A Real-World Guide to AEO Pricing (and Why Almost Nobody Posts Their Rates)
Here’s the blunt truth: Answer/Generative Engine Optimization (AEO/GEO) pricing is all over the map. You’ll see one-off “optimize this page for AI answers” offers under $200, productized AEO packages in the low hundreds, mid-market retainers in the low thousands, and enterprise GEO programs in the high four to low five figures per month. That variability is a reflection of the fact that this is still an immature category, with shifting target surfaces (Google’s AI features; LLMs like ChatGPT/Claude/Perplexity), and very different scopes across vendors. As those surfaces change, scopes and costs change with them.
In short: AEO isn’t a single product or service. It’s a mix of monitoring, content & entity work, citations/PR, and measurement. The exact blend determines the price.
Of course, none of this helps if you are trying to get a bead on the cost of an AEO project—which, of course, is also a key step in figuring out the potential ROI.
So: What are people actually paying for AEO/GEO services? What is reasonable to pay, and what should you get in return.
What People Are Actually Paying (with Real Market Anchors)
A thorough search for AEO services will uncover some pricing and give the scope of the services available at this time; for example, there are:
Freelancers/gig work: Think Fiverr. Marketplace gigs for “GEO/AEO optimization” commonly start ~$150 and can run into the low thousands depending on scope and seller “Pro” status.
Productized AEO packages: Some agencies list menu prices for page-level AEO (e.g., $79–$650 for bundles of 5–100 pages). These offers usually target snippets/voice and basic FAQ structuring—not full multi-engine programs.
Low-cost SEO subscriptions that claim “AI search” benefits: At the low-budget end, you’ll see $99/mo SEO subscriptions that explicitly pitch visibility in “Google & AI search results.” But: Treat these as baseline SEO with an AI spin, not a substitute for a purposeful AEO program.
Mid-market GEO programs: Credible GEO write-ups describe $2,000–$10,000/mo tiers depending on how much list-building/PR, content, and monitoring you bundle—useful as a middle-to-upper benchmark.
Agency listicles / category pricing signals: Roundups focused on Perplexity/LLM optimization cite engagements starting in the low-to-mid thousands per month and scaling up with commitment length and scope. Treat these as directional, not norms.
Context anchor from “classic SEO”: Industry surveys still show median SEO retainers clustered in the $1k–$2.5k/mo band (with a long tail both directions). Many AEO offers are being pegged to those familiar bands—then adjusted up for AI-specific research, monitoring, and outreach.
So, yeah…Public AEO/GEO prices now span two orders of magnitude, from sub-$100 page bundles to $10k/mo retainers. The difference, clearly, is scope.
Why Almost Nobody Posts Prices
If you’ve gone looking for AEO or GEO pricing online, you’ve probably noticed how rarely anyone names a number. Many agencies describe their process in detail—monitoring, optimizing, entity mapping, tracking “AI citations”—but the price is always “contact us.” Yeah, that feels like so much “sales theatre” to me too. But it also reflects how new this category is. Consider:
- Clients don’t know what to ask for—and when they do, they are asking for radically different things. (For example, some just want a good AI mention tracking tool, while some are looking for a full, scalable solution that includes optimizing tons of older content).
- The ground is shifting. A playbook that works this quarter might need rewriting the next. Agencies are reluctant to advertise a fixed rate for something that keeps changing under their feet.
- Measurement adds another layer of uncertainty. There’s still no industry-standard way to quantify “answer presence” or “AI visibility.” Most teams start with a discovery phase to establish a baseline before committing to monthly work. That discovery, by definition, can’t have a pre-set price.
- And let’s be candid… secrecy itself is a tactic. AEO is still a competitive differentiator. Many agencies use custom proposals to control positioning and margins. In an emerging field, a public rate card can feel like giving away your method and your margin.
That’s why you see the silence when it comes to pricing by big agencies.
What Actually Drives Cost—and Why Pricing Models Look so Different
When you strip away the jargon, AEO pricing mostly comes down to scope. How much surface are you trying to cover, and how much experimentation are you asking for?
A company that just wants to monitor whether its brand appears in Google’s AI answers is buying a very different thing than a company that wants to dominate “best of” or recommendation queries across ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. The first is a tracking problem; the second is a full-scale visibility campaign involving content, entities, and authority signals.
The main cost levers are predictable: How many engines you’re targeting, how mature your content and schema are, and whether you’ll need list placements or digital PR to earn mentions. Tooling and reporting add another variable; most platforms charge per seat or credit, which is why agencies often bill those as pass-through costs rather than bake them into retainers.
Because every mix is different, agencies structure their pricing around flexibility. Some begin with a fixed-fee discovery sprint—four to eight weeks of measurement and planning—before converting to a monthly retainer. Others jump straight into a tiered program, adjusting deliverables as engines and algorithms evolve. High-touch engagements usually reserve a separate PR or placements budget, since citation work can spike month to month.
Put simply: if you see “custom proposal” instead of a price tag, it’s actually a reflection of how variable the work really is at this point.
Making the Numbers Tangible
Let’s translate all that abstraction into three real-world budget tiers.
1. The “monitor and fix” tier ($1k–$2k/month).
This is for companies that already have good SEO hygiene but want to start tracking AI visibility. You’ll get basic monitoring across a few engines, quarterly updates to key FAQs or schema, and simple reporting. Most of the execution happens in-house; the agency keeps you honest and up-to-date.
2. The “category contender” tier ($4k–$8k/month).
Here you’re playing to win on definition and comparison queries. The agency runs active monitoring, monthly content sprints to improve answerability, and systematic entity work. You also get a budget for placements or mentions—often the difference between being visible and referenced. This level aligns with what mid-tier GEO firms charge for list building and outreach programs.
3. The “category leader” tier ($12k–$20k+/month).
At this point, AEO becomes a strategic function. The engagement includes original research or white-paper hubs, coordinated PR campaigns, full-time monitoring across several AI engines, and executive-level reporting. These programs resemble classic enterprise SEO retainers—but aimed at recommendation queries like “best logistics software” or “top Midwest injury firm.” For organizations that need persistent category leadership, it’s a credible benchmark.
So the main question is: How much of the ecosystem are you trying to control? The more surfaces, entities, and citations you chase, the more you’re investing in experimentation, not just optimization.
How to Buy AEO Without Getting Burned
(You can also skip down to our worksheet, below.)
Shopping for AEO is tricky because the field is still taking shape…and so are the metrics. A few grounded questions can help you tell whether a partner understands that reality or is just selling wishful thinking.
Ask how they think about results—not just how they “track” them.
There’s no perfect dashboard for “AI visibility.” Anyone who claims one is overselling. What matters is whether the agency uses a disciplined way to observe change: Tracking representative queries, reviewing AI-generated answers, and connecting shifts in exposure to concrete actions (like better schema, stronger entities, or improved content clarity). In AEO, the method matters more than the metric.
Ask whether their strategy would still make sense without the acronym.
If you took “AEO” off the proposal, would the work still hold up as good content and information design? What is true of SEO is true of AEO: It isn’t about chasing snippets or stuffing keywords but about writing and structuring information so both humans and machines can understand it.
Put another way: Clarity, consistency, and credibility never go out of style. When algorithms change—and they always do—well-organized, genuinely helpful content keeps earning visibility. The rest is flavor-of-the-month tactics.
Ask where your money really goes.
Most AEO programs blend strategy, content creation, and tooling. You don’t need to audit every line item, but you do deserve transparency. Look for a partner who explains what’s handcrafted, what’s automated, and what fluctuates with usage or placements.
Ask who’s touching your reputation.
List placements and PR mentions can be gold for AEO—but risky if handled carelessly. Make sure you know who’s managing outreach, how placements are vetted, and whether you’ll approve copy before it goes live.
Ready to See What Durable AEO Looks Like when Content Leads?
At Words Have Impact, we treat Answer Engine Optimization as a communication problem first, and a technical one second.
Our process doesn’t start with dashboards or plug-ins—it starts with how your expertise is expressed, structured, and connected across the web.
We help teams:
- Identify where their content already earns trust from both readers and machines.
- Reshape high-value pages so they stand the test of changing algorithms.
- Build an editorial foundation that any future “AI visibility” tool will recognize as authoritative.
If that sounds like the kind of AEO you want to invest in, we can start with a short discovery session. You’ll come away with a clear picture of where you stand and what it would take to own your category—no inflated promises.
Quick AEO Buyer’s Worksheet
Your visibility goals
☐ Strengthen how-to and FAQ content
☐ Appear in “best of” / comparison queries
☐ Improve brand credibility in AI-generated answers
☐ Clarify and structure existing pages
Your current baseline
Number of key pages you rely on for conversions: ____
Schema/structure quality: Strong ☐ Moderate ☐ Needs work ☐
Your appetite for experimentation
☐ Keep it simple (monitor & adjust quarterly)
☐ Continuous improvement (monthly iteration)
☐ Aggressive expansion (multi-engine strategy)
Questions to ask any AEO vendor:
- How do you keep fresh, high-quality content flowing?
True visibility comes from consistency. Ask whether they build a publishing rhythm that keeps your site updated and relevant—not just “optimized once.” - Would your recommendations still make sense if we removed the term “AEO”?
Good ideas should stand on their own as clear, authoritative communication. - How do you involve subject-matter experts or in-house voices?
AI engines reward real expertise. A credible partner should know how to capture and structure your team’s knowledge—not replace it with generic filler. - What part of your process directly improves the clarity or structure of our content?
Look for someone who treats writing and information design as the foundation of optimization. - How transparent are you about tool costs, placements, or experimental work?
Pricing should make sense in plain language, even when the field itself is evolving.
Brandon N. Towl is an SEO strategist and content expert who helps companies stand out in both traditional search and emerging AI-driven discovery. He is the founder of Words Have Impact, a content agency, and Human Driven Understanding, a consultancy focused on buyer insights and strategy.
