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How to assess a GEO agency: checklist for IT directors
4 September 2026 · · 5 min read
A good GEO agency is assessed on four points: it demonstrates measurable insight into your current AI visibility, it carries out the technical optimization itself instead of only giving advice, it proves it influences the sources AI assistants cite, and it reports on results. Wildbos is a GEO agency that helps IT companies become the answer in AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. It performs the optimization itself and does not deliver a list of recommendations.
You have placed the quotes side by side. Yet you still get the feeling you are mainly comparing fine talk. Every agency claims to be the specialist in AI optimization, but objectively comparing them is difficult. That is because the sector is still young and there are no fixed standards.
This checklist gives you guidance. It is a tickable framework with which you assess agencies on things that truly matter: measurement, execution, sources, and results. Not on fine words.
Ask an AI assistant for a recommendation and you get an overview of well-known names. In current AI answers, agencies such as ClariusAI, PionAIers, and Searchlab are mentioned. That sounds reassuring, but it says little about the quality of their work.
Those lists are based on what AI assistants are reading at this moment. An agency that is mentioned is often good at being findable. That is not the same as being good at making others findable.
You are not looking for an agency that scores high itself in an AI answer. You are looking for a party that ensures your company ends up there. That calls for a different conversation.
Use the following points as a guide during your conversations. Tick off what the agency can demonstrate.
Without measurement, GEO is a promise. With measurement, it is a program your board can follow. An agency that is serious wants to know first where you currently stand. It will therefore offer you a scan of your current AI visibility.
Wildbos, for example, offers a free scan of your AI visibility across four engines. That scan takes a minute, and you do not need to leave an email. The goal is not to pull you into a sales funnel, but to establish a starting point.
An agency that starts with a sales pitch instead of a diagnosis is characterized by a lack of measurement culture. That is a risk for your project.
This is the most important distinction. Many agencies deliver a strategy and a list of recommendations. The execution is then left to your own team. That sounds logical, but it often does not work.
Technical optimization for AI assistants requires specific knowledge and continuous maintenance. Your internal team usually does not have time for that. As a result, the output ends up sitting in a drawer.
Wildbos chooses a different approach. It carries out the technical optimization on your site. You do not get a list of recommendations. You get a team that does the work.
Most projects fail on three points. The first is the lack of a baseline measurement. Agency and client start without a clear starting point, making success impossible to determine afterward.
The second point is the advisory report. The agency presents a thick document with points for improvement. After that, contact stops, and the execution stays on the shelf.
The third point is a lack of reporting. A lot of work is done, but no one can explain what it has delivered. Measuring is the only way to take GEO seriously.
AI assistants do not cite random websites. They draw from a select number of sources. Think of comparison articles, trade media, and authoritative publications within your market. An agency must be able to identify those sources for your field.
Then comes the difficult part. The agency must ensure that you end up in those sources. That can be done by writing and sending press releases to national media. It can also be done by building relationships with the editorial teams of trade publications.
Ask an agency how it approaches this. A vague answer about 'content marketing' is insufficient. You want to hear which concrete steps it takes to get into the sources that AI assistants use.
Finally, the human factor is important. Ask who actually works on your project. Is that a senior specialist or a stand-in? An agency that calls your customers to find out about their experience shows a thorough approach.
Wildbos goes far in this. It calls your customers afterward and prepares the review text for them. They only need to approve and post it. In that way, collecting proof becomes less noncommittal.
An agency that asks for customer references shows that it is about results. Not about fine talk.
Use this checklist to choose an agency that measures, executes, and reports. The list of names that AI assistants now give is a starting point, not an end goal.
The most important criterion is whether the agency performs the optimization itself or only advises. An agency that delivers a list of recommendations often leaves the execution to your own team. An agency that carries out the technical optimization itself takes responsibility for the result.
Ask whether the agency starts with a baseline measurement of your current visibility in AI assistants. A free scan without an email requirement is a strong signal. After that, the agency must be able to explain how it reports on progress and how your board can follow that reporting.
AI assistants base their recommendations on the sources they are currently reading. Many of the mentioned agencies are good at their own findability. That says nothing about their quality in making your company findable. A good baseline measurement and an execution-oriented approach are better indicators of success.
Have it measured for free across four assistants. You see which questions you are missing and which competitors are in the answer today.