the CMA AI Playbook.
If core information is incomplete, hard to verify or difficult to discover, ask the agency to prioritize those gaps and explain how each deliverable addresses them. A Canadian procurement scope for the Old Port of Montréal and Montréal Science Centre websites likewise shows how a client can specify search and AI visibility alongside accessibility, accurate content and content-management autonomy; those requirements are illustrative, not mandatory for every business.
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One Surrey, British Columbia service provider’s 2026 article describes Canadian-market ranges of CA$10,000–CA$25,000 for a one-off GEO sprint, CA$5,000–CA$15,000 per month for an ongoing retainer, and CA$15,000–CA$44,000 per month for enterprise GEO plus content. These are figures published by that vendor, not independently verified Canadian market averages. The vendor’s 2026 pricing article also presents citation-growth targets and deliverables as its own suggested outcomes; those figures do not establish typical client results.
Use any quote as a prompt to compare included work, staffing, content volume, technical implementation, reporting, exclusions and additional charges—not as proof that a fee is a market norm. Ask agencies to show the evidence and assumptions behind forecasted outcomes, and keep projections distinct from commitments to deliver specified work.
Review the agreement before signing
Confirm that the contract and scope give the business enough control to approve changes, access its accounts and retain usable work when the engagement ends. Specify how additional requests are priced and approved, what happens to in-progress work on termination, and what transition support is included. These are practical contracting checks, not legal advice: applicable contract and privacy obligations depend on the agreement and the business’s province or territory. Have qualified counsel review material terms for the relevant jurisdiction.
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