The newest service on the market and therefore the easiest to sell with empty words. There are almost no established measures here, which means the questions have to be more specific, not vaguer.
What you are actually buying
AEO means your site can be read, understood and cited by an assistant answering a question instead of showing a list of links. Much of the work overlaps with SEO. The difference is two things: whether a machine can read your page at all, and whether the text answers the question clearly enough to be quoted.
Nobody can guarantee a citation, just as nobody can guarantee a ranking. If someone promises you "first place in ChatGPT", the conversation can end there.
What each budget realistically buys
As an add-on from 100 € / month
Usually sold as a markup on SEO. Sometimes honest, sometimes the same work with a new name. Ask what is actually done in addition.
1 500 – 4 000 € one-off
An analysis of whether the site is machine-readable, a fix of the structured data, and a rewrite of key pages so they answer questions. One-off work with a lasting effect.
Does not exist
A package promising presence in assistant answers for a monthly fee and a ranking. That product cannot exist, because nobody has access to those systems.
The first questions
A1
Can an AI read my site at all right now?
Why you ask
This is the first question, not the last. Some sites look normal in a browser but return an empty page to anything that is not a browser. Such a site cannot be cited by anyone, no matter how much is spent on content.
A good answer
Says they will check this before anything else, and explains what they check: whether content arrives ready or is assembled by a script, and whether the server blocks access.
A bad answer
Starts straight in with "we will add llms.txt and schema". That is painting a house without checking whether it has a door.
How to check
Open an assistant, give it the URL of one specific page and ask what it says. If the answer is generic or invented, the machine cannot see the page.
A2
What is the difference between what you do for Google and what you do for assistants?
Why you ask
This checks whether you are buying a second service or a second name for the same service. Either can be fine, as long as you know which one you are paying for.
A good answer
Honestly admits 70 to 80 per cent overlaps, and names the rest specifically: machine readability, clear answers at the top of the text, connected company data.
A bad answer
Presents AEO as an entirely new science with new terminology and a new fee, without one concrete different deliverable.
How to check
Ask for a list of tasks that are in AEO but not in SEO. If the list is empty or made of generalities, you are paying twice for one thing.
A3
How will we check whether we are being cited?
Why you ask
There is no reliable tool that ranks you inside assistant answers. The answer to this question shows whether the person is working with reality or selling confidence.
A good answer
Proposes a list of 20 to 40 real questions your customers would ask, and a regular manual check. Admits answers differ between people and days.
A bad answer
Shows a tool with an exact "AI search position" and a graph. The number looks convincing and rests on nothing anyone has access to.
How to check
Ask five questions from the list yourself, on two different assistants. You will see exactly what the provider sees. That is all the visibility that currently exists.