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Choosing a GEO consultancy in London: 7 things to check
Looking for a GEO or AI visibility consultancy in London? Here are 7 things to check before hiring one, from their own AI visibility score to their methodology and proof of results.
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Video transcript
Ask any agency this one question and you will know in about ten seconds. Show me a citation you moved, and how you measured it. Most will show you rankings. That is the answer. If they measure position, they are doing SEO with a new label on it. There is a second question that is even faster. What is your own score? Run the check on them, live, in the meeting. An agency selling AI visibility that is invisible to AI has told you everything you need to know.
Choosing a GEO consultancy in London: 7 things to check
By Ronnie Huss, founder of SearchScore · 14 May 2026 · 9 min read
Before hiring a GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) consultancy in London, check seven things: their own AI visibility score, verifiable proof of AI citations for clients, a documented methodology, an audit-first approach, transparent measurement, UK-specific knowledge, and the absence of guarantee-based red flags. The GEO consultancy market is still forming, which means the quality range is wide. This guide helps you separate genuine AI visibility specialists from traditional SEO agencies that have rebranded.
Key takeaways
- Run the consultancy’s own domain through a readiness audit, but do not treat one score threshold as a verdict on the consultancy.
- Demand verifiable proof: ChatGPT share URLs, before-and-after audit scores, not just traffic graphs
- Credible GEO work should connect technical/search foundations, content, entity consistency, external sources and direct answer-engine measurement rather than relabelling a keyword package
- A credible engagement starts with a baseline, separates website readiness from live-engine outcomes, and reports measured progress without promising a fixed results window
- UK consultancies should demonstrate understanding of UK GDPR, PECR, Companies House, and British English requirements
1. Check their own AI visibility score
A consultancy should be willing to apply the same measurement discipline to itself. Run its domain through a readiness audit, then test relevant non-branded buyer questions in the engines it claims to optimise. A low readiness score is a question to investigate, not a standalone pass/fail verdict on its ability to deliver client work.
2. Ask for proof, not promises
The strongest GEO proof combines live answer outcomes with business context. Case studies should show the questions tested, whether the client was named or cited, which sources changed, the website work completed and any observable traffic or commercial outcome. Audit-score movement is useful diagnostic proof, but not proof of citation by itself.
Ask specifically: “Can you show me a ChatGPT response where your client is recommended?” If the answer is no or evasive, that tells you what you need to know. See our FileSeal case study for an example of what verifiable proof looks like.
3. Understand their methodology
A credible GEO consultancy should explain its process in plain English. You should hear how it baselines buyer questions, diagnoses website readiness, analyses cited third-party sources, implements the appropriate search/content/authority work and re-measures the same answers. SEO fundamentals still matter; the red flag is pretending a conventional package automatically proves AI visibility.
Ask to see their methodology documentation. If they do not have one, or if it is vague, that is a signal.
4. Check whether they audit before recommending
Every website and question set is different. The initial diagnosis should cover website readiness and direct engine visibility: relevant crawl/index access, renderability, structured-data accuracy, content clarity, entity consistency, external source coverage and the brands currently appearing for the target questions.
The audit should produce a prioritised list of fixes with specific actions, not generic recommendations like “improve your content” or “add more keywords.”
5. Ask about measurement and reporting
How will you know if the GEO work is actually working? A good consultancy will track AI citation frequency (are you appearing in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews?), audit score improvements over time, and the specific signals that changed. They should be transparent about what they can and cannot measure.
Be wary of consultancies that only report traffic increases. Traffic can come from many sources. AI visibility is about whether AI systems are citing and recommending you specifically.
6. Verify their understanding of UK-specific requirements
If you are a UK business, the consultancy should understand current UK privacy rules, PECR, Companies House data and the local sources relevant to your sector. A provider based anywhere can do good work if it demonstrates the right UK context.
Ask how it handles analytics and consent under current ICO guidance, how it verifies legal/business details, and how it identifies the UK-specific publications, directories and review sources that actually appear in your buyer questions.
7. Watch for these red flags
Warning signs that a GEO consultancy may not deliver:
- Guaranteed first-place AI citation rankings (nobody can guarantee this)
- Unverifiable testimonials or case studies without proof links
- Refusal to run an initial audit before proposing a package
- Focus exclusively on ChatGPT while ignoring Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other platforms
- No distinction between website readiness and actual answer-engine measurement
- Long-term contracts with no performance milestones or review points
Good engagement vs red flags: side-by-side
| What to look for | Good sign | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Initial approach | Runs a full audit before recommending anything | Sells a standard package without looking at your site |
| Proof | Shows ChatGPT share URLs, before/after audit scores | Only shows traffic graphs and keyword ranking charts |
| Methodology | Documents their process; covers schema, crawlers, entity authority | Vague or leads with backlinks and keyword density |
| Timeline | Clear implementation milestones and recurring measurement, with no fixed citation promise | Long lock-in before any baseline or review point |
| Guarantees | Improves probability of AI citation; transparent about limitations | Guarantees specific ChatGPT placement |
| UK knowledge | Understands GDPR, PECR, Companies House, British English | No awareness of UK-specific requirements |
What a good GEO engagement looks like
A well-run GEO project typically follows this pattern:
1. Initial audit (week 1) - comprehensive assessment of your current AI visibility, technical health, and content citability
2. Prioritised fix list (week 1-2) - specific, actionable changes ranked by impact
3. Implementation - apply the priority technical, content, source-influence and authority work the diagnosis supports
4. Verification - re-audit to confirm website changes landed, then rerun the same buyer questions to measure live-engine movement
5. Ongoing optimisation (monthly) - content updates, authority building, competitive monitoring
Implementation time depends on site complexity, publishing requirements and third-party work. A consultancy can commit to delivery and measurement milestones; it should not promise that ChatGPT, Gemini or another engine will change within a fixed number of weeks.
Check your AI visibility before hiring a consultancy. Know your starting position.
Frequently asked questions
What is GEO and how is it different from SEO?
GEO focuses on improving and measuring how a brand appears in AI-generated answers. It shares most of its search, content and authority foundations with SEO, then adds provider-specific retrieval checks, direct answer measurement and analysis of the external sources shaping those answers.
How much does a GEO consultancy cost in London?
Costs vary widely. Project-based engagements typically range from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds depending on site size and complexity. Monthly retainers for ongoing optimisation usually start around a few hundred pounds per month. The key is making sure you are paying for AI visibility outcomes, not generic SEO work relabelled as GEO.
Can a GEO consultancy guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Nobody can guarantee a specific AI recommendation or citation. A good consultancy should improve the controllable inputs, test the relevant questions repeatedly and report observed changes without converting a readiness score into a placement guarantee.
How quickly should I see results from GEO work?
There is no dependable universal results window. Technical fixes become eligible to matter after the relevant crawl or index refresh; content, third-party and authority work follow different schedules. A consultancy should show implementation evidence promptly and then measure the same questions on an agreed cadence rather than promise 4-12 week citation gains.
See whether your fixes worked
The Tracker re-runs the agreed buyer questions every week across the six chat engines and shows whether the brand is named, who appears instead and which sources are used. Use the free audit separately to confirm website-readiness changes.
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