Remember when searching online meant poring through a list of ten blue links? That era is over. The internet is now powered by AI, fundamentally changing how we find information. From Google’s AI Overviews to LLMs and voice assistants, AI is reshaping the way people search, delivering direct answers and personalized experiences.
This change means that your approach to SEO must evolve, too. This article will guide businesses through choosing the right AI SEO agency. We’ll differentiate between various agency types, explain how they leverage AI, and emphasize the crucial role of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) in securing your brand’s visibility when the answer (not a click) is the goal.
AI’s Influence on Search
Before we dive into AI SEO agencies, we must explain what exactly AEO is and why it’s becoming increasingly important for your brand to adopt an AEO strategy.
How AI is Transforming Search (& SEO)
Digital search is transforming due to AI, which interprets user queries (understanding intent, context, and semantics) and returns an answer by compiling information from several top sources.
Because the goal is for the user’s question to be answered completely, these synthesized answers from generative AI features like Google’s AI Overviews and chatbots often produce “zero-click searches”.
The same way that SEO has been used to optimize for traditional search, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the process of optimizing content to be consumed and utilized by AI models, ensuring your brand becomes the authoritative source for AI-generated answers.
While traditional SEO drives clicks, AEO aims to make your content the answer. AEO doesn’t replace SEO; it builds upon its foundational elements.
Key Differences from SEO
While SEO aims for clicks, AEO aims for citations, direct answers, and being a trusted source for AI. AEO builds upon strong SEO fundamentals (H-E-E-A-T, structured data, clear content).
Can AI Do SEO?
With AI capable of executing marketing tasks such as performing keyword research, writing and optimizing content, and serving as a brainstorming partner, the reality of marketing is evolving. Although the current debate on whether AI is bad for SEO is making waves across the industry, it’s essential to prepare for the significant shift in optimization that AI has initiated.
With this in mind, you may be wondering: Can AI do SEO entirely on its own? The answer is both yes and no. AI can perform SEO tasks such as data analysis, identifying patterns, generating content drafts, and even automating certain technical optimizations. This capability gives rise to the “AI-powered” services you’ll learn about shortly.
However, complex SEO (especially the strategic nuances, creative problem-solving, and adaptability required for AEO) still requires human expertise. AI lacks creativity, empathy, the ability to understand brand voice beyond patterns, or the strategic foresight to navigate algorithm shifts.
It’s a powerful tool, but it functions best when guided by human strategists who can interpret its data, refine its outputs, and apply critical thinking. Therefore, while AI can certainly do many aspects of SEO, it should enhance human intelligence, not replace it entirely. This distinction will help you understand the different types of AI SEO agencies.
Decoding AI SEO Agency Types: Finding Your Best Fit
Not all AI SEO agencies are created equal, and choosing the right one depends on your business’s needs, budget, and desired level of strategic partnership. We’ve categorized them into two main types: those that operate upon and offer primarily AI-powered services and those that are human-led, but AI-enhanced.
AI-Powered SEO Services
This type of agency leverages AI for automated tasks with minimal human intervention. Their offerings are often subscription-based and tool-driven, providing a standardized approach to SEO and AEO. Common services include search engine and LLM visibility, automated content generation, technical site audits, automated keyword suggestions, and routine performance reports.
Pros
- Cost-Effective: Generally more affordable due to reduced human labor.
- Scalable: Can efficiently manage a high volume of basic, repetitive tasks.
- Transparent Pricing: Subscription models offer clear, predictable monthly costs.
- Fast Execution: Ideal for routine and standardized SEO and AEO processes.
Cons
- Limited Customization:Strategies are often standardized with little room for personalized adjustments.
- Less Strategic Depth: May lack the nuanced insight required for complex problems or landscapes.
- Generic Content Risk: AI-generated content can sometimes lack originality, potentially underperforming under Google’s “helpful content” guidelines.
- Minimal Human Interaction: Communication is often with customer support rather than a dedicated SEO strategist, limiting discussions.
- Less Adaptable: May struggle to quickly pivot with rapid algorithm changes or complex, unforeseen issues, and often lacks AEO capabilities.
Examples
Several AI SEO agencies provide data-driven insights and automated content frameworks. These tools enable businesses to execute SEO and AEO tasks at scale with less direct human strategic input on a day-to-day basis.
- Goodie: Goodie uses AI to monitor how your brand appears and is cited within AI answer engines like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others. It provides automated visibility metrics, brand sentiment analysis within these AI platforms, and offers an AI Content Writer feature that helps generate LLM-optimized content.
- Surfer SEO: This platform uses AI to analyze top-ranking content for given keywords, providing automated, data-driven recommendations for content optimization, including ideal word count, semantic terms, and structural elements.
- Frase.io: Frase leverages AI to automate content research and brief creation by analyzing top-ranking results to identify key topics, questions, and statistics. It also includes an AI writer for generating initial content drafts.
Best For
Small businesses with straightforward SEO needs, teams looking to supplement in-house efforts for repetitive tasks, or those with limited budgets primarily focused on visibility.
AI-Enhanced SEO Agencies (Human-Led With AI Tools)
These agencies place human SEO experts at the forefront, strategically integrating advanced AI tools within their operations to amplify their efficiency, uncover unique insights, and boost campaign performance.
Their services typically involve AI-powered keyword research and content strategy, where AI informs topics and structure while humans craft compelling content. They may also offer advanced technical SEO audits, targeted link-building strategies, comprehensive analytics, and AEO strategies.
Pros
- Personalized Strategy: Offers custom SEO and AEO strategies tailored to your brand, goals, and target audience.
- High-Quality, Authentic Content: Combines AI efficiency with human creativity, ensuring content is optimized and authoritative, engaging, and aligned with your brand voice.
- Greater Flexibility & Adaptability: Agile in responding to algorithm shifts and evolving business objectives, ensuring strategies remain effective.
- Direct Expert Communication: Provides direct access to SEO specialists for collaborative planning and discussions.
- Stronger ROI: While potentially a higher initial investment, the strategic depth and adaptability often lead to more measurable returns.
Cons
- Higher Price Point: Generally, more expensive than AI-based services due to the involvement of human experts and advanced tools.
Examples
- NoGood: This agency specializes in SEO, AEO, and performance marketing, leveraging AI tools like Goodie to track visibility and optimize content for AI. Their approach emphasizes data-driven growth combined with human strategic oversight.
- AWISEE: Known for its integration of data science, automation, and human-led creativity, AWISEE offers AI-enhanced content strategies, technical SEO, and influencer marketing. They focus on optimizing visibility across traditional search engines and AI answer platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini.
- iPullRank: An enterprise SEO agency that embraces generative AI, iPullRank helps brands implement “Relevance Engineering”: an AI SEO model that connects AI-generated content to audience needs and algorithmic expectations. They combine technical SEO prowess with AI-driven content modeling and audience research.
Best For
Medium to large businesses, brands with complex SEO and AEO goals, companies prioritizing a unique brand voice and establishing authority, and organizations seeking visibility across traditional search and AI answer engines.
Key Considerations When Choosing Your Agency
Selecting the right AI SEO agency requires thoughtful evaluation. The nuances of how an agency integrates AI with its operations will impact communication, strategy, flexibility, and the quality of service you receive. Consider the following factors:
Communication & Collaboration
The nature of communication varies between agency types. With AI SEO agencies, interaction is routed through platforms or customer support channels. While efficient for routine inquiries, direct collaboration with an SEO expert intimately familiar with your brand’s unique challenges may be limited. Conversely, AI-enhanced SEO agencies emphasize direct access to experts, fostering collaborative strategy sessions where plans are co-developed.
For AEO services, the distinction between these types of agencies is important to take into account. AEO is an evolving field that requires ongoing collaboration to refine how your brand’s answers are presented in LLMs. Ensuring brand voice alignment with AI interpretations and adjusting content based on AI models necessitates expert-level dialogue, which AI-enhanced agencies are better equipped to provide.
Pricing Models & ROI
Pricing structures generally reflect the level of human involvement and customization. AI SEO services typically operate on a fixed subscription model. This offers transparency and predictability in costs but limits the possibility for personalized strategies or ad-hoc adjustments. While seemingly more affordable upfront, the return on investment (ROI) might be constrained by the lack of tailored solutions.
AI-enhanced SEO agencies, in contrast, often offer more negotiable and customized packages, reflecting the personalized nature of their service. While this represents a higher initial investment, it frequently leads to a more measurable ROI.
From an AEO perspective, the benefits of optimizing for answer engines (such as establishing brand authority and becoming a trusted source for AI) are often realized over time and require a strategic investment that extends beyond traffic gains. The ROI here is measured in brand influence and AI visibility, not clicks.
Flexibility & Adaptability
The dynamic nature of search and AI models makes agency flexibility critical. AI SEO agencies tend to have more rigid deliverables, providing a set of work that may not be easily adaptable to sudden shifts in algorithms or trends.
AI-enhanced SEO agencies, however, are highly adaptable. Their human experts, empowered by AI, can respond to algorithm changes and evolving business goals rapidly. This is preferable from an AEO standpoint, as the way AI models surface information is constantly changing. Agencies with strong human oversight can analyze new AI behaviors, revise strategies, and pivot content to maintain visibility and authority.
Quality of Service & Content
The approach to content and service quality is a key differentiator. With AI SEO agencies, AI-generated content can serve as a starting point, but it requires human refinement for a unique perspective and brand voice. While AI can optimize for keywords, it may not deliver the value human-written content can provide, potentially impacting performance under “helpful content” guidelines.
In contrast, AI-enhanced SEO agencies focus on human-produced content that is informed and optimized by AI. They prioritize H-E-E-A-T (Helpfulness, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) by ensuring human experts infuse creativity and strategic insight into their endeavors. For AEO purposes, human influence is an essential component. AEO success hinges on authoritative, clear content that directly answers questions. The ability of humans to understand complex queries and synthesize information into AI-friendly content makes this type of agency indispensable for leading the AEO charge.
5 Questions to Ask Your AI SEO Agency Partner
How do you integrate AI into your SEO services, and what specific AI tools do you use?
This will help you distinguish between AI-powered SEO agencies and AI-enhanced SEO agencies. By asking this question, you show that you want to understand their technology stack and how it supports their team. An agency should be transparent about the tools they use and, more importantly, how those tools are integrated into their strategic workflow to benefit your brand.
What is your strategy for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
This directly addresses their AEO capabilities, which are a critical component of attaining online visibility. An agency should have a clear methodology for optimizing content for direct, concise answers suitable for generative AI models and voice assistants. Look for evidence that they understand the nuances of AEO, such as leveraging structured data, prioritizing clarity, and focusing on user intent for “Position Zero” visibility.
Can you provide case studies or examples of successful campaigns where you’ve improved visibility in SERPs and LLMs?
Don’t just look for traditional ranking improvements; ask for tangible results. Request examples of increased appearances in SERPs, AI Overviews, LLMs, or successful optimization for voice search queries. These specific examples will demonstrate their practical experience in the SEO and AEO realm.
How do you measure and report on success (beyond traditional SEO metrics) to include AEO performance?
An AI SEO agency should track key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to AEO, such as metrics related to visibility within AI answers, brand citations by AI, and performance in zero-click search scenarios. Their reporting should reflect a comprehensive understanding of success in the increasingly LLM-driven search environment.
What is your communication model, and will we have direct access to the SEO experts working on our account?
Clarify the level of human interaction you can expect. This helps determine if their communication approach aligns with your preference for direct collaboration with strategists versus automated communication channels. From there, you can choose which style of communication is better suited to your brand’s needs.
Evaluating the Leading AI SEO Agency: NoGood
To illustrate the capabilities of an AI-enhanced SEO agency, let’s examine NoGood. NoGood positions itself as a premier growth marketing partner that not only works with AI-centric brands but also integrates AI technology into its services. NoGood exemplifies the human-led, AI-accelerated model, with specializations in SEO and AEO.
NoGood’s approach marries seasoned human expertise with AI tools to drive growth. Their growth squads leverage AI for everything from in-depth market analysis and predictive analytics to content strategy and CRO. A key differentiator is their focus on AI visibility optimization, including their proprietary Goodie platform.
This platform, developed in-house, supports their AEO efforts by helping marketers monitor their brand’s AI visibility, create AI-optimized content, and enhance websites for answer engines like Perplexity, Claude, and ChatGPT.
Pros
NoGood’s advantages align with the benefits of working with an AI-enhanced SEO Agency, especially given their AEO specialization:
- AEO Expertise & Proprietary Tools: NoGood has written the AEO Bible and backs this expertise with its Goodie platform. This allows for insights and optimization directly for AI answers and generative AI visibility, a critical component of modern search.
- Human-Led Strategic Approach: Despite powerful AI tools, NoGood emphasizes a team of multidisciplinary experts who provide tailored, strategic guidance. This ensures campaigns are not just automated but are crafted to align with brand goals and market nuances.
- Comprehensive Growth Marketing Partner: Beyond SEO and AEO, NoGood offers a full suite of integrated growth marketing services (e.g., paid search, social ads, content marketing, CRO) to address your brand’s needs.
- Adaptability to Evolving Search: Their focus on AI visibility and AEO, combined with continuous research into AI trends, indicates a high degree of adaptability to the evolving search landscape.
- High-Quality, Intent-Driven Content: They prioritize creating high-quality, helpful content that provides exact answers users are searching for, leveraging AI for intent analysis but crafting content with human expertise for authority and value.
Cons
While NoGood is an effective AI-enhanced agency, you may want to consider the following:
- Higher Investment: Consistent with other AI-enhanced agencies, their services typically come with a higher price point than AI-powered subscription models.
- Complexity of Integrated Services: For clients new to AI marketing or AEO, the depth and breadth of their integrated strategies might involve a learning curve, requiring close collaboration to fully leverage their capabilities.
Pricing
As an AI growth marketing agency focusing on competitive solutions, NoGood operates on a custom pricing model rather than fixed subscriptions. Project costs vary significantly based on the scope of work, client goals, and the specific services integrated. Businesses would typically engage in direct consultation to receive a tailored proposal. If you’re interested in working with NoGood’s growth squads, feel free to contact the team for a consultation.
Choosing the Right AI SEO Partner
Navigating the complexities of modern search demands a strategic approach to selecting your AI SEO agency. Success hinges on finding a partner whose expertise matches your business needs, and crucially, one who grasps both the foundational principles of SEO and AEO.
The best AI SEO agencies aren’t the ones that use AI mindlessly, but the ones that integrate AI thoughtfully to amplify human expertise. This synergy between technology and human insight is what delivers comprehensive visibility for your brand, ensuring you capture both valuable website clicks from SERPs and establish authority by being the trusted source for direct answers in LLMs.
By making an informed choice, you can empower your brand to thrive in the future of organic search.
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