- We asked ChatGPT each of 30 owner-style questions about finding an agency to get a business into AI answers in three separate sittings. Then we read all 90 replies for what they told the buyer to do.
- Across those replies, the advice ChatGPT gave most often was to ask an agency how it tracks whether you appear in AI answers. That came up in 82 of 90 replies.
- In 48 of 90 replies, ChatGPT advised grading the work on business results, such as leads, calls, booked jobs, or revenue.
- At least 31 of 90 replies wanted a tougher test with a baseline on a fixed set of customer questions before work begins and a rerun of that same set afterward.
- ChatGPT warned against anyone who guarantees a ChatGPT recommendation in 30 of 90 replies. OpenAI says ChatGPT search placement isn't guaranteed.
- In 17 of 90 replies, ChatGPT flagged that "best agency" lists frequently come from agencies ranking themselves.
- We turn each of these checks into a question you can put to any agency.
What we asked ChatGPT
Using one signed-in ChatGPT account on an Austin network on Sept. 25 and 26, 2026, we asked 30 questions in three sittings apiece and got 90 answers. The service is marketed as AI SEO, GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization), and AI search optimization, and our questions used all four names. Twelve questions named no city, such as "best AI SEO agency for local businesses" and "who should I hire to get my business recommended by ChatGPT", while 18 named Austin, Phoenix, or Denver. Eleven of the 30 questions covered trades such as plumbers, HVAC companies, home service businesses, or contractors, including "best AI SEO agency for plumbers in Phoenix".
We asked only ChatGPT, so the answers reflect one engine's advice. We read every answer and tagged each check it told the buyer to make, with at most one tag per check per answer. When a second reader's tags differed from ours, that reader went back over the answer. We report the advice and leave out the agencies named in the answers.
What ChatGPT told owners to check first
Ask how the agency checks whether you appear in AI answers. That advice appeared in 82 of 90 answers and held across all three sittings for 22 of the 30 questions. One answer to the question "who should I hire to get my business recommended by ChatGPT" suggested asking, "Show me three clients for whom you increased visibility in AI answers, explain exactly what you changed, and show me how you measured the improvement."
who should I hire to get my business recommended by ChatGPT
So before paying an agency, I’d ask: “Show me three clients for whom you increased visibility in AI answers, explain exactly what you changed, and show me how you measured the improvement.” Be skeptical if the answer boils down to buying backlinks, mass-producing AI articles, or claiming they have a special relationship that guarantees ChatGPT recommendations.
82 of 90 answers tell buyers to ask how an agency measures whether they show up in AI answers.
One answer advised owners to "require reporting separately for ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI" when evaluating an agency. A different answer called for "the actual prompts, engines, dates, geography and lead/revenue attribution methodology," along with before-and-after numbers for local searches that leave out your business name, like "best HVAC company in [city]," and contrasted those numbers with "screenshots for the client's brand name."
Prompts are what people type into ChatGPT. A customer who types your name already knows you, so questions that leave your name out show whether you get found.
The stricter measurement test
The stricter test uses a fixed set of customer questions, measures a baseline before work begins, and asks the same questions again later. At least 31 of 90 answers requested it, or 34 if three borderline answers count. One answer about Denver said to "ask each agency to run the same 20–30 prompts" and establish a baseline, adding, "Then require monthly reporting against that baseline rather than accepting rankings or traffic as a proxy for AEO performance." Another said to "establish a baseline, and then report the same prompts over time," and one more cautioned against leaning on "screenshots of a handful of favorable ChatGPT answers."
The general measurement ask held across all three sittings for 22 of 30 questions. The stricter request held for 5 of 30, or 6 if a borderline answer counts.
A before-and-after measurement also needs a band showing how much the number drifts by itself. ChatGPT's answer to the same question changes from one sitting to the next, and a move that stays inside the band can't be separated from that drift. Our tracking guide covers what a report should show. When agency reporting comes from a tool, the questions for comparing tools cover that tool as well.
Calls and booked jobs
Of 90 answers, 48 said to judge an agency's work by leads, calls, booked jobs, or revenue. Trade questions stressed those outcomes most, with 22 of their 33 answers doing so. One Austin home-service answer said it would insist on measuring "organic leads, AI citations, calls, booked jobs, and revenue," since "AEO visibility without booked work isn't especially useful." Another home-service answer said, "An agency that responds primarily with traffic, impressions, or AI "mentions" rather than calls, booked jobs and revenue would move down my list."
Ask the agency how it will link its work to your calls, including calls it has no direct way to trace. Someone could read about you in ChatGPT, then dial the phone number on your listing. As our guide's section on traffic from ChatGPT explains, nothing in that path leads back to the AI answer.
Can an agency guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend you?
No. OpenAI's ChatGPT search help page says of search results, "Placement is not guaranteed," and 30 of 90 answers warned against placement promises. On the four questions about who could help a business get recommended by ChatGPT, all 12 answers included the warning, compared with 18 of the remaining 78. One answer about Denver said, "No agency can guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your business, but they can improve the public signals that AI/search systems can discover and use." Another said it would be wary of anybody selling "guaranteed ChatGPT rankings."
Can you trust a "best AI SEO agency" list?
Check who published a "best AI SEO agency" list before you trust it. In our research, 17 of 90 answers warned that these lists are often written by agencies ranking themselves, and 11 of 36 answers to general questions without a city carried that warning. The warning appeared in all three sittings for the questions "best GEO agency for small business" and "best AI SEO agency." One reply said, "Many of the 2026 rankings are published by agencies that rank themselves highly, so treat those lists as marketing material, not independent benchmarks."
Some answers drew on lists published by the agencies they named. In 10 of 452 instances where an answer named an agency, it cited a list that agency had published on the same line. Of the 266 pairs of questions and named agencies, 142 appeared in only one of three sittings, or 53%. Since the names shift between sittings, don't rely on one ChatGPT answer's list when you vet an agency.
What to ask any agency
Before you compare agencies, decide what you can spend each month and what that money needs to cover. ChatGPT closed 66 of its 90 answers by asking the reader about budget. If you're unsure whether the spend is justified, our guide's section on paying for AI SEO explains why AI SEO is worth paying for.
- Which customer questions will you track for me? Ask for the list and confirm that it includes local questions that don't name your business, such as "best plumber in [your town]."
- Where do I stand now? Before signing, request a baseline for that question list, broken out by engine.
- How will you tell a real change from noise? Ask them to check the same questions each month and give you a band for how far the number moves on its own.
- How will results show up in calls and booked jobs? Have them explain how a lead gets tied to their work and what they have no way to trace.
- What are you promising? If they guarantee a ChatGPT spot, compare that promise with OpenAI's statement that placement isn't guaranteed.
- Who published the "best agency" list you're on? If an agency cites a list, find out who wrote it.
Ask ChatGPT yourself on different days
On two or three separate days, open a fresh temporary chat with the Unpersonalized setting and ask "who can help my business get recommended by ChatGPT in [your city]" each time. Compare the advice with these questions, and expect the named agencies to differ from ask to ask.
If you're considering our AI SEO services, use this checklist with us, too. Ask us the same questions you'd ask any other agency.
What we don't know yet
We don't know whether other engines would give matching advice, since we asked only ChatGPT. Every answer came from one Austin account, so Phoenix and Denver appeared in the questions while the person asking stayed in Austin. One reader labeled the answers, and a second checked labels only where the readers disagreed, so nobody has labeled all 90 answers twice. We haven't tested whether these checks help owners make better hires or whether agencies that pass them see their clients named more often.
